Celebrities with Eating Disorders - List and Pics
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Alanis Morissette
Canadian singer Alanis Morissette has admitted that she struggled with anorexia and bulimia between the ages of 14 and 18, but is now recovered.
"I work out about two times a week instead of nine," she said. "I'm still a part of society, but I'm better able to challenge it than when I was 14."
Ana Carolina Reston
Brazilian fashion model Ana Carolina Reston died at age 21 from complications of anorexia in November of 2006.
"Take care for your children because their loss is irreparable," Reston's mother, Miriam, told the O Globo newspaper. "Nothing can make the pain go away. No money in the world is worth the life of your child."
Ashlee Simpson
American singer Ashlee Simpson, the younger sister of highly successful actress and singer Jessica Simpson, admits battling an eating disorder in her pre-teen years. Despite being photographed at very low weights in the recent past, Ashlee attests that she has fully recovered.
"I think I have good curves, and they're womanly," she says. "I hate it when girls lose their curves. "I think it's sexy not to be a bone and it's sad when people get too weight-conscious and don't look in the mirror and see themselves as being as beautiful as they are."
Barbara Niven
Actress Barbara Niven has come forward about her hidden struggle:
"I did it all: anorexia, bulimia, binging, over-exercise. But no matter how much weight I lost I could never look "skinny". It's not my body type! So I always felt disgusting and like a failure. I hated myself and my body, but always tried to hide how I felt behind a smile. It was my secret shame."
Calista Flockhart
The actress made famous as "Ally McBeal" long denied having an eating disorder, but later came forward to admit that she had.
"I am much more healthy these days," she says, despite no evidence of significant weight gain.
Cathy Rigby
Gymnast Cathy Rigby was the first American woman to win a gold medal in a World Gymnastics Competition, which she did at the 1968 Summer Olympics. She now reports that most of the USA national team suffered from eating disorders, without the official label. "We didn't know very much about nutrition. Neither did the coaches," she says.
Cathy got help for her eating disorder in the 1980's, and now travels the country speaking about her experiences, in the hopes of helping someone else.
Christy Henrich
Daniel Johns
Australian rocker Daniel Johns from the band Silverchair has been open about his history of anorexia and depression, which nearly led him to suicide in his teenage years.
The incidence of eating disorders in Australia has doubled in the past ten years, recent studies show.
Elisa Donovan
Actress Elisa Donovan engaged in chronic dieting as a teenager, leading to a battle with anorexia nervosa, from which she is now recovered. "At first, I'd eat no fat," Elisa says of her disordered eating. "Then, I'd just eat breakfast--cereal and toast--and not eat again until night."
Elton John
The legendary British musician and composer entered rehabilitation in 1990 for substance abuse problems and bulimia. Post-recovery, he came out as a homosexual, and today enjoys as much success as ever.
In 1997, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Felicity Huffman
Actress Felicity Huffman fought anorexia and bulimia throughout her teens and into her early twenties. She sought help with the support of her family at age 22.
Today, Felicity stars in the wildly popular ABC hit Desperate Housewives.
Fiona Apple
Gelsey Kirkland
Renowned ballerina Gelsey Kirkland published a co-authored autobiography in 1986, chronicling her double-life as an acclaimed dancer and self-hating anorexic.
Wikipedia bills Gelsey as "one of the first Ballet dancers to embrace plastic surgery to improve her on-stage 'line' and working herself literally almost to death."
Gelsey's Book
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Geri Halliwell
Geri Halliwell, best known as "Ginger" from the pop sensation the Spice Girls, publicly admits struggling with anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating for many years. Her weight has yo-yoed throughout her career, but she champions honesty as the path to recovery.
"I can honestly tell you from personal experience, that worrying about an eating disorder really can get you down. There's nothing to be ashamed about. You'll be amazed at the difference it'll make to your whole life if you tell someone you trust. There are lots of people who want to help and you really CAN'T fight this one on your own. It might be a hard decision to make, to tell people and to seek help but, trust me it's nowhere as hard as trying to deal with it on your own," she says.
Geri's Book
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Geri - Just for the Record
Price: $107.93
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Ugenia Lavender
Price: $6.84
List Price: $13.85 |
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If Only
Price: $21.95
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Heidi Guenther
Jane Fonda
Multi-talented celebrity Jane Fonda was one of the first famous women to openly discuss her eating disorder. In the late 1970s, she went public with her "bulimarexia."
She has enjoyed success as a fitness guru and actress, her career spanning more than three decades.
Jane's Book
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My Life So Far
Price: $4.93
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Karen Carpenter
Kate Beckinsale
British actress Kate Beckinsdale has been open from the start about her struggle with anorexia before pursuing film. She prefers not to make the story of her eating disorder the main point of focus in her career.
"People keep asking me about it but I don't want to be famous for being a former anorexic," she says.
Kate Dillon
Kate Dillon starved herself to maintain the body she needed as a high-fashion model. Today, post-recovery, she is more successful than ever in her career as a plus-size model.
Kate Winslet
British-born actress Kate Winslet admits to eating disorder problems in her youth, though she has, over the years, put on a healthy amount of weight.
"I'm happy with the way I am," she says now. "I'm not like American film stars. I'm naturally curvy. This is me, like it or lump it."
Katherine McPhee
American Idol Season 5 runner-up Katherine McPhee has been outspoken about her recovery from bulimia. She spent time between the inital auditions and the live show in a rehabilitation program, and credits the show as the motivation she needed to seek help for her 5-year battle.
Mary-Kate Olsen
Paula Abdul
Pop singer Paula Abdul admits to struggling with bulimia and issues with compulsive over-exercise in the past.
Today, she is one of three judges on the Fox show American Idol, amidst scandel surrounding alleged drug use.
Princess Diana
England's beloved Princess Diana, activist and ex-wife of Prince of Wales Charles, confessed self-harm and bulimia to the British media.
Diana died tragically in a car accident involving a paparazzi chase in August 1997.
Sally Field
Sandra Dee
Actress and cultural icon Sandra Dee says: "I was anorexic for many, many years -- even before people knew what it was. They didn't even have a name for it back then."
Today, Sandra is constantly under a doctor's supervision, and goes in for monthly blood tests, as years of starvation and substance abuse have taken a toll on her body.
Tracey Gold
Tracey's Book
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Room to Grow: An Appetite for Life
Price: $0.50
List Price: $12.00 |
Victoria Beckham
Victoria's Book
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That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between
Price: $12.19
List Price: $19.95 |
Wynonna Judd
Country singer Wynonna Judd has admitted to struggling with compulsive over-eating. She has been through rehabilitation, but continues to have problems with her weight.
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Comments
I like Kate Winslet's quote, "This is me. Like it or lump it." You go, girl.
Pro - ana websites are so dangerous, i am in my late teens and suffer from anorexia and all it takes is one glance at those websites to set me back even further.
I have an eating disorder too I like good food and hte junk food which goes against society norms suggested by advertisiers that I eat lots of junk food becuase its there and so accessable !
Barry:
I do not want to presume; perhaps you do have an eating disorder, but I just want to note that nothing in what you said indicates one, necessarily. I'd encourage you not to self-diagnose, but to check out some of the other resources I've provided to learn more about what eating disorders truly are. If you still believe you are at risk, seek help.
Best,
Maddie
Daniel Johns is a hotty. He never needed to be like that. Hehehehe i think this is a really interesting website
I didn't realize the problem was so widespread! Is it just peer pressure, or some biological disorder?
Another celebrity who had an eating disorder was Brittany Snow..the star of the Hairspray movie and the show American Dreams. The prevalence of celebrities with eating disorders is a reflection of the thin-obsessed media that puts superthin physiques out there as an example to aspire to. You hub helps us really that this body image is attained quite often by unhealthy and dangerous means.
it's about control and sometimes when you cannot control what's spiralling around you, the only thing you can be in charge of is what you do and dont put in your mouth.
what about jeffree star?
This is an extremely interesting website, but i stil dont see how celebs can find themselves so unattractive as to make themselves ill. I think their all perfect, flawless, for another word. But i suppose its all about control and being able to find confidence in themselves! if you've got it, flaunt it!! and all these celebs have defo got it lol!! I myself have never struggled with an eating disorder, but from time to time i do feel low and hate the way my body looks. But then i wake up the next day and feel good about myself. Everyone looks like they do for a reason and 9 times out of 10 making yourself ill to look good ends up making you look weak, unhealthy and tired. Love what use have got!! and others will 2 ;-) mwah xxx Sarah-Lou xxx
Another Excellent lens Maddie! How sad the truth is about eating disorders and there are so many more.
this site is amazing i think you should find more men with the disorder
what about christie alley,renne zellweger? im 13 doing a project you need more info
It's an addiction. You become addicted to not eating. Soon enough your appetite shrinks along with your stomache and the capacity to eat much of anything. You eat a whole orange and feel like you've just had a three course meal. Your clothes don't fit and you think that's strange...I don't LOOK that thin, why aren't they fitting? So you carry on not eating much of anything 'cos you believe the mirror and not the clothes, which doesn't make sense and you know it doesn't make sense but how can you deny what you see in the mirror?
thanks for sharing that, SydneyS, it helps me understand the dynamics from the inside out in a way I didn't before--not too different from the drunk who says I can stop anytime I want to, I just like todrink. Addictions create their own reality--I get it now. And thanks for the hub, Maddie--very interesting reading.
I always find it fascinating the interest generated in an eating disorder that is the tiniest proportion of the U.S. with almost no social cost, as opposed to say, obesity with it's vast economic and social impacts. I suspect strongly that concentrating on others and 'what's wrong with them' keeps us from having to focus on ourselves.
What about Ally McBeal ?
You left out Nicole Ritchie!
I am happy to see that you also included men on your list. Most people believe that eating disorders are exclusively associated to women, but it is an issue that affects both men and women.
never knew such many famous actress suffered from this problem. I felt awful for them.
ally mcbeal isnt a real person...Calistia flockhart played her and shes on the list.
and thank god she left out nicole ritchie because SHE WAS NOT ANOREXIC..shes a junkie...damn not every celebrity who become underweight (and tbh nicole was never that 'scary thin' neither was MK) you know cancer, AIDs, drug addiction, etc all cause dramatic weight loss as well. stop assuming they are all anorexic. Anorexia is rare anyway, and is focused on enough, most on to more common eating disorders that kill more people like ED-NOS (including BED/COED) and Bulimia and the others ones the Orthorexia, Pica, Prader-willi, etc.
anorexia is focused on way too much and minimalizes the 8 million other males and females that suffer from the other eating disorders because they are told (by loved ones and even doctors) that they are fine unless they meet the criteria for anorexia nervosa because they aren't "severely ill" unless they are underweight. which is complete bullshit and needs to stop.
you also missed:
Scarlett Pomers
Melanie Chisholm
Portia de Rossi
Lena Zavaroni (died from ED complications)
The Barbi twins
I just wanted to share that I am 29 and I suffered from anorexia in my early twenties. Now I am 5'4 and weigh 170 pounds, but my doctor says this is fine because I am healthy and I am constantly walking. I am not a stick figure or the ideal body type, but a lot of people compliment me on my body and say it is athletic and beautiful. I feel good about myself and I have others tell me, people I do nto even know, that being curvy is attractive. So I know most women would faint at the idea of someone being 170 pounds, but I am perfectly healthy according to my doctor and this is my body type. Look at Rachel Ray, she is atheltic, healthy, eats, and enjoys life. Just my opinion.
Excellent essay - much praise to this author. Seeing the list of accomplished women with their lovely faces makes this disorder less fearsome and less shame-based.
Behind the majority of eating disorders, I believe, is a hurt or a grieving and an over-learned coping mechanism to deal with that issue that becomes insidious. This mechanism becomes locked in (in the case of anorexia) because starvation actually causes distortion in the brain's ability to reason. Studies out of the University of MN on conscientious objectors during World War II indicate that logical thinking is skewed during starvation. This study involved a group of men who were put in a starvation mode to understand what prisoners of war might be experiencing. Obsession set in and pre-occupation with food took hold.
Coping Mechanisms: We all raise our children assuming they have mechanisms to cope with life's tragedies. If heart-ache or tragedy strikes, the whole family breaks down. It's important to help our children develop mechanisms to cope with life's disappointments and trauma early on. Feelings during stressful times cannot be ignored in hopes that they will magically disappear. We can't assume because our children are saying everything is "ok" that it is. If grief is involved, we cannot wallow in our own pain so much that we ignore our children's pain and their means of coping. Coping involves recognizing feelings, feeling the pain, and then doing something about it. But coping also involves strategies - replacement of food obsession with rational thinking and behavior. Counseling by a caring, compassionate individual who has dealt with these issues successfully is an imperative. However, the counseling has to fit the person and the family.
It's my opinion that anorexia needs to be put in the category of a physical illness just as all issues of mental health need to be placed. The distortions of thinking seem to become chemically based and, in the case of anorexia, are caused by the body's experience of food deprivation and starvation. Learning thoughts and words to replace the negative thoughts is crucial. The TV program, Monk, is an example of a person's struggle to overcome obsession. The obsessive thoughts of a person with anorexia seem to be similar.
There is an answer, but if it were obvious, there would be less prevalence of this disease. One thing is clear to me, however. that young people experiencing anorexia or bulimia or the other end of eating disorders need nurturing - emotional nourishment. Isolation entrenches the disease. Having friends who don't shy away from the illness, having family who provide spiritual and emotional support, finding a purpose in life, reaching out to others, addressing grief, and finding constructive coping mechanisms are all needed to overcome this over-learned destructive means of handling life's problems.
Maddie, I'm seeing a dietician for the first time and the whole reason I went to her is because her site (nutrition paradox) teaches normal eating - not dieting to lose, not the polar opposite.
For the first time since I began having food issues (when I became a single mom and used food as my friend), I've begun having normal meals where my internal hunger cues are in charge, not my mind battling "good food-bad food" issues.
I never realized how much influence everything has over me - magazines, tv shows, my mom, my husband, etc. It's overwhelming. It's not BAD to buy a cake - and have a piece! I leave my dietician's office each week almost in tears because it feels so good to finally feel at peace with food.
Great Hub and i hope more people find it before they find a pro-ana site.
Tiff ;)
If one reads this amazingly long list of world top celebrities, one could think that this could be the only way to become a somebody more... (I am joking)
I think, that this 'mental' state is just a TREND - a fashion, which is going to change, when media is going to stop promoting it.
NOW THINGS are becoming clear to me.
As a feminist that has struggled with anorexia throughout my adolescence, I always find it intriguing how quickly the media jump on the anti-pro-ana bandwagon, without really paying much attention to the role they have in shaping perceptions of body image and indeed publishing the pictures that such sites deem thinspiration. It's all very hypocritical and a detraction.
I had no idea that many women had eating disorders but I suppose it makes sense since it seems to be on the rise lately.
I am not suprised that many celebreties that have eating disorders, anorexia is the cause of deaths of models.
working
livelonger says:
11 months ago
The sad thing is that the problem is only going to get worse. These days to launch an acting or singing career, the only prerequisite seems to be that you weigh no more than 110 lbs. These are the only images we see.