Power at Any Age: Gloria Reuben Urges Menopausal Women to Advocate for Their Health

When Your Body Becomes a Stranger

Throughout her illustrious life and career, Gloria Reuben has shared her story through music and acting. She started learning classical piano when she was a young girl and was the lead singer of a rock band as a teenager. Then in her early 20s, Reuben moved from Toronto to Los Angeles, where she waited tables at a restaurant and took acting classes before booking her first big break, a TV commercial. Soon after, she made the jump from full-time waitress to working actress in order to pursue her creative passions. "You made the right decision. Keep the faith," she told herself at the time.

These days, the veteran entertainer is starring in multiple TV series, shooting films and regularly performing jazz. Creative expression — specifically music, what she calls the "enduring factor" in her life — has carried her through everything she's achieved and conquered, and how she's navigated the world of show business for decades.

Now, the actress and musician is sharing the latest chapter of her story.

The Unspoken Battle

For several years, Reuben was navigating a force shaping nearly every part of her daily life – menopause, specifically, hot flashes due to menopause.

Vacation plans and long flights required strategizing and prepping to manage sudden waves of heat. At work, wardrobe fittings suddenly meant second-guessing fabrics and layers in case of hot flashes on and off camera. Then, on set, she felt disconnected from her scene partners, which forced her to be in her head instead of in the present moment. "I felt like I didn't know my body anymore," she shares. "Like my body was a stranger. It was very unsettling." For years, Reuben was navigating moderate to severe hot flashes due to menopause, both day and night, with constant uncertainty of when the next one might strike.

The Silent Struggle

For much of women's lives, change is something they learn to navigate. From puberty and first heartbreak to career pivots and, for some, motherhood, women are thrown into an endless evolution of identity that comes with simply being alive.

Then comes menopause.

It's a transition that remains one of the most misunderstood and underdiscussed health topics, yet all women who reach midlife will experience menopause. Menopause is a natural occurrence in a woman's life and is defined by 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. Too often, menopause — including hot flashes — has been framed as something women are expected to endure and struggle with, as though aging itself is something to apologize for.

In fact, hot flashes are one of the most commonly reported symptoms of menopause. Nearly half of women going through menopause may experience moderate to severe hot flashes, and these symptoms may last 10 or more years for some. Menopausal hot flashes and night sweats disproportionately impact women of color, with Black and Hispanic women experiencing more frequent and bothersome hot flashes due to menopause.

The increasing frequency and unpredictability of Reuben's hot flashes, including sleep disruptions from nighttime hot flashes, took a toll. "When the natural phase of a woman's body changes into the phase of menopause, for me, personally, it definitely brought a lot of things into question," she shares, alluding to the mental toll and fears of a hot flash "erupting" during a day on set or an evening out. "It's very challenging on all fronts, especially if a woman is being silent about it or struggling with it on her own… I carried, unknowingly I think, a great deal of shame around it and embarrassment," she says. "That was very difficult."

Breaking the Silence

There's no one-size-fits-all approach to managing moderate to severe hot flashes due to menopause. But there are treatment options available. One option is VEOZAH, the #1 prescribed hormone-free treatment FDA-approved for moderate to severe hot flashes due to menopause.* VEOZAH blocks the binding of NKB, a brain chemical known to trigger hot flashes during menopause, in the brain's temperature control center. VEOZAH is not a hormone. It's proven to reduce the number and severity of hot flashes, day and night, based on clinical studies measuring efficacy over 24 hours at four and 12 weeks.

For some women, it can start working as early as one week, but results may vary from person to person and women should speak with their doctor about what this may mean for them.

Reuben first heard about VEOZAH when she saw a television commercial for the treatment and later consulted with her doctor about her menopausal hot flashes. "I was looking for a hormone-free and FDA-approved option," she says. For Reuben, conversations with her doctor and advocating for her own health led to her choosing VEOZAH as the treatment option for her moderate to severe hot flashes due to menopause.

"We talked about treatment options, including the possible benefits and possible side effects. Before starting VEOZAH, my doctor did a blood test to check my liver, and since I've been taking VEOZAH, my doctor has done follow-up liver blood testing," she recalls. "I got my prescription a few days later, and in about a week there was a decrease in my menopausal hot flashes, both day and night."

Individual results may vary and women should speak with their doctor about what this may mean for them.

A New Perspective

The menopause advocate adds, "VEOZAH has worked well for me as a treatment for my moderate to severe hot flashes due to menopause. I'm not constantly wondering when the next hot flash will happen."

For Reuben, as her hot flashes became less frequent, so did the worry that came with anticipating when the next one might strike. "Instead of planning my day, and night, around my hot flashes, I can focus more on the things that matter most to me," she shares.

Beyond the physical symptoms, Reuben says menopause prompted an unexpected reckoning. She started to confront bigger questions about what this next stage of life could look like. Rather than viewing menopause as an ending, she began reframing it as an invitation to advocate for herself physically and emotionally — a perspective that would ultimately shape the way she approached her overall health.

"It feels good to be reconnected," she says of her mind and body.

Reclaiming Power

Reflecting on her menopausal experiences, Reuben says advocating for herself and her health "in every single way" allowed her to "participate in my own healing process. I found a way to reframe every area of my life. It's not just a new chapter, it's a new volume."

One of the biggest lessons menopause taught Reuben is that strength doesn't always mean handling everything alone. She hopes more women feel comfortable asking questions and leaning on trusted health care providers.

"I experienced that 'you have to do it all. You have to be a superwoman. You have to just handle it.' Yes, sometimes, and sometimes you have to ask for help," Reuben says. "Oftentimes in my life it's been, 'Oh no, I got this. Oh, I can handle this.' The asking for help, asking questions and being open to communicate about what's really going on is key for all of us. In particular, when a woman's body is changing and there are a lot of questions to ask. It's a very unknown territory because each body is different. Each woman's experience is going to be different. However, you don't have to do it alone. The first step is communicating with your health care provider. Learning about the science of what's going on, listening to your body and communication."

Freedom in the New Volume

Power does not expire with age. Knowledge and shared stories empower women at any age to transform uncertainty into actionable clarity.

"Unexpectedly for me, this time of my life has been a really joyful time of freedom that I didn't anticipate and there's an openness that I definitely didn't anticipate," she says.

Joyful freedom has led Reuben to pursue her creative passions with renewed exuberance and fewer struggles. Reuben wrote her first book, "My Brothers' Keeper: Two Brothers. Loved. and Lost.", and recently wrote her first play. She's regularly journaling, working on TV and film sets, creating playlists for each character she portrays, performing on stages and pulling inspiration from her own life for artistic endeavors.

Music is still her longstanding throughline, healing force and inspiration. She's also inspiring others.

"I'd like women who are going through menopause and experiencing moderate to severe hot flashes, day and night, to know about the treatment option that worked for me," she says. "I'd encourage them to speak to their health care provider, discuss what they're feeling and the possible treatment options for them. They don't have to suffer in silence. They don't have to grin and bear it. They don't have to do it alone."

As we navigate through life's chapters, let us remember that the most powerful thing we can do is speak up, seek help, and take charge of our health — no matter what age we are.