Kristin Chenoweth has been a staple in both the TV and Broadway world, dazzling fans with her larger-than-life voice and personality. But behind the glittering smile was a silent battle that almost made her retire.

In a recent interview with People, Chenowith opened up about her battle with chronic migraine. “It was really bad in my 20s and 30s and what I began to understand is, as we do when time goes on, I need to be my own advocate. So I started trying everything I knew. Everything any doctor would tell me, I tried it.”

She detailed the grueling experience of trying so many treatments, to no avail. But she soon thought to herself: “honestly, I’m going to have to retire.” The Broadway star added: “It really affected my life. It prevented me from enjoying some great moments in my career, too.”

One of the worst days was when she won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Pushing Daisies in 2009. “I remember when I won the Emmy, I went offstage and you know, we get all the paparazzi shots and I left by ambulance.”

Decades later, Chenoweth discovered the growing practice of using Botox for her chronic migraine and she “noticed a vast difference.” She added, “This is something that affected and changed my life and career/ I have not had to retire and I still get to do what I love to do. I want to do what my passion is. I want to be here to run my Broadway bootcamp in my home state. I want to be there for the next role that’s going to challenge me. I want to mentor Ariana Grande. I want to be here. I want to be an encourager.”

But Botox isn’t the only thing she practices to keep the chronic migraine at bay. “Meditation, prayer, breathing exercises, being in a dark room. These are things that I have to do. I don’t drink a lot of alcohol. I watch my salt. I do everything I can to prevent it.”

Per the Cleveland Clinic, chronic migraine is “defined as having at least 15 headache days a month, with at least 8 days of having headaches with migraine features, for over 3 months.” Only up to five percent of US citizens are affected by this, but many more have suffered a migraine. Chronic migraine is a debilitating condition that can be eased with lifestyle changes and/or medication.

Now Botox injections for migraines have become more popular over the years. It’s applied differently than cosmetic Botox and you only have to get it done once every 12 weeks, per Web MD. 

We love that Chenowith is shining a light on this condition and we’re so happy for her that she’s been working so hard to successfully keep her chronic migraine at bay!