Naomi Watts opens up about early menopause struggles and shame

Naomi Watts, known for productions like "The Ring," "21 Grams," "The Impossible," and the "King Kong" remake, shared her experiences with menopause in a recent interview with "People." Although menopause usually starts between the ages of 45 and 55 for women, Watts revealed that in her case, the process began at 36, which was a complete surprise to her.

In her conversation with "People," she described how shocking the first symptoms of menopause were. "My story started so early. It was so shocking and just flooded me with shame that I just went into a panic," she admitted.

She mentioned that she began having irregular periods and night sweats, but doctors insisted she was too young for menopause, attributing her symptoms to stress. She shared that the "intense symptoms" of menopause accompanied her for several years. "My skin started going berserk. I had irritable, itchy, sensitive skin," she recalled.

Watts also pointed out that, at that time, awareness and education about menopause were limited, and she had to search for information on her own.

Watts decided to create her own line of products dedicated to women going through menopause. "I know I had shame and fear and doubt. Chances are that a lot of other people are going through the same thing," she stated. "I had a lot of anxiety in the lead up to creating this business, and then I just felt like, well, every woman is going to get to this point. Why are we not getting better care? There's just a lack of education and research," she commented.

She expressed happiness about the growing awareness and openness in discussing menopause, including early menopause. "The conversation has been opened. Women are talking to their daughters and younger generations about it with far more openness than I was set up for in my generation," she said. She also urged women not to fear menopause. "Don’t fear it, get ahead of it," she added.