'Twin Peaks' star Sheryl Lee on health, financial struggles

Actress Sheryl Lee. (Getty)

Since becoming a pop culture icon as Laura Palmer on "Twin Peaks," life has been difficult for actress Sheryl Lee.

Lee was diagnosed with neutropenia, a rare blood disorder in 2007.

"From the age of 40, I went through illness for four and a half years," she told UK's London Evening Standard. "I tried to keep working through it as much as I could, but I was physically not able to do it as much."

News: Twin Peaks’ Revival: Kyle MacLachlan Essentially Confirms His TV Return

Since her character was killed off of the 1990s TV show, Lee has struggled to find work because she looked "sick."

"I did a few independent films, but there’s no money in them. So everything was taken away — my health, my career, my finances."

Lee was eventually forced to sell some of her "Twin Peaks" memorabilia to pay her bills.

"I wish I still had them but I had to sell them too. I now live a very, very quiet, simple life in a tiny little guest house on somebody else's ranch."