Heather Locklear Has ‘Beaten Her Demons’ as She Returns to Work: ‘She’s Back in the Game’

Heather Locklear hasn’t had much to cheer about career-wise in recent years as she’s been more focused on her personal recovery – but now that she’s feeling confident again, the actress is schmoozing everyone she can think of in a bid for a T.V. or movie role moving forwards, not least because she could sure use the cash, an industry source who has had recent dealings with the iconic star exclusively tells In Touch.

“Heather got back to work this year and she seems to have beaten back her demons in the process,” the source says. “What’s even clearer is that she knows she has an uphill battle and she knows she still has to prove her viability to the industry and she’s starting that process basically from zero.”

The Melrose Place alum, 63, spent decades battling anxiety, depression and substance abuse following her tenure on the hit show. She had received treatment at rehab facilities 20 times before she gave a welcomed update in April 2020 via Instagram, letting her followers know she had been sober for a year at the time. 

The L.A.-native’s career had been pretty much DOA since about 2017, when she ended a recurring role on the series Too Close to Home. Besides a made-for-T.V. movie in 2021, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, it was about seven years until she landed another serious industry role with Lifetime, the series Mormon Mom Gone Wrong: The Ruby Franke Story, signaling that she may be trusted in Hollywood once again.

The source agrees, saying that right now “she also has a lot going for her, especially the fact that she has aged pretty well, all things considered, and there’s an entire generation of women who came of age in the nineties who see her as a living legend, especially when it comes to primetime T.V.” 

Even though photos of the actress acting bizarrely and looking disheveled surfaced in May 2023, a second source previously told In Touch that Heather “has her good days and bad,” but that, “She’s in a much better place than … when she was acting strangely.”

“She’s less interested in getting dolled-up and more focused on being healthy and staying on track,” that source said, adding that her No. 1 priority is staying sober.

If things go well and she continues to maintain her sobriety, she’ll be hunting for her next job following her limited series on Lifetime, and the first insider says that “the nineties nostalgia boom may be her secret weapon as she tries to get more steady work on T.V.” 

“What you have to remember in all of this is that, at her height, Heather had the golden touch and when she joined a T.V. cast. She supercharged it, especially on her runs on Melrose Place and Spin City.” 

“That’s what she has to bank on as she gets back into playing T.V. roles and more importantly, becoming a regular on a T.V. series again. She’s back in the game, now it’s time to get some points on the scoreboard.”