News / Health & Wellness
Portia de Rossi Opens Up to Oprah
Actress (and wife of Ellen DeGeneres), Portia de Rossi, has a new book out which details her struggle with bulimia and the pressure for perfection that led to her disorder.
Now wed to popular talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and at a healthy weight, de Rossi is coming clean about the disorder that started when she wasn’t yet a teen and raged out of control during her days on Ally McBeal.
“I was kind of afraid to [tell my story] because everyone might think I was nuts,” de Rossi admitted to Oprah Winfrey. But she says the memoir was important to write, hoping her candid admissions will help others.
“There is a point where a diet becomes a disorder and it’s a gradual thing,” de Rossi told Winfrey. “I thought I was doing the right thing, I was just being healthy. I thought I was being professional, I was fitting into my wardrobe from week to week and I really thought that was exactly what I needed to do to be deserving of all the money I was suddenly getting.”
Eating Disorder at Young Age
That harmful brand of “professionalism” started when de Rossi was just 12 years old back in her native Australia.
“I started modeling that year. I would diet to do the job, I’d finish the job and then I’d reward myself with food. Then I’d have a few days to get the weight off before I did the next job,” de Rossi explains. “But as the jobs got booked back to back, I had to get the weight off faster so I used laxatives, I used diuretics and then when that didn’t work, I was forced to purge.”
That cycle continued for years, coming to a head while a regular on the popular TV show. Eventually, de Rossi reached the dangerously low weight of 82 pounds and her family, shocked by her appearance, intervened.
While de Rossi credits her fear of coming out as a lesbian for helping to feed her disorder, she credits finding love with DeGeneres for helping her save her. She even admitted to Oprah that she was actually at her heaviest when she met DeGeneres, weighing twice what she did at her lowest point. That acceptance helped de Rossi continue to heal.
Eating Disorder Treatment
If you or someone you love is in need of eating disorder treatment, call The Canyon at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.
