So strong. Jamie Lee Curtis refuses to mince words. “I am a junkie. That’s who I am,” the actress, who turns 59 on Nov. 22, recently admitted of her past alcohol and opioid addictions. Clean since Feb. 3, 1999, she insists on being brutally honest about her struggles so she can help others. “I am an example that acknowledging your worst secret can save your life.”

Her honesty is matched only by her inner strength. “She’s gone through it all. She says that she’s a tough broad,” an insider tells Closer of Jamie, who fought hard to overcome what she calls her “humiliating, shameful secrets.” Now that she’s been sober for 18 years, “She puts her sobriety front and center,” the insider adds. “She wants to be a good example to her kids and other young people.”

jamie lee curtis - getty

Jamie with her children in 2009.

The repercussions her substance abuse had on Annie, 30, and Thomas, 21 (her children with husband Christopher Guest), were devastating. “Her darkest moments were not being able to be there for them,” the insider says. “Jamie talks of one time having plans with Thomas for something very important to him, and she forgot. She feels awful about that.” That’s why she worked so hard to defeat her demons.

Now, “My business is to stay sober,” Jamie says of her promise to her kids. “She’s asked them privately for their forgiveness, which they gave her,” the insider reveals, noting, “She gets most of her strength from Annie and Thomas.”

jamie lee curtis janet leigh - getty

Jame with her mother in 1998.

Her resolve is also boosted by memories of her mom, Psycho’s Janet Leigh, who died in 2004. “Jamie says she was her North Star, her rock and refuge,” the insider shares of the woman Jamie still strives to make proud. Now with a Halloween sequel and a sitcom for CBS in the works, Jamie says she feels “way better now than I did when I was 20. I’m stronger and I’m smarter in every way.”

For more exclusive celebrity news, pick up the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now!