Idris Elba's Daughter Opens Up About Her Mother's Mental Illness

[Amber]

Idris Elba's 17-year-old daughter, Isan, is striving to bring awareness to mental illness in the African American community in part as a 2019 Golden Globe ambassador. During the ambassadors' luncheon in Beverly Hills, the teen spoke on the subject at length with her colleagues and revealed some personal experiences to People magazine after the event.

Ian referred to her the struggles her mother, Hanne “Kim” Norgaard, had faced. “I’m not going to lie, it’s a struggle every day. It’s a learning lesson for me, but it’s hard. Mental health is something that’s hard to deal with. We just sat down and talked about it, and I think that was better for her, talking about it and talking about it with someone who means the most in her life and just getting that out.”

 David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Dealing with her mother's health has been quite a journey for the young woman.“It was like, ‘Woah,'” she said learning about her mother’s struggles. “It was definitely a learning curve. I’m so much closer to my mom now because I know what she’s going through.”

Isan also spoke about her experiences with bullying as a student. “I’ve always been a quirky kid,” she said. “I’ve had to work through that. Part of the reason I was bullied was because of my personality. Other people gravitated towards my personality — but at my school, the kids had never met someone so sporadic like me. After that, I just sort of said, ‘Whatever, I’m not going to listen to what you say.'”

She added: “Being myself is what got me here. People have been telling me how much of an inspiration it is that I’m talking about this.”

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