Evan Rachel Wood: 'David Bowie saved my life'
Actress Evan Rachel Wood credits late singer David Bowie with saving her life.
The bisexual star was lucky enough to meet the British legend when she was 15-years-old, and while she was so starstruck she can barely remember what happened, she insists the rocker was crucial in helping her accept her sexuality and who she really was.
"I met Bowie when I was 15 backstage at his Reality tour and
blacked out completely," she recalled to Billboard. "I have no
memory of the encounter except just looking into his
different-colored eyes.
"He saved my life. You couldn't define him, and when I was growing
up, that’s how I felt about myself. I've struggled with gender
norms my whole life, always feeling like I wasn't black-and-white;
I was in this grey area, and grey areas really scare people because
you can't define them."
Evan is now an advocate for LGBT rights but when she was younger,
she was confused by her feelings, until David came into her
life.
"It was like he was always producing this message of hope and
understanding, always reaching out." she explained. "He was so in
your face, but never in a 'f**k you' way. He was an ever-revolving,
ever-changing work of art; so fluid, so unapologetic, but uplifting
at the same time."
The Let's Dance singer passed away in January (16) after a secret
battle with cancer. His death was announced while Evan was working
on new music with her new duo, Rebel and A Basketcase.
"I grew up idolizing David Bowie, and we were in the middle of
writing the album when he died," she added. "It gave us a whole new
source of inspiration, a feeling like we had to keep the torch
burning.
"He's been propping me up throughout every chapter of my life and
so it was so strange losing him the second I decided to put music
out into the world... I guess that’s very profound."