Why did the child star Missy Gold quit Hollywood, she became a psychologist

Missy Gold does not regret leaving Hollywood to become a psychiatrist.

The former child star – who is best known for her role as the governor’s daughter Katie Gatling in the sitcom “Benson,” which ran from 1979 to 1986 – only tells Page Six that she “always knew” that she wouldn’t be on TV forever.

“I didn’t play as a child for some great love [of it]Explains Gold, whose sister Tracey Gold played Carol Seaver in Growing Pains.

“In the family, we all worked and acted … and I’ve always been more of a schoolgirl,” continues Missy. “My older sister, who was also an actress and an actress, is still in her wheelhouse. But for me, I’m more of an introvert. “

When Benson was canceled, Missy was 16 and offered a soap opera test.

“I thought, ‘No, this is going to distort what I want,’ she recalls. “I knew I wanted to go to college and I knew I wanted to do more… so I even refused the tests, finished school and applied for college.”

Missy eventually attended Georgetown University before earning her PhD from the California School of Occupational Psychology. He is currently a practicing psychologist.

Mum of two says she feels “very happy” that she was a child star and left unscathed, unlike many, including her sisters.

Tracey, now 53, battled anorexia during the filming of “Pain Growing.” At one point, her weight dropped to around 80 pounds and she was put on display due to her skeleton appearance. After a few years, she recovered and was the co-author of the book “Room to Grow: An Appetite for Life with Julie McCarron” about her fight and possible recovery from an eating disorder.

“I don’t think you can have that kind of experience all the time and think and think about what it was,” Missy tells us about being a working child actress. “And especially as a mother, looking at these choices, as an adult I understand the choices my parents made that were right for them at the moment.

“I was lucky. I was lucky. I’ve heard stories of people who have had really, really hard experiences. And to some extent, I admit to my parents that it was positive, but we were just lucky. This is a risky venture. I mean, I definitely wouldn’t send my kids to industry. And my parents know that. But we were in a different place and under different circumstances. And it worked for me. Really.

Missy also credits the cast of “Benson” who “raised and supported her.”

“I spent my days in my wardrobe so often, people would come and visit. And I think about it these days in my practice where I am [a] the psychologist and I do the same, ”he says. “I’m in my room and people come and visit me and share their thoughts with me.”

That’s not to say that Missy didn’t come out completely unscathed from the experience, explaining that she began seeing a therapist during her studies to “sort of understand my experiences.”

She wisely describes the fame of childhood as being treated as an adult and at the same time infantilized and conducive to an unhealthy sense of privilege.

“You are a child here, assuming the role of an adult,” he explains. “But this is the role of an actor … often on the set the actors are very infantile. So developing a real sense of self is complicated. Who am I? Psychologically speaking, the celebrity experience is complicated, and doing it as a kid, you know when your mind is forming …

“I can see it for myself and what my experience has been, but it helps me in forms, like my work with all my patients, everything we live resonates throughout our lives.”