Actress Kristen Johnston is mourning the death of her sister, Julie. On Tuesday, the 52-year-old 3rd Rock From the Sun star took to Twitter to share the news of Julie's death.
"Yesterday my beautiful younger sister Julie lost her battle with addiction," she captioned a photo with her sibling, adding a broken heart emoji. "I know she’s finally at peace. She had the best belly laugh in the world."
She added in another tweet, "Thank you everyone for your outpouring of love and support. It means a lot to me."
Johnston herself has struggled with addiction, opening up about her drug, alcohol and painkiller abuse in her 2012 memoir, Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs for a Giant Disaster.
Discussing her sobriety with Entertainment Weekly at the time, Johnston said, "The most important thing I want to express to people is that I’m not cured. I could probably relapse in a minute. Who knows? It’s just a weird disease that sneaks up on you and all of a sudden you’re boozing at the bar, or whatever. And it doesn’t have to be because of you or pressure or this-or-that. It just can be."
Johnston also created the charity SLAM, Sobriety, Learning and Motivation, which mentors high schoolers in New York City with addiction and self-esteem issues.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please contact the SAMHSA substance abuse helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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