Sober queer artist Matty Heimgartner developed an obsession with pop stars and Hollywood fame at a young age. Matty spent their childhood dreaming of becoming a pop star while recording music with their eldest brother and their youngest sister.Immediately following high school, Matty enrolled in music classes. Shaken by performance anxiety, Matty dropped all music classes but soon returned to college by way of the theater program as an attempt to conquer stage fright. Heimgartner landed small roles in Tenneessee Williams’ play “Night of the Iguana,” and Guiseppe Verdi's opera “Il Trovatore.”Addiction and a lack of self-esteem steered Matty off the stage again and they shifted their attention to writing. Heimgartner had several short stories published in literary journals throughout their early twenties as they studied English. In 2016, Heimgartner earned their first art gallery showing in a collaborative piece with a local artist. The next few years were dedicated to painting as Heimgartner struggled with alcohol dependency and drug addiction.Heimgartner found sobriety in 2019 and returned to graduate school in 2020. Several of Matty’s personal essays were published internationally over the next few years. In 2023, Matty earned their film acting debut in Loïc Pichot’s short film, “Distressed.” In 2024, Matty began releasing their music to streaming platforms, the same year they released their debut collection of essays, "Self-portraits."Read more about this authorRead less about this author