Kim Basinger reveals she lived with agoraphobia for years: ‘I had to relearn to drive’

‘It’s like something just completely shuts down within you,’ actor said

Kim Basinger has opened up about the impact agoraphobia had on her life and how she had to “relearn everything”.

The actor said she struggled for years with the anxiety disorder, which is typically categorised by fear of places or situations and often results in panic attacks or feelings of embarrassment or helplessness.

Speaking today (27 April) on Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk – hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, her mother Adrienne Banfield Norris, and daughter Willow Smith – Basinger revealed the details of her agoraphobia.

“I wouldn’t leave the house. I would no longer go to dinner,” the actor told the hosts.

She continued: “It’s really horrible to feel that as really fiercely as I did during those years and not know what it was.

“It’s like something just completely shuts down within you and you have to relearn everything.”

“I had to relearn to drive. And for many years I would not go through the tunnels at Malibu,” she added.

Kim Basinger as the myserious "Veronica Lake look-alike" Lynn Bracken in 1997’s LA Confidential (Warner Brothers)

“Everything used to make me nervous... Everything became a big job to figure out how to do it,” she said.

Basinger explained that as well as mental challenges, she also experienced physical symptoms: “You live with a dry mouth all the time. You’re very shaky. You’re just so exhausted all the time.”

Red Table Talk airs Wednesdays on Facebook Watch.

If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: actiononaddiction.org.uk, mind.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk.