Celebrity Spotlight

May 27, 2020

Voice Winner Alisan Porter on Battling Alcoholism

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Until recently, most people knew Alisan Porter for her lead role in the 1991 movie Curly Sue starring Jim Belushi. Now, the former child star has a new claim to fame: winner of The Voice.

Porter's stunning blind audition performance of Linda Ronstadt's “Blue Bayou” on Season 10 of The Voice caused all four coaches — Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams — to turn their chairs. She chose Aguilera as her coach. During the audition, Porter was open about her road to recovery. She has been sober since Oct. 28, 2007

It wasn't the first time she had openly discussed her battles with alcoholism and drug addiction. In 2015, she spoke with Oprah about her decision to leave Hollywood and struggle with addiction.

Porter was crowned the winner of The Voice May 24, making Aguilera the first female coach to have a winner.

“There are moments everybody has where they think, 'Gosh, my life sucks and I feel like crap and I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to get myself out of that place,'” Porter, 34, told People magazine. “When I look at my life, I know I have what I have because I'm sober and because I turned away from the places I could've gone. I turned away from the dark side, and I have been infinitely blessed with my family and my children and now a career.”

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