Susan Jane Powter (born December 22, 1957)[1] is an Australian-born American motivational speaker, nutritionist, personal trainer, and author, who rose to fame in the 1990s with her catchphrase "Stop the Insanity!

Powter has been described as a cross between Richard Simmons and Betty Friedan[2] and "the Lenny Bruce of Wellness".

[4] Powter, who was born in Sydney, Australia, on December 22, 1957, immigrated to the United States at the age of 10.

In Dallas, prior to her fitness career taking off, Powter worked as a topless dancer to pay her bills.

[6] With the money she inherited after the death of her mother in 1988, Powter opened her own fitness studio in Dallas.

[7][8] In 1990, Powter approached Dallas publicity representative Rusty Robertson with hopes of promoting her business.

In 2002, she returned to writing with The Politics of Stupid, a stream-of-consciousness, self-published manifesto encouraging women to take control of their brains and bodies from food manufacturers, corrupt governments, and fitness/diet industries.

[4] In October 2024, Powter revealed that due to a series of lawsuits in the 1990s and poor financial planning she had been left virtually destitute, living in an RV, and delivering food for Grubhub and Ubereats.

[16] An upcoming documentary about her life, Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter, co-produced by actress Jamie Lee Curtis, has been filmed.