38. Fame, Delusion and Holding It Together: A Hollywood Star’s Recipe for a Big Life | Kimberley Crossman
The Powerhouse DiariesShow Notes
When a Sunshine Girl Learns to Glow in the Dark In this electric and deeply human episode of The Powerhouse Diaries, Yaela Raber sits down with Kimberley Crossman, an actor, comedian, producer, creator of Pretty Depressed, grief survivor, mental health advocate, marine biology nerd, and the woman who somehow lives ten lives at once without losing the plot or her light. For years, the world saw Kimberley as the sunshine girl. Cheerful. Bubbly. Always on. But what most people never saw was the grief she was carrying through auditions, deadlines, miscarriages, and the pressure to stay “fine” on screen and online. This episode opens the curtain on that truth but not in a tragic way rather in a way that shows how softness and strength can co-exist in one woman who absolutely refuses a small life. We explore the wildly parallel worlds she moves through. Los Angeles sets. New Zealand bush walks. Comedy stages. Shark tagging adventures. Solo healing. Creative entrepreneurship. And a career built on resilience that would break most people long before the ten thousandth no. This conversation is bright, funny, disruptive, emotional, and full of moments that make you feel like you are sitting with a woman who has lived enough for three seasons of her own show. Kimberley brings receipts on what it means to keep going after loss, to redefine resilience, to stop performing for approval, and to let your messy and magnificent parts all have space at the table. If you’ve ever felt split between who the world sees and who you actually are or ever carried grief while still building a big life this episode feels like oxygen.
---
In This Episode We Explore 00:00 Episode trailer 02:10 The duality of being Kimberley in Hollywood and Kimberley at home 07:40 How 10,000 rejections shaped her optimism without hardening her 12:15 The quiet heartbreak of miscarriage and the identity rebuild that followed 18:20 Why joy became her compass and not a personality trait 23:50 The moment she stopped performing for approval and started choosing truth 28:30 Finding purpose beyond visibility and the story behind Pretty Depressed 35:10 The sunshine reputation and the shadows people never see 41:20 Bees, sharks and the passions that keep her grounded and alive 48:00 Living parallel lives and the freedom of being multidimensional 55:40 Letting herself be loved in the mess instead of the performance 01:03:00 Boundaries that saved her from burnout and performative wellness 01:08:45 What resilience and delusion really look like behind the scenes 01:15:00 How she chooses a big life without apology 01:21:30 What she hopes her audience feels, not just sees 01:24:00 Closing reflections
---
Episode Links Kimberley Crossman on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kimcrossman Pretty Depressed Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/04dZVSSbP7A3hQAyHx4s2B
---
Follow The Powerhouse Diaries Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-powerhouse-diaries/id1791081472 Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3ExGnkttIzhK8NMjyWLINw Instagram https://www.instagram.com/powerhousediaries
More from The Powerhouse Diaries
She Built a Fashion Legacy by Choosing Joy Over the Grind
Designing the Dream, Then Dismantling It This is what happens when ambition meets awakening. Yaela Raber sits down with Mia Feasey, founder of Siren Design Group, to talk about what success really costs when you’ve spent your life chasing it. Mia built one of the most celebrated design studios in Asia Pacific, leading teams, winning awards, and creating spaces that shaped culture. From the outside it looked perfect. Inside, it was a slow collapse of identity, ego, and exhaustion. In this raw and unguarded conversation, Mia opens up about the reckoning that followed the burnout that forced her to rebuild from soul instead of status. She shares how she learned to lead without losing herself, why she dismantled the version of success she once worshipped, and what happens when you finally stop performing and start becoming. This episode isn’t about walking away. It’s about walking home. -- In This Episode We Discuss 00:00 Episode trailer 01:10 The rise of Siren Design and the architecture of ambition 06:00 When achievement becomes addiction 12:30 Burnout, identity, and the ego that built the empire 18:45 The power and pain of letting go 25:00 Motherhood, leadership, and the cost of proving yourself 31:15 Rebuilding from alignment instead of exhaustion 37:20 What success looks like when peace becomes the goal 43:40 Creativity after collapse 48:00 How to design a life that finally fits -- Episode Resources Guest Website: https://sirendesigngroup.com Guest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mia_Feasey Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miafeasey -- Follow Us On Apple Podcast: The Powerhouse Diaries Spotify: The Powerhouse Diaries Instagram: @powerhousediaries
She Cracked the CFO Code: Candice Tait on Money Mastery, Mindset & Freedom In this episode of The Powerhouse Diaries, Yaela Raber sits down with Candice Tait a seasoned Chief Financial Officer turned founder, investor, and financial empowerment mentor who’s on a mission to help women reclaim their power through financial fluency. From working in London’s high-stakes tech scene as a CFO surrounded by men to building a purpose-driven career in New Zealand, Candice opens up about breaking glass ceilings, redefining safety, and creating what she calls the “F*** You Fund” a savings system designed to give women true freedom of choice. This conversation dismantles money myths, explores how trauma and safety shape our financial behaviors, and reveals why understanding your numbers is the most radical act of empowerment a woman can take.
From Breaking Point to Breakthrough: Jody Boshoff on Reinventing Success and Building a Business With Integrity In this episode of The Powerhouse Diaries, Yaela Raber sits down with Jody Boshoff founder of Launch PR, communications strategist, and storyteller to unpack the raw truth behind starting over when life and business fall apart. From navigating motherhood and burnout to rebuilding her life from scratch after losing everything, Jody’s story is one of courage, reinvention, and radical self-belief. She shares how she turned crisis into creativity, walked away from corporate PR, and built an agency that thrives on transparency, results, and human connection. This episode is for every woman who’s ever hit rock bottom and wondered if she could start again. Jody proves you can and come back stronger than ever. In This Episode We Discuss: 00:00 - Episode Trailer 01:15 - From corporate comms to chaos: when everything collapsed at once 05:20 - Bathing the kids in a bucket and the moment everything changed 09:00 - Rebuilding from the ground up and redefining success 12:45 - Why “having it all” nearly broke her 16:10 - Building Launch PR: doing business differently 20:30 - The ethics of storytelling and getting results with integrity 24:00 - From invisibility to leadership: reclaiming her voice 28:45 - The truth about burnout and balance 33:20 - Using failure as fuel for reinvention 36:40 - What it really means to be a powerhouse woman Episode Resources: Guest Website: https://launchpr.co.nz/ Guest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodyboshoff/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodyboshoff/ Uri Hasson TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/uri_hasson_this_is_your_brain_on_communication Uri Hasson TED Talk Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDhlOovaGrI Follow Us On: Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yaela.raber/ Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerhousediaries/ Spotify: The Powerhouse Diaries YouTube: The Powerhouse Diaries
She Went to Sleep a Newlywed and Woke Up a Viral Sensation In this raw and wildly inspiring episode, Yaela Raber sits down with Jony Lee, creative strategist, content powerhouse, and storyteller at The Attention Seeker whose life changed overnight after a deeply personal act of love went viral. At just 20 years old, Jony shaved her head during her wedding to honor her terminally ill mother. She went to bed a newlywed and woke up with 100,000 followers and the internet’s brutal spotlight. What followed was a crash course in grief, identity, and the strange duality of social media fame. Now one of New Zealand’s most magnetic voices in digital storytelling, Jony shares how she turned pain into purpose, learned to “speak from scars, not wounds,” and built a career helping brands tell human-centered stories that actually matter. This episode is for every creative, founder, and woman who’s ever wondered what it means to be seen and what it costs. In This Episode We Discuss: 00:00 - Episode trailer 01:45 - The wedding day that changed everything 05:10 - Shaving her head for her dying mother 08:30 - Grief, humor, and love colliding in one unforgettable moment 12:20 - Going viral overnight 100,000 followers in a single night 17:00 - Dealing with internet hate and reclaiming her own story 21:45 - The birth of The Attention Seeker and finding her creative calling 26:20 - How storytelling became her healing process 31:00 - “Speak from a scar, not a wound” how to share authentically online 35:45 - The dark side of parasocial fame and finding real connection 39:20 - The human truth behind every viral moment 43:00 - Why vulnerability isn’t a performance 46:30 - Breaking the fear of judgment and posting anyway 50:10 - From content to sales: redefining success on her own terms 55:20 - Storytelling as the heart of every powerful brand 01:00:30 - Owning your story and why that’s your obligation, not an option Episode Resources: Guest Website: https://www.theattentionseeker.com/ Guest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonymlee/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jony-lee-the-attention-seeker/ Follow Us On: Apple Podcast: The Powerhouse Diaries Spotify: The Powerhouse Diaries Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerhousediaries/