Celebrities who spoke out about their struggles with eating disorders

Eating disorders are complex and life-threatening mental illnesses. One form of it, anorexia, may affect up to 4% of all females and 0.3% of all males in developed countries, according to a scientific literature review. The road to recovery is not always a direct path, but these celebrities have bravely opened up about their struggles and recoveries.

The actress and activist said her eating disorder developed in her teens and lasted until her mid-40s. “As you get older, with each binge, the fatigue and the hostility and self-loathing lasts longer,” she told People. “I had a husband, children, a career, and I was politically active. I couldn’t keep doing it all and allow this addiction to ruin my life. So I stopped cold turkey.”

The UK singer has been open about his struggles with food and alcohol. He told Hay House that he used to binge on junk food and later purge. “I think things like sugar, sweet stuff, junk food, cocaine, alcohol, it feels good the more you do, but it’s the worst thing for you,” he said.

The child actor dealt with anorexia while filming ‘Growing Pains.' She eventually dropped to 80 pounds and was suspended from the show. After several years of struggle, she now maintains healthy eating habits and often speaks about the dangers of eating disorders.

The princess told her biographer that bulimia started the week after she got engaged to Prince Charles and took nearly a decade to overcome. “That’s like a secret disease. You inflict it upon yourself because your self-esteem is at a low ebb, and you don’t think you’re worthy or valuable,” she told BBC.

Sir Elton said three simple words that changed his life: “I need help.” He told the media he was bulimic for six years, and that talking with Princess Diana about the issue helped him.

In their 2021 documentary 'Simply Complicated,' Lovato shared that food remains a major challenge. They began bingeing as an 8-year-old but stopped for a time before returning to unhealthy habits after a breakup. Although they have made progress, they ask fans and the media to refrain from commenting on their body.

The child star said she had a "horrifying" eating disorder in her teens, just as she shot to fame as the star of 'Lizzie McGuire.' Now in her thirties, she said she's more focused on activities that make her feel good (not look slim), getting sleep, and eating a balanced diet.

It wasn’t until after ‘Full House’ that her destructive relationship with food began. She was living in Montreal, spending a lot of time alone, and developed bulimia. She got better, but it came in cycles. In 2021, she told Yahoo the struggle “never goes away,” but she now has the “tools in place” to handle urges.

The celebrity offspring and actress told Complex magazine that she felt pressured to be thin by the world that surrounded her. Her eating disorder began in high school and fluctuated as an adult. “I feel like something has left my body, like some part of me is gone now, something that was making me so insecure. And it feels amazing,” she said of her self-doubt and recovery.

Mel C, a.k.a. Sporty Spice, told a 2007 ITV documentary that she almost ended her life over the pressures of losing weight and struggled with anorexia. She has slammed tabloid coverage for calling her names like “Sumo Spice” and promotes using positive body language to her daughter.

This Spice Girl shared her struggle with bulimia on 'Oprah: Where Are They Now.' She also said she has worked hard to get better for her daughter and has even become a passionate baker. "To bake properly and celebrate cake rather than run from it was such a landmark for me," she said.

Posh Spice also said she became obsessed with food and her body while in The Spice Girls. But she said started eating a more healthy, balanced diet after she became pregnant. In one of the more appalling moments of her career, a TV host forced her to weigh herself on live TV.

In her autobiography Secrets of a Sparrow,’ Ross said she suffered from anorexia during the heights of her Motown fame and that it was the result of being pushed too hard in the industry.

The pop star told Variety that tabloid coverage fueled her eating disorder. “My relationship with food was exactly the same psychology that I applied to everything else in my life: If I was given a pat on the head, I registered that as good. If I was given a punishment, I registered that as bad,” she said, admitting that there were times where she simply wasn't eating.

The American plus-size model said in 2021 she was receiving treatment for anorexia and wanted to raise awareness that the disease doesn't only affect underweight people. "I’m the result of a culture that celebrates thinness and equates that to worth," she tweeted. "I’m finally able to care for a body that I’ve punished my entire life and I am finally free."

The Emmy-winning American actress said she dealt with anorexia in her teenage years while filming ‘The Partridge Family.’ “At that age, you feel like an adult, but you are not an adult, and society does not treat you as an adult... . One of the choices you do have is what you eat and what you don’t eat,” she said, according to Washington Post.

Another child star who said she felt pressured by the industry to stay thin, Ricci has been open about developing anorexia when she started going through puberty. She said she recovered at age 15.

The actress told People she has always struggled with self-acceptance and admitted she was sick when she weighed 82 pounds. She said she suffered from anorexia and bulimia when she was starring in ‘Ally McBeal’ but has since gotten better - thanks, in part, to her wife Ellen DeGeneres.

Another star of ‘Ally McBeal,’ Flockhart told The Mirror UK that the high-stress film schedule caused her to start under-eating and over-exercising. She also said she felt better after that phase of her life.

The actor said he battled anorexia in the mid-1990s, which derived from having to lose weight to play a role in ‘Wyatt Earp.’ “I’d look in the mirror and still see a 180-lb. guy, even though I was 138 pounds,” he told Best Life magazine.

The ‘Emily in Paris’ star said her struggle with anorexia in her teens was related to feeling in control and being perfect. She told Harper’s Bazaar that she was motivated to change habits when she realized she wanted to have children one day.

Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger’s daughter has discussed her struggles with eating disorders on Instagram. “It took me a long time to find self-love and acceptance! Trust me, all of that pain and destruction I inflicted on myself wasn’t worth it. Turning down so. Many. Sides. Of. Fries. Wasn’t worth it!!” she wrote.

In her memoir, the ‘Empire’ star said her bulimia was more about coping with stress than losing weight. She wrote she’d been better for years, but if she is tempted to revert, “I just have to remember to do the things that make me feel good as opposed to the things that make me feel bad.”

The singer said in his autobiography that he would go for days without eating while on tour with One Direction. He said it was “a control thing” but got better after returning to his mom’s house.

Lady Gaga said she developed anorexia and bulimia at age 15. In 2013, she told Harper’s Bazaar: “I am better with food. I don’t have an eating disorder anymore. I’m also better at not letting people take advantage of me” and has since shared images praising her curves.