Top 10 Inspiring Celebs Who Have Overcome Eating Disorders
These are the top 10 inspiring celebrities who have overcome eating disorders! We've included celebrities like Zayn Malik, Russell Brand, Kesha, Diana Princess of Wales, Lily Collins, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Hilary Duff and Elton John.
#10: Zayn Malik
Malik, who rose to fame in 2010 as a member of the English boy band One Direction, isn’t immune to the struggles that plague millions of people around the world every day. Inhis 2016 self-titled autobiography, Malik describes a period in his life where he would sometimes go up to three days without eating. The singer claims it was all about control, lamenting, “I didn’t feel like I had control over anything else in my life, but food was something I could control, so I did.” Malik later overcame the issue and is now better than ever.
#9: Russell Brand
Russell Brand has overcome many things in his life, from drug addiction to depression. But did you know he once struggled with bulimia? It might be hard to imagine based on how he looks today, but Brand was overweight in his teenage years; something that caused him to develop an eating disorder. It didn’t help that he was also suffering from OCD and bipolar disorder. However, things came to a head when he began to self-harm. He remained bulimic for many years before finally seeking help and checking himself into arehab facility. Today, Brand has no problem talking about his past struggles. …
#8: Diana, Princess of Wales
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While it can sometimes feel like members of the royal family are larger than life, the fact remains that they are only human; and aren’t immune to mental health issues like bulimia. Princess Diana revealed in a shocking 1995 BBC interview that she had struggled with bulimia, depression and self-harm. Her highly publicized divorce from Prince Charles in 1996 only made the problem worse. According to her, “It was a symptom of what was going on in my marriage. I was crying out for help”. Many people credit the Princess’s outspoken demeanor when it came to her disease with encouraging other sufferers to open up and seek help.
#7: Kesha
In January 2014, pop superstar Kesha checked herself into a rehab facility to seek treatment for an eating disorder. The singer had been suffering for quite some time, having become bulimic shortly after signing her first recording contract at the age of 18. According to her mother, one cause for her eating disorder was her producer, Dr. Luke, whom she later entered into a legal battle with for physical and emotional abuse. She claims that he told Kesha to lose weight, going so far as to liken her body shape to a refrigerator. Thankfully, Kesha overcame the disorder and completed her stint in rehab after only two months.
#6: Portia de Rossi
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Rossi, who you’ll recognize as Lindsay Bluth Funke from “Arrested Development”, is also married to daytime talk show host and all-around awesome human being Ellen DeGeneres. However, her life has been far from perfect. As a young model, she suffered from anorexia, and would sometimes refrain from eating for days at a time. She continued to battle the disease as an adult, and at one point weighed a shocking 82 pounds. It took her years to overcome her eating disorder, but once she did she was willing to share her story with the world in her memoir, “Unbearable Lightness”.
#5: Lily Collins
When actress and model Lily Collins signed on to play Ellen in 2017 movie “To the Bone,” she must have felt fairly confident in her ability to handle the film’s complex subject matter. After all, “To the Bone” is about a young woman battling anorexia, something Collins herself went through as a teenager growing up in Los Angeles. She spoke openly about her struggles in her 2017 book “Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me”. It takes courage to open up about such a personal topic, so the fact that she put it in a book for all to read is downright amazing.
#4: Lady Gaga
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When it comes to the topic of Lady Gaga and eating disorders, it’s hard to avoid controversy. The singer and actress drew considerable praise from her fans and the media when she bravely announced that she had suffered from bulimia and anorexia for much of her life in the early 2010s. The move explained the singer’s recent weight fluctuation and silenced many of her critics. However, only a short time later she appeared on stage with Millie Brown, a performance artist known for ingesting colored liquid and vomiting it back out. Brown did exactly that and many called Gaga’s involvement completely insensitive to those living with the disorder she herself had suffered from.
#3: Elton John
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In a career spanning over five decades, Elton John has pretty much done it all. The man has won multiple Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Tony; and is often considered one of the greatest musical artists of all time. However, John’s life has been far from perfect. He suffered from an eating disorder for much of his career, something he often discussed with his friend and fellow sufferer Princess Diana. According to him, the two would often talk about their struggles with bulimia. Thankfully Elton John entered a rehab program in the ‘90s and has been doing just fine ever since.
#2: Hilary Duff
Duff, who entered the pop culture lexicon in the early 2000s thanks to her portrayal of Lizzie McGuire on the hit Disney channel show of the same name, has since gone on to appear in dozens of films and TV shows while also releasing a number of charting hits. However, during her teen years she struggled to maintain a healthy weight and would regularly skip meals. According to her, she was “too thin” and didn’t feel like she was eating properly. That’s all in the past now, and Duff is back to her normal self!
#1: Demi Lovato
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Demi Lovato’s personal struggles have been well documented. From bulimia and drug addiction to depression and self-harm, the singer ultimately found herself in rehab at the age of 18. Thankfully, the move turned out to be a good one, as Lovato is now completely sober and recovering from her eating disorder. While this would have been enough for most people, Lovato has chosen to help spread the word about mental health issues such as bulimia and is constantly trying to end the stigma associated with discussing them openly.
