Amber Valletta Reveals Past Addiction to Drugs and Alcohol: "I Didn't Want to Die"

Actress opens up about her daily struggle to stay sober

Amber Valletta is revealing a past history of addition to drugs and alcohol.

During a recent motivational appearance for the website MindBodyGreen, the 40-year-old actress and model gave an emotional speech about her daily struggle to stay sober.

"I'm coming out to you today as an addict. I suffer from a disease called addiction. I've had it for as long as I can remember," Valletta said. "My hope is that someone, somewhere in this room, out of this room, will hear something that will help them and perhaps get them out of the shadows and the darkness of addiction and bring them into the light."

Valletta says she believes she was predisposed to drug and alcohol addiction. She revealed that her struggle with substance abuse started at age eight.

"I sniffed markers, I sniffed glue, fingernail polish, anything that could give me a buzz," she said. "Then I found drugs." Valletta then moved on to marijuana and cocaine use.

"I was in a business that drugs and alcohol were widely acceptable and they were given to me," she said. "I had a multimillion [dollar] deal and I showed up the first day to shoot this campaign high and drunk. I didn't care and that's just to show you addiction takes you to the worst places. I showed up to my uncle's bedside, he was dying, and I was still high, still drunk and looking for a place to do another line."

Valletta finally decided to get sober at age 25. "Not because I had the willpower, but because I didn't want to die," she revealed. "And because I really believed there had to be something more than what I was doing."