Under constant pressure to look perfect in the eyes of their public, many celebrities push themselves to fit into a pre-conceived notion of beauty, only to succumb to eating disorders such as anorexia. While some of these anorexic celebrities have had a hard time recovering, others have triumphed over the illness and have used their fame and influence to speak out against it.
Fiona Apple
While the yearning to lose weight is what usually provokes anorexia, it can also be triggered by a traumatic experience. Such was the case for singer-songwriter Fiona Apple, who developed the condition after she was raped when she was only 12 years old.
Kate Beckinsale
Before starting her career as an actress, the star of films such as “Pearl Harbor” and “Underworld” had suffered from anorexia as a teenager. Citing her own experiences, she had attributed the eating disorder to an unhappy childhood and home life. She eventually got therapy and recovered with help and support from her family.
Karen Carpenter
One-half of the 1970’s musical duo The Carpenters, the singer wanted to look more attractive and tried losing weight by going on a water diet. She went on with the diet despite already having lost 20 lbs. She died in 1983 at the age of 32 due to cardiac arrest caused by anorexia, weighing a mere 80 lbs at the time of her death.
Calista Flockhart
The star of the hit television series “Ally McBeal” was long rumored to be anorexic due to her extremely-slim build. But the actress would deny such accusations for years, claiming she looked skinny merely because she was small-boned. Though never actually saying that she had anorexia, she eventually opened-up that the pressures of working on her show did lead her to have an eating disorder. During that time, she would abuse her body by under-eating and engaging in excessive exercise.
Alanis Morissette
Between 14 and 18 years of age, the Canadian singer-songwriter had struggled with both anorexia as well as bulimia for a period of 4 years. Pressed by her management to lose weight, the then-teenaged Morissette hardly ate for months at a time, and if so only got by on a diet of carrots, Melba toast and black coffee. Experiencing constant dizziness, her weight kept shifiting between 15 and 20 lbs. She would finally get therapy after the intervention of a friend, and she would write of her bout with eating disorders in the song “Perfect” from her breakthrough album “Jagged Little Pill.”
Portia de Rossi
Another member of the “Ally McBeal” cast, as well as the sitcom “Arrested Development,” the actress blamed her anorexia on pressure from Hollywood to stay thin. During her anorexic phase, and engaged in binge eating and purging, and ate no more than 300 calories. It even came to a point that she found herself weighing a shocking 82 lbs.
Courtney Thorne-Smith
Yet another “Ally McBeal” alumnus, Thorne-Smith similarly felt the pressure to lose weight just like her co-stars, causing her to under-eat, over-exercise and obsess over her food intake and figure. Realizing that she had become anorexic would lead to her decision to quit from the then-popular TV series.
Kate Winslet
Perhaps one would not know it by looking at her, but the “Titanic” star had once dealt with eating disorders when she was younger. Since then, Winslet has spoken out against anorexia, as well as the entertainment and fashion industries’ disturbing fixation on thinness. Proud of her full-figured curves, the British-born actress is sending the message that women do not have to be all skin-and-bones in order to look beautiful.
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