'Back to the Future's Claudia Wells Quit Career to Care for Sick Mom Who Regretted Giving Birth to Her - Now at 56 She Looks 'Beautiful'

• Claudia Wells was humiliated by her mom all her childhood and called "too fat."
• At the peak of her fame, she quit her career to care for her dying mom.
• One of the actors turned her to God at the moment of her deepest darkness. She was battling addiction and dealing with the loss of her mom.

Actress and businesswoman Claudia Wells came into the limelight when she played a small but well-recognized character, Jennifer Parker, in "Back to the Future," a 1985 sci-fi comedy.

Wells played the role of Marty McFly's love interest. She appeared at the end and beginning of the movie. Michael J. Fox starred as Marty McFly in the sci-fi and comedy film.

The actress said she was excited when she was cast in "Back to the Future" as it was her first movie. The movie catapulted Wells to international fame, but she had to take a step away from acting after it ended.

The impact Wells had on fans in the movies is even years after it ended as fans approach her for autographs. The actress confessed that due to how demanding her career was back then, she had no time to notice the impact "Back to the Future" had on people:

"I didn't really notice because I was so accustomed to acting," she says. "I starred in a ton of series and movies-of-the-week… I didn't notice the hugeness of the movie 15 years ago or 10 years ago. I notice it more now than when it came out."

However, Wells stepped away from acting after the movie was released. Elisabeth Shue took over as Parker in the movie's two sequels. The "Bristled" actress opened up about her relationship with her mom and why she was the reason she had to pause her acting career.

Her Complicated and Painful Relationship with Her Mom

Wells was the youngest of three children in her family. By the time she turned 12, Wells was living in Los Angeles with her single and divorced mother.

In Los Angeles, she landed a number of small TV roles. The actress said she loved to work as it gave her a chance to be someone other than herself:

"My fun and joy were when the camera was on, and I got to be a person and act because every single role I played, I got to take a part of me and express it."

Wells loved playing someone else because, at home, her alcoholic mother made her feel she was someone to be despised. "I thought everyone grew up hearing, I regret the day you were born; I really thought that was a normal thing," she said.

The movie star noted that her son had asked her why she never got married, and she told him she was waiting for her husband to come and find her.

The actress grew up believing her existence was a mistake. Her mother even used all the money she made while acting as she controlled every aspect of Wells' life. Wells' mother monitored her weight too.

The "Still Waters Burns" star said her mother would tell her she was "too fat" when she wasn't. Wells' mother's comments caused her to be obsessed with a diet and being thin.

Because her mother made her feel worthless, Wells felt she had had enough of everything and attempted suicide at 14. The actress was found unconscious after she tried to overdose on her mother's prescription pills. She recalled:

"My intention was not a cry for help, it was an I'm done. I don't deserve to be here anyway, I'm too fat."

By 1982, nothing much had changed in how the actress felt about herself; she was bulimic and taking over 60 laxatives a day.

Sacrificed Her Career to Take Care of Sick Mom

After "Back to the Future" was released, the actress worked in TV for two more years and then quit. Wells said her mother was diagnosed with cancer, and she needed to take care of her sick mom:

"I took care of her the best that I could. I was not in a place emotionally to do anything that had anything to do with acting. I was also angry, and I stopped acting because it was so important to my mom."

The actress said that when her mom was sick, life became very difficult and stressful. She added that she didn't even have the energy to deal with her career or films because, later, her mom died:

"I just didn't have it in me to do anything but deal with the stress and the emotions that were going on as a result of my mom being in the process of dying."

While taking care of her mom and after she died, Wells became a businesswoman as she opened a high-end menswear resale shop called Armani Wells in Studio City, California.

Wells said she opened the business because she wanted a financial backing to acting. She didn't want to lack finances and be forced to get back to acting by picking a role or project she didn't want to do.

The businesswoman's store flourished, and she discovered that she had a great eye for men's styling, including making them gorgeous.

Wells also opened up about her struggles with addiction and turning to God. As for acting, she said it was her passion, and if God guided her, she would get back to it.

Struggled with Addiction and Turned to God

Apart from Bulimia, Wells also struggled with drugs and alcohol. In 1992, she entered a rehab program that led to her eventual recovery. However, it was the connection she created with God that eventually gave her peace and happiness.

The 56-year-old first welcomed God into her life when she was cast into the TV series "Herbie: The Love Bug," starring Dean Jones. Wells, Jones and his wife became friends.

Jones told Wells that the hole inside of her should be filled with God and Jesus Christ because if that doesn't happen, the hole will be filled with men, drugs, and problems.

It was at this time that Wells said the sinner's prayer and accepted God and Jesus Christ in her life. However, it is years later that Wells allowed God to help her deal with the trauma of her childhood.

The voices of self-condemnation and guilt finally silenced themselves when Wells finally accepted that Jesus Christ had died for her sins.

At this realization, the actress cried, forgave her mother, and repeatedly said, "I am not a mistake…I didn't even know that I thought I was a mistake I just knew that she regretted the day I was born."

Wells is also a mother, a single mother who has never gotten married. The movie star noted that her son had asked her why she never got married, and she told him she was waiting for her husband to come and find her.

The actress revealed that if she ever got married, it would be to a gentleman, who she must be madly in love with, and they create a partnership together.

She added that she had always looked forward to her wedding and even drew her wedding dress when she was five or six. Wells recalled how she imagined her dream wedding:

"It doesn't need to be more than thirty people there, but I do want it to be elegant and full of love. I mean, who knows, I may end up being barefoot on a beach. I don't know, but that was my childhood dream."

Wells, who hasn't ruled out marriage in her life, said she was proud of her age and not afraid of it as her age showed she had made it and survived up to now.

Wells also said that she raised a son to be a gentleman regardless of being a single mom. She said she taught her son to open the door to ladies and added that her son was a kind-hearted, hardworking, and independent human being.

The actress, who is in her late 50s, still looks stunning. She recently shared her selfie on Instagram on Memorial Day, and a fan said she was "beautiful."

Today, Wells is still running her clothing store, which she said has filled the creative hole in her and fulfills her life every day. She has also become a fixture of the convention circuit, meeting fans of "Back to the Future" all over the world.

Wells said she is grateful for her life and the chances she gets because she knows God is doing her a favor by giving her all these opportunities, which do not come easy to everyone.

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