Portia De Rossi Has Over a Decade in Recovery from Anorexia

Portia de Rossi, an actress known for ‘Ally McBeal’ and is now the wife of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, has been quite open about her battle with anorexia a decade ago. Her eating disorder started during the show, says Portia, who, at one time, was surviving on less than 300 calories a day. She later developed bulimia, whereby she consumed excessive amounts of food only to vomit it up afterwards in order to prevent weight gain. In 1999, Portia was diagnosed with anorexia. During her most critical period, her 5’7 frame weighed in at just 82 pounds.
“When I was anorexic it just seemed like I literally wanted to disappear. And now I would like to reappear.” She even counted the calories in her toothpaste.
In an interview with Vogue, she explained: “I’ve often wondered if I wasn’t on that show if it (anorexia) may not have happened. I didn’t really know at that point what it was like to be a celebrity, and the only people I knew at the time who had a similar experience were these women whom I worked with. They became my role models”,
De Rossi has also talked about how her relationship with Ellen has helped her stay healthy. “Learning to be more honest is probably the biggest influence that Ellen has had on me. We’ve talked a lot about this, which is a big thing for me. “Ellen has never really worried about her weight and is more on the side of feeling angry that for women to be perceived as beautiful, they need to be skinny.”