Mariel Hemingway fights generational illnesses by focusing on wellness

(CBS News) Mariel Hemingway knows a thing or two about both physical and mental illnesses. Her famous grandfather Ernest Hemingway died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound and six other members of her family have committed suicide. 

Now, Hemingway, who was scared of inheriting her family's generational curse, is the spokeswoman for this year's National Wellness Week and the author of three health books.

"There's mental illness in the family. There's diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and I grew up in fear of that," Hemingway told CBSNews.com. "I worried that I would just wake up with a problem, whether that would be a physical disease or a mental illness and I really started to study lifestyle, food, the effects of food, behavior - just everything and it all kind of works together."

The 50-year-old Hemingway has tried her fair share of health routines from an all-fruit diet, to macrobiotic, to vegan, though now she says after years of "extreme ways of eating" she's found what works for her, which includes eating very balanced and ethically - her family raises their own chickens and gets other proteins from a farm nearby.

So how do her two daughters take to her lifestyle?

"They've watched me be all kinds of crazy while they were growing up," she explained. "While they've had their rebellious moments they have come full circle and they are very conscientious, very good eaters and very aware of what they do for themselves."

It's not just her daughters she is trying to get on board: Hemingway spoke to a Capitol Hill audience in February about the importance of meditation, yoga and other activities that can reduce stress. At the event she unveiled the Wellness Week Pledge, which is made up of seven simple steps towards leading a healthier and happier life.

"The whole idea that it started in Washington was cool because it sort of said, we are very serious about this," said Hemingway. "It would be nice if we could create a movement in America - something that people were more focused on; to actually take that week and be conscientious about those choices."

In addition to Wellness Week, which runs from March 19 to March 25, Hemingway is releasing another book entitled, "The Willing Way," with her partner Bobby Williams.

"His last name is Williams, my last name is Hemingway. He has the 'will' I have the 'way.' It's kind of a male/female dynamic perspective on how to be healthy and happy," she explained.

She and Williams are currently planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and have tentatively planned to do it at the beginning of April.

"He seems to think we have to do it in a day," she says of climbing the 19,341 ft - above -sea-level mountain. "I'm like 'Really? When did I sign up?' He is a hardcore extreme athlete and loves it, so he thinks that I'm the same as him. That's what is kind of funny about the male/female dynamic because it's always like remember...I go 'Look at me I'm a girl. Okay, just so you know I'm a girl.'"

Hemingway, who is also an Oscar-nominated actress for her role in Woody Allen's "Manhattan" at 16, is still involved in the film industry. She is currently producing a film version of her grandfather's book, "A Moveable Feast" and will star in a film about human trafficking.