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Chelsea Handler 'shut down' after brother's death

Feb 9, 2012, 9:24 GMT

Chelsea Handler in happier times

Chelsea Handler 'shut down' following her brother's death.

The 'Chelsea Lately' star was just 10-years-old when her big brother Chet died in a hiking accident aged just 22.

She said: 'He was hiking in the Grand Tetons and he literally fell like 80 feet off a cliff.'

The grief caused her to retreat into her own private world where she focussed her energy on not crying in front of people - a tactic she admits was not 'healthy'.

Appearing on 'The Rosie Show', the 36-year-old comedienne said: 'I was shut down. I was shut down because I didn't want to cry in front of anyone. I had seen my parents cry, I was embarrassed.

'That's very unhealthy and took a long time to get over.'

She also felt unnoticed by the rest of her family in the time following the tragedy, although it ultimately brought them closer.

She said: 'I was used to walking into a room and having everyone pay attention to me and I couldn't get any attention. I was in pain too and I felt like no one was tending my pain.

'I also look back at that as one of the most informing things in my life.'