'This is Us' star Metz in Naperville: 'How I treat people' defines me

This Was Us.

Roughly 800 people were in the Naperville audience Thursday night to hear Chrissy Metz, one of the stars of TV's "This is Us," dish on the show, her rise to fame and her new book, "This Is Me."

In the Q&A-style event sponsored by Anderson's Bookshop, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress took audience members behind the scenes of her hit drama and shared some of the sad and funny stories about her journey to stardom and self-acceptance.

When asked how Metz deals with questions that question her integrity or hurt her feelings, she said, "What I know is that nothing is personal, what anybody thinks about me is not my business, it's merely their perception of their reality. And so I can't attach to it, because if you don't like a dress that I'm wearing, honey, you ain't wearing it."

Moments later Metz received a loud applause from the sold out event when she said, "What I wear, how much I weigh, the number on the scale or the bank account doesn't define me; it's who I am and how I treat people."

In her book, which recently topped The New York Times nonfiction best-sellers list, Metz writes about the challenges of dating and marriage (she's currently single), changing career goals, weight issues and how we see ourselves.

A couple days before her appearance in North Central College's Pfeiffer Hall, Metz told the Daily Herald the book's "through line" is that "you're here on this plane of existence for a purpose and it's your life and you get to lead it the way you want to. Whether it's pursuing your dreams or owning a business, we really can have what we want."