Keira Knightley claims most of the women she auditions against are far smaller and skinnier than she is (as if that's remotely possible). The Pirates of the Caribbean star says, "Weight is a big issue in Hollywood because I'm twice the size, height and everything else, of most of the girls who are going in to see the director for a part. When you realize that I am, at my size, one of the largest actresses there, you start to think, 'I don't think it'd be healthy for me to stay here much longer.'"
Models strutting catwalks at London Fashion Week should provide a certificate attesting their good health, but there will be no outright ban on wafer-thin women, the British Fashion Council said on Friday. In its report, the council recommended models under 16 should be outlawed from London's catwalks. It said a medical certificate must be provided by September from doctors specializing in eating disorders. Spain and Italy have recommended banning models with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5 from catwalks, but the expert panel behind the report rejected the use of the index, saying it was not an accurate measure of health. "We have considered this carefully and listened to a range of expert views. But we do not believe a focus on BMI provides the way forward," the report said. "We favor the alternative approach of promoting good health based on medical assessments of models participating in London Fashion Week." The report acknowledged there was a problem with eating disorders among models and recommended a health education and awareness program be set up. "During the investigation, evidence of the vulnerability of women in the modeling profession was startling and models are at a high risk of eating disorders," said the chair of the inquiry.
Crash actress Thandie Newton admits to a brief battle with an eating disorder in the September issue of the UK mag Easy Living. "I had terrible bulimia for about a year," the British actress says. "I've still got the scars on my knuckles from where I put my fingers down my throat." Newton says her eating issues started as a 14-year-old ballet student, and were heightened after a series of abusive relationships. "I'd been involved with this guy for a long time, he was much older than me and I felt a lot of shame about my sexual relationship with him," she says. "I would have these dinners with him and then go back to the flat and I'd throw up. Then I went out with someone who was emotionally abusive, criticizing me the whole time." After moving to LA to shoot a movie, Newton sought help. "I saw a therapist for the first time," she says. "After that first session, I never threw up again. I had made the connection between shame and self-abuse."
Star Jones Reynolds is finally admitting to having gastric bypass surgery - nearly four years after the fact. In the September issue of Glamour, Jones Reynolds says she chose only to admit she'd undergone a "medical intervention" because, says says, "First, I didn't know if the surgery would work. I had spent my entire adult life telling everyone I was fine with the way I looked. I never thought I'd have to explain it. But the complete truth is, I was scared of what people might think of me." In a first-person essay begun on August 19, 2003, Jones Reynolds writes, "I was so angry. How had I allowed myself to get to 307 pounds? Whenever I felt lonely, a Double Whopper with cheese became my friend. If I felt sad, six strips of bacon made me feel better... Even though I claimed to be just fine with my weight, I saw how other women [colleagues] were treated like the girlfriend, while I was treated like the good friend. To compensate for my insecurities, I spoke louder and ate more." Since the surgery, Jones Reynolds says she is working on having a positive self-image. "Every day I am learning to let go of my insecurities and acknowledge that I don't have all the answers, which is okay."
Kelly Clarkson admits in August's CosmoGirl mag that she briefly battled bulemia after she was passed over for a role in musical in high school. "I thought... If I came back and I'm cuter and thinner...then I'll get the role," Clarkson says. She was bulemic for six months, until her problem was discovered by a friend. "One of my guy friends caught on to it, and I just felt so ashamed and embarrassed. I literally went cold turkey and snapped out of it," she says. Since then, the American Idol winner has worked hard to maintain a positive body image: "I've got a butt, I'm Greek. I can't help that. And I think it's good for people to see normal."
Angelina Jolie finally publicly addressed her weight loss at last night's premiere of A Mighty Heart. "I've always been lean and this year I lost my mom and I've gone through a lot," Jolie told reporters. "I have four kids and I finished breastfeeding - it's been hard to get my nutrition back on track... Instead of people saying I look like a person dealing with something emotionally, they assume it's because I want to fit into skinny jeans. Someone saying to me that I'm thin is not a compliment."
Keira Knightley won a libel case against British newspaper the Daily Mail yesterday. The tabloid ran a story of the Pirates of the Caribbean star in a bikini with the heading, "If Pictures Like This One of Keira Carried a Health Warning, My Darling Daughter Might Have Lived." Knightley's lawyer said his client had been embarrassed by the "entirely false" and "deeply offensive" suggestion that she was in any way responsible for the tragic death of a 19-year-old anorexic, as the headline implied. "The claimant is not a fitness fanatic, as she considers it more important and has spoken of her opinion of the need to be healthy and happy," said Knightley's lawyer. "The claimant found the suggestions all the more offensive as she has freely admitted publicly in the past that a member of her family suffered from anorexia and she is well aware of the devastating effects eating disorders can have." Knightley was awarded close to $6,000 in damages and plans to match the award with an equal amount and donate the money to a charity that helps people with eating and mental disorders.
Kate Winslet has turned something ugly into something good by donating the money she won in a libel case against a British magazine to several eating disorder charities. Winslet won a lawsuit in March after Grazia mag claimed she had visited a diet doctor and suggested the Holiday star was a hypocrite for speaking out publicly against Hollywood's pressure to be skinny. The magazine was ordered to publish an apology, Winslet split the proceeds between three eating disorder charities. "I think she was inundated by charities asking for help," says a rep for one of the organizations. "We were informed last week the money would be split between three eating disorder charities and we were thrilled to be one of them. This is a very thoughtful way of highlighting the issue."
British singer Lily Allen posted a depressing message on her MySpace page on Saturday, lamenting her supposed weight issues and claiming to have succumbed to "the evil machine" of body image obsession. I guess that's what happens when you spend too much time in the U.S. The message reads:
"fat, ugly and shitter than winehouse that is all i am, im on my own in america again. I used to pride myself on being strong minded and not being some stupid girl obsessed with the way I look. I felt like it didnt matter if I was a bit chubby cause, im not a model, I'm a singer. Im afraid I am not being strong and have fallen victim to the evil machine. I write to you in a sea of tears from my hotel bed in Seattle, I have spent the past hour researching gastric bypass surgery, and laser lipo suction."
The message marks a change in attitude for the Smile singer, who has spoken out against weight issues in the past and launched a clothing line designed with "real women" in mind earlier this month in England called Lily Loves. Just last week Allen told Grazia mag, "Kate [Moss]'s clothes are just for skinny, perfect girls. I won't be buying any... My bum and legs are revolting, which is why I wear dresses all the time. And I put in wider straps to hide the arm bits we all hate. I was really excited about doing my collection because I know what it's like to feel uncomfortable in clothes." Buck up, Lily, celebrity nation thinks you're lovely as you are.
Rosario Dawson thinks people shouldn't obsess about their weight so much, and just enjoy life. The Grindhouse star told British Elle, "I don't understand people starving themselves to look good. You might look cute in those jeans for one year of your life, but you might take ten years off your life if you're not careful. It's not healthy... When I see a woman who is all gaunt and emaciated, I don't think she's beautiful. She reminds me of a Chihuahua that's freezing and shaking all the time. I've never been a size zero in my life. I say if you want to eat the cookie - eat the cookie!" Dawson also says women shouldn't compare themselves to celebrities: "Most of the time [celebs] don't look like that. My pictures get air-brushed. We're in the business of illusion." source
It's hard not to notice that Kate Bosworth is looking healthier these days. The Superman actress was "dangerously skinny at around 95 pounds," about a year ago, but has "gained ten to fifteen pounds since," says a Beverly Hills nutritionist. "Kate stopped partying, started working out more, eating a bit more and generally doesn't care about her weight so much because she's happy," says a source close to Bosworth. The actress went through a public breakup with longtime boyfriend Orlando Bloom about a year ago. "Stress can take its toll, and last fall was hard for her," says a friend. "Kate is human. We all go through tough times... She's leading a happier, healthier lifestyle" with her new guy, model James Rousseau.
Courtney Love is trying to dispel the rumors that her new skinny body is the result of plastic surgery. After reports yesterday that she had undergone gastric band surgery, Love posted a message on her website saying, "I couldn't get that surgery if I begged for it. I got my inspiration from Oprah losing so much weight on Slim-Fast." Oprah?? Her Slim-Fast weight loss was, like, ten years ago! And she repeatedly stressed how much she regrets it. Courtney is clearly disillusioned if she thinks anyone buys her line about yoga and macrobiotics. You can't tell me her stomach looks normal.
Courtney Love may not be 'fessing up to the truth about her recent and drastic weight loss. The Hole singer told press that her new figure is the result of yoga and a macrobiotic diet, but a friend says, "She's telling people she got the gastric band surgery. She even said she had to sleep with a towel by her because the surgery makes her [vomit] all the time and is worried she won't be able to make out with anyone because of her breath." Love's rep denies the surgery claims, but either way, I think it's lipo - her stomach looks totally weird and unnatural.
Designer Donatella Versace's daughter Allegra is reportedly fighting for her life in a medical and psychiatric facility. The anorexic 20-year-old is under 24-hour supervision, weighing only 70 pounds. "It was the most sad and traumatic experience of my life," a Versace family employee says of watching Allegra's physical deterioration. "Her arms are like candlesticks. Her skin is this unnatural color I've never seen before."
The brother of Angelina Jolie has spoken publicly about his famous sister and the loss of the siblings' mother in an interview with a British newspaper. James Haven says the trauma of he and Jolie's childhood and the bullying of their manipulative father, actor Jon Voight, has been the impetus behind his sister's desire to create the opposite for her own family. "I have no memory at all of my mother shouting at me or my sister," Haven says. "But I do have horrible memories of my father and the way he behaved. He was so tough on our mother... He lived in the same town. We saw him around Christmas time or at school recitals. He was always around but he never did his job as a father... I think one of the reasons Angelina and I care so much for other people is his treatment of our mother. Angelina and I were very protective of her for that reason." Haven admits the recent loss of their mother, Marcheline Bertrand, to cancer has been devastating. "Angie has become very thin because she's grieving. It's even difficult for her to eat. I keep saying to her, 'Don't forget to eat.'... But you know she doesn't pay much attention to food anyway and she's been going through a process of grief like me. She has not wanted to eat, nor has she been able to." Haven says he and his sister are like orphans, telling the paper, "If Angelina understood something about missing parents before, she understands completely now. Angelina and I are ophans too, in a way. When you see those kids in orphanages, they cling to each other. And that's exactly what they have - they have each other."
Nicole Richie spoke to OK! mag about her recent health issues and reported collapses on the set of The Simple Life. A few excerpts:
About the dehydration incident: "It actually made me really upset because I did not need to go to the hospital at all - it's just another headline. I was just tired, and I left [the hospital] after 10 minutes."
What led up to it: "The hours that I'm doing are really crazy right now. I was getting my hair and makeup done in the morning and I turned the heat on to 90, which I probably shouldn't have done, but I like it really hot in my room. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet and I asked for a bowl of cereal, but when you're on a big set it has to go through 15 people to even get to me. I walked outside and I just wasn't feeling like myself. There wasn't an on-set doctor, so instead they took me to a hospital. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me."
On the most annoying rumor about her: "I don't care about any other rumor except the one that I have an eating disorder. That really bothers me because there are people who truly have eating disorders and it is a serious disease. To put that title on someone when it is not true is disrespectful. I've repeatedly said, 'No, I don't have an eating disorder,' and it has fallen on deaf ears."
On reports that she takes diet drugs: "This is totally ridiculous. The second I gain weight it's like, 'She's had gastric bypass surgery reversed!' It's sad because what I've come to realize from watching TV and reading magazines is that it's not me that's weight- obsessed. America is weight-obsessed. It's either, 'This person has an eating disorder,' or 'How to lose 5 pounds in 10 days.' Everything is about diet and body image."
Nicole Richie's rep has come up with another excuse to explain her client's ongoing health issues. After reports earlier today that Richie had collapsed again on the set of The Simple Life, her rep says, "In her ongoing effort to focus on her well-being, Nicole has recently been diagnosed with hypoglycemia... [She] is taking steps to manage it." (Hypoglycemia is essentially low blood sugar.) A source on the set of the show told People mag, "Four or five times she's felt really faint and almost passed out. She has to go into her trailer for a good part of the day."
Nicole Richie's health issues are causing problems on the set of The Simple Life. After a collapse on set last week, Richie was "taken to her trailer immediately," because she was having "trouble walking and speaking clearly." The super skinny fashionista has caused more than one delay in production because of what some speculate to be an eating disorder. "There were a couple of times when [Richie] felt a little woozy and she sat down for a moment, [but] we continued within five to ten minutes." Richie was also hospitalized recently for dehydration.
Hilary Duff admits that her weight loss of recent years is directly related to pressure from the media. "I did get skinny," the singer told a British newspaper. "I've felt that pressure like everyone else in my position. When a newspaper comes out and says 'Duff Puff - she must have gained 15 pounds' or something like that, how would any normal person react? It's so mean, but everyone keeps buying that stuff and talking about it, so it's not going to go away." Duff also spoke about living with big sis Haylie, after mom Susan recently moved out of the house they all shared. "It was her idea," Duff admitted. "She said, 'I want to give you guys more freedom,' and I'm like, 'I don't want that. I want you here.' So I call her everyday and I still always consult her before any big decision." source
Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton will take on an unlikely task in the next season of The Simple Life: they will be counseling overweight teens. "They are going to be camp counselors at one camp in the Southern California mountains," a rep for the show confirms. "The camp has five different themes. Each week will be a different theme. And yes, one week is a weight loss/fitness camp. It's not a fat camp." At least Richie has had some experience in the field, after being counseled about being underweight. At least, that's the hope...
