20 celebrities who have spoken openly about eating disorders

starring Lily Collinsthe film “to the bone“, gives Netflixbrought up a debate as important as it is controversial: does addressing issues such as eating disorders in the movies, for example, is it a good idea?

The possibility of identification by spectators with the protagonist of the story, according to experts, may have the opposite effect to what was intended with the feature.

Read more: Neither Rita Lobo nor Bela Gil: what if everyone eats the way they want?

It’s not as if the subject, however, should be avoided altogether. Far beyond fiction, eating disorders affect the lives of real women. A survey conducted in 2014 by the State Department of Health showed that 77% of young women in São Paulo are prone to developing a disease of this type, such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating🇧🇷

Even the much-admired ~celebrities~ become victims of these disturbances – and their stories of overcoming it can also serve as an identification, right?

1. Lily Collins

The protagonist of “To the Bone” has already been a victim of these disturbances in real life. In an interview with the magazine Shape, the actress said, despite not identifying which disease she suffered from, that she had difficulties talking about the case for a while. “I thought that talking about my struggles with eating disorders would overshadow my accomplishments as an actress,” she admits. “But I also knew this was something I needed to do, to advance both as a human being and as an artist. I needed to let it out of me🇧🇷 I hope that playing Ellen, from the Netflix movie, has helped her in this process, right?

2. Demi Lovato

The actress and singer has lived not only with eating disorders, but also with depression, chemical dependency and bipolarity. Last year, at an event supporting the Hillary Clinton during the US election campaign, she gave an empowering speech on these issues. “Like millions of Americans, I live with a mental disorder,” said Demi. “But I’m lucky. I had the resources and support I needed to be treated at a quality facility. Sadly, many Americans, from all walks of life, don’t get help — either because they fear the stigma or because they can’t afford it.”

3. Débora Nascimento

The global actress has already gone through depression and anorexia. In an interview withMeeting with Fátima Bernardes“, in 2013, she approached this subject without fear. “I understood my size, the body I have and my structure,” she said. “It’s no use wanting to be something I’m not and forcing my body to extremes that are not part of my nature. Nowadays, I’m super well-resolved”.

4. Anahi

The Mexican actress and singer has struggled with anorexia in the past. In the documentary “Obsessions – Spinning Bodies“, she talks candidly about it:

“We applaud stereotypes, but when we see a person going through this disorder, we say they are crazy”, he says. “My story started when I was 13, almost 14 years old. It was a labyrinth I never imagined I would get so lost in🇧🇷

5. Jessica Alba

In 2005, the actress revealed to the British edition of Glamor magazine that she had already gone through eating disorders. “When I switched from a girl’s body to a woman’s body, with fat showing in places, naturally, I freaked out,” she says. “It’s something that makes you feel weird, like you’re not ready for that body.”

6. Hilary Duff

In an interview with Health magazine, Hilary said she only weighed about 44 kg at 17 years old. “I was completely obsessed with everything I put in my mouth. I was too skinny, I wasn’t pretty. And my body was not healthy – my hands were cramping all the time, because I was not well nourished”. Today, the actress has a healthier relationship with her own body.

7. Deborah Evelyn

During her teens, actress Deborah Evelyn went through a severe case of anorexia. In an interview with the program “More you“, in 2013, she comments on the recovery process. “Only when I entered college and started treatment, I started doing analysis, did my horizons open up. I started getting involved with other people and then I realized what was happening to me, along with that the my mother, always trying to help me and very worried🇧🇷

8. Zosia Mamet

The “Girls” actress wrote in Glamor magazine about her experience: “This is what I think of my eating disorder: I am an addict and I am in recovery. We’ve brought other addictions to light, talked about them, and made them acceptable for discussion and treatment. We must treat eating disorders as seriously as this. (The difference with these disorders is that, of course, you cannot avoid food for the rest of your life. You need to eat to live) ”, she opines. 🇧🇷Nobody talks about the many women who wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and, even out of habit, attack what they see🇧🇷

9. Lady Gaga

The singer admits, in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, in 2014, to have been a victim of both anorexia and bulimia since she was 15 years old. “Now I talk about it. I realize it’s my fault when people take advantage,” she said. “I need to be surrounded by people who appreciate my talents, my health and my time.”

10. Kesha

“It’s ironic how, when I was going through the worst moments of my life, people said I looked good,” revealed the singer in an article for Teen Vogue in May of this year. “I knew I was wrecking my body with my eating disorder, but the message I was getting was that I was doing a great job.”

In addition to these difficulties, the singer has also been dealing with depression and anxiety lately, and, in her most recent video, “Praying”, she demonstrates the strength she needed to get back on top.

11. Troian Bellisario

The actress ofPretty Little Liars” has just launched an individual project, the film he wrote, produced and starred in, “FEED”, in which he addresses experiences with eating disorders. In an interview with North American Glamor, she says:

“I’ve been working with the National Eating Disorders Association, and I’ve learned that 20 million women and 10 million men in the United States are going to struggle with some form of eating disorder. When I was younger and going through treatment, I was like, ‘Everyone has a weird relationship with food! My mum has it, my dad has it – so why am I the only one having all this trouble?’ Many people have spoken to me about the difference between having issues with their own eating and actually having an eating disorder, and that distinction is very important. I don’t like to put labels on anything, but it’s an important term that breaks down into different categories and experiences that people can have. You may even have issues with eating, but having an eating disorder indicates a mental disorder, which means you need separate treatment and recognition.🇧🇷

12. Lucy Hale

Also star of “Pretty Little Liars”, Lucy Hale confessed in 2012 to Cosmopolitan North American to have already suffered from eating disorders. “I would go days without eating,” she said. “Or else I’d eat some fruit and spend the next three hours at the gym. I know I had a problem.”

13. Cássia Kiss

The 59-year-old actress confessed to Quem magazine that she had suffered from eating disorders during a good part of her marriage: “Insecurity triggers a lot of things: it lowers self-esteem, eliminates perspective. I lived an entire marriage being bulimic“, reveals. “Actually, I have controlled bulimia since I got pregnant with Joaquim, my eldest son. Motherhood was my salvation. I am alive thanks to my children”.

14. Mel C.

The Spice Girl, who was recently in Brazil (and even sang with Anitta!), revealed this year, in an interview to a podcast by the British newspaper The Telegraph, that she suffered a lot in relation to her appearance while she was part of the group. As she was identified as the “Sporty Spice”, or the “Sporty Spice”, Mel C. felt a lot of pressure to have a fit body and developed a kind of obsession with physical exercises in addition to eating disorders. In 2000, four years after the group released “Wannabe”, she was diagnosed with depression.

The singer says that many called her “that basiquinha that stays in the background and doesn’t really do much”, referring to her performance in the group.

“All of this eventually led to me not eating right and exercising obsessively because I thought I had to be a certain way to deserve everything that was happening to me.🇧🇷 To be a star, I had to be perfect, and this was my way of looking for perfection.”

15. Lily Allen

The “Smile” and “22” singer was just 25 when she revealed that she struggled with bulimia in her youth, something she “wasn’t proud of”. In a program dedicated to her career made by Channel 3, from England, Lily comments on the disease:

“I thought I looked good and that I could try on clothes and feel wonderful. But I was not happy🇧🇷 I would love to be the thinnest, smallest person in the world, but I can’t do that without feeling miserable. I love food”.

16. Fiona Apple

The singer never hid the fact that she was raped at the age of 12. In 1998, during an interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke of how the eating disorders she developed in her life were closely related to this. 🇧🇷It wasn’t about getting skinny“, she said, “it was about getting rid of the lure that I felt was attached to my body”.

17. Kelly Clarkson

In a report to CosmoGirl, in 2007, the singer recalled the months when, during her adolescence, she suffered from bulimia. She had lost a part in the school play to a girl with less weight – but also less talent.

“I thought that if I came back prettier and thinner, I would win the part. The lesson I learned was superficial, but I spent a lot of time thinking that way. It wasn’t smart, and after that I spent the next six months being bulimic.”

18. Jane Fonda

In a 2001 speech at an event on the Eating Disorders Education Network, the actress revealed that she had spent no less than 25 years battling anorexia and bulimia. “For 25 years she couldn’t put a mouthful of food in her mouth without feeling scared,” she said.

19. Portia De Rossi

In the documentary series “It Got Better”, the wife of Ellen DeGeneres revealed that he had gone ten whole days without eating. The actress and model, who started working at a very young age, says she felt the pressure to be beautiful and sexy from an early age. “One day I was on the runway, and I was a little kid posing and trying to be sexy when I noticed the other models were making fun of my eyebrows,” she said. “When I got in the car after this event, I opened a…