She is admired for her sharp wit, creative talent, and the ability to make audiences laugh even when life feels unbearably heavy. From the outside, her story looks like one of success — a woman surrounded by people who care about her, a career many only dream of, and years of hard-won professional recognition.
But behind the applause and carefully constructed public image, she has been fighting a private war for most of her life. A war marked by relentless inner turmoil, cycles of hope and collapse, and a mental pain she says never truly loosens its grip. Despite decades of treatment, the suffering has followed her from adolescence into adulthood.
In a deeply personal letter shared earlier this year, she explained that she has exhausted nearly every option available to her. Medications, therapy, hospitalizations, alternative treatments — all tried, all failed. She describes a life shaped not by a lack of effort, but by an illness that refuses to release her, no matter how fiercely she fights back.
The woman behind these words is Claire Brosseau, a 48-year-old Canadian actress and comedienne who says she plans to die by assisted suicide because she can no longer endure her mental illnesses.
Diagnosed with manic depression at just 14 after a destructive spiral involving drugs, alcohol, and risky behavior, her struggles only deepened with time. Over the years, she was additionally diagnosed with severe anxiety, chronic suicidal ideation, PTSD, an eating disorder, substance abuse disorder, and a personality disorder — a crushing combination that shaped every chapter of her life.
She has attempted suicide multiple times and has been treated by psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors across North America. In her letter, she described trying dozens of medications, intensive therapies, and even guided psychedelic treatments, all in the hope of finding relief. None brought lasting change.
Despite her personal battles, her early life showed enormous promise. An honors student in Montreal, she graduated high school at just 16 and was accepted into an elite drama college in Quebec. Later, she moved to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater, slowly building a career many aspiring actors never reach.
She found steady work in musicals, films, and television, appearing on major Canadian shows, acting alongside well-known Hollywood figures, securing comedy club deals, and landing commercial and writing gigs. Yet just as her career gained momentum, another devastating depressive episode pulled her back into darkness.
Now, after years of waiting, she is suing the Canadian government for access to Medical Aid in Dying, arguing that the ongoing exclusion of mental illness violates her rights. For her, the legal battle is not about ideology — it is about ending a pain she says has defined her entire existence.
