Troubled Saved By The Bell star Lark Voorhies reveals if she's retired from acting
Saved By The Bell star Lark Voorhies was diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder 11 years ago.
Lark Voorhies isn't retired from acting after her Schizoaffective disorder diagnosis.
The 52-year-old star's mother Tricia was originally told the former Saved By The Bell actress - who played Lisa Turtle in the beloved sitcom from 1989 to 1992 - had bipolar disorder, but in 2015 she received a new diagnosis from professional.
In the documentary, an intertitle reads: "She continues to embrace treatment, while accepting opportunities in podcasting, TV, film and convention appearances that provide a structured production environment."
Lark herself told producers: "I’ll always be entertaining."
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Schizoaffective disorder is a "a serious mental health condition characterised primarily by symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations or delusions, along with symptoms of a mood disorder, such as mania and depression".
Lark reprised the role of Lisa in three episodes of the 2020 Saved By The Bell revival series, which marked her first acting role since a couple of direct-to-video projects in the early 2010s.
In the docuseries, Tricia recalled her daughter struggling in the 00s, having risen to fame at a young age before starring in 2001 comedy How High.
Tricia said: “She went through bouts of anger. Sometimes we’d be slamming the doors or yelling out of frustration.
"She would run out of the house, and I didn’t know where she was.
“I was seeing something impacting my daughter that wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t good.”
Tricia also revealed that Lark's father "had indicators of things", including "anger fits" which her daughter saw after they separated.
She explained: "I came to some paperwork on his death, and it was medication, which indicated there was some sort of personality disorder. "That's why he and I could not get along in our marriage years ago."
Lark wasn't aware of the discovery at the time of her mother's interview, but producers confirmed in After The Bell that "she was informed off camera about her family's interviews" after her own interview.
During the documentary, Lark remained largely positive about her five-year Saved By The Bell stint as Lisa Turtle, which followed her debut as the character in Miss Bliss.
She reflected: "It was the best feeling in the world. The best.
"It is great to bring life to these characters, and when you know you've hit that character, there's nothing like that rush in the world.
"Because you can see the boom it's going to bring to everyone else in the audience."
