Amy Jackson Westwick is a major Bollywood film star with some 14 million followers on social media. Yet she grew up in a working class family in Liverpool. So how did a teenager from Merseyside become one of the most recognisable British actors working in Bollywood?
Today on How To Fail, she tells us her story.
We discuss growing up too fast, how she broke free from a cycle of narcissistic relationships and how she now manages a blended family (Amy has two sons - one with her husband, the actor Ed Westwick, and one from a previous partner). Plus: what she learned from her years in Bollywood and why she’s ’a petty cow’.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
03:13 Chasing Security Not Fame
04:08 Finding Yourself Again
06:35 Growing Up Too Fast
06:50 Liverpool Childhood Roots
11:27 Pageants to Bollywood Break
24:04 Perfect Family Fantasy
25:21 Romanticising Love
26:40 Back To Back Relationships
27:30 People Pleasing Patterns
29:06 Narcissists And Boundaries
31:53 Leaving And Healing
36:39 Blended Family Reality
39:52 Step Parenting Rules
47:05 Listening To Yourself
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
Security comes in so many different forms - and for me it's peace of mind.
If it doesn't feel right, then it's not right... you've got to actually know how you're feeling and not be afraid to voice it.
[On narcissistic relationships]: I confused controlling behavior for somebody who was loving and caring, and in actual fact it was the complete opposite.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Amy’s podcast ‘What’s the Tea Amy?’ is out now
The Testaments, a new Hulu original series, streaming April 8 exclusively on Disney+
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Lily Allen - on early fame, mistakes, relationships and motherhood: swap.fm/l/8Otj3tpmbH5SF4xjVHTJ
Gillian Anderson - on body image, rebellion and refusing to fit in with other people’s expectations: swap.fm/l/7NyZMzkfVOpGyDtlB6k0
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?
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Website: www.elizabethday.org
Elizabeth and Amy answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
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Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan
Engineer: Matias Torres
Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Alex Lawless
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day