The Powerhouse Diaries

When a Sunshine Girl Learns to Glow in the Dark In this electric and deeply human episode of The Powerhouse Diaries, Yaela Raber sits down with Kimberley Crossman, an actor, comedian, producer, creator of Pretty Depressed, grief survivor, mental health advocate, marine biology nerd, and the woman who somehow lives ten lives at once without losing the plot or her light. For years, the world saw Kimberley as the sunshine girl. Cheerful. Bubbly. Always on. But what most people never saw was the grief she was carrying through auditions, deadlines, miscarriages, and the pressure to stay “fine” on screen and online. This episode opens the curtain on that truth but not in a tragic way rather in a way that shows how softness and strength can co-exist in one woman who absolutely refuses a small life. We explore the wildly parallel worlds she moves through. Los Angeles sets. New Zealand bush walks. Comedy stages. Shark tagging adventures. Solo healing. Creative entrepreneurship. And a career built on resilience that would break most people long before the ten thousandth no. This conversation is bright, funny, disruptive, emotional, and full of moments that make you feel like you are sitting with a woman who has lived enough for three seasons of her own show. Kimberley brings receipts on what it means to keep going after loss, to redefine resilience, to stop performing for approval, and to let your messy and magnificent parts all have space at the table. If you’ve ever felt split between who the world sees and who you actually are or ever carried grief while still building a big life this episode feels like oxygen. --- In This Episode We Explore 00:00 Episode trailer 02:10 The duality of being Kimberley in Hollywood and Kimberley at home 07:40 How 10,000 rejections shaped her optimism without hardening her 12:15 The quiet heartbreak of miscarriage and the identity rebuild that followed 18:20 Why joy became her compass and not a personality trait 23:50 The moment she stopped performing for approval and started choosing truth 28:30 Finding purpose beyond visibility and the story behind Pretty Depressed 35:10 The sunshine reputation and the shadows people never see 41:20 Bees, sharks and the passions that keep her grounded and alive 48:00 Living parallel lives and the freedom of being multidimensional 55:40 Letting herself be loved in the mess instead of the performance 01:03:00 Boundaries that saved her from burnout and performative wellness 01:08:45 What resilience and delusion really look like behind the scenes 01:15:00 How she chooses a big life without apology 01:21:30 What she hopes her audience feels, not just sees 01:24:00 Closing reflections --- Episode Links Kimberley Crossman on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kimcrossman Pretty Depressed Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/04dZVSSbP7A3hQAyHx4s2B --- Follow The Powerhouse Diaries Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-powerhouse-diaries/id1791081472 Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3ExGnkttIzhK8NMjyWLINw Instagram https://www.instagram.com/powerhousediaries