A Guide to Eating Disorders

Significant Figures (Positive) in The Media

This is a very long list of celebrities that have struggled with eating disorders and are creating awareness. Most of them have written books or become spokespeople. This is not everybody famous that has an eating disorder, but it's quite a bit, and remember that these people have all allowed people to know about it.

This is not particularly something something that's interesting reading material, but it's a good resource if you need to reference somebody.

You could use this list for a multitude of things, specifically having someone in your story talk about them and their eating disorder or have someone famous influence an event.

•
•
•

Paula Abdul: Dancer, choreograph and singer Paula Abdul (American Idol Judge) battled bulimia and decided to check herself in a clinic, back in 1994. Her negative feelings about her own body image came as early as seven years old when she began dancing, but "it didn't manifest into a full-blown eating disorder until I was in high school." Today Paula Abdul is a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association. Paula courageously speaks out about her own past battles, in hopes of encouraging young women to take the scary, but necessary, steps to seek help. "It is one of the toughest things to talk about, bar none, and it is one of the hardest disorders to deal with because it's not black or white. Eating disorders really have nothing to do with food, it's about feelings." 

Maria Conchita Alonso: Beauty pageant winner and actress Maria Conchita Alonso, the first contemporary international Latina superstar, recently began speaking out about her struggle with bulimia. Struggling with the condition for nearly a decade, resulting in damage to her esophagus and her teeth, she eventually sought help for the self-destructive syndrome. With the help of a balanced diet, exercise, and a physician specializing in eating disorders, Maria has learned to control her condition. She also shares her story with audiences across the country in hopes of helping the millions of people afflicted with eating disorders.

Schuyler Bailar: Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes profiles Harvard swimmer Schuyler Bailar, who may be the first openly transgender male athlete to compete in a NCAA Division I men's sport. Just two years ago, Schuyler Bailar was one of the fastest high school swimmers in the country -- a champion breaststroker with a stellar academic record who had women's swim coaches from around the Ivy League coming to call. Schuyler's first choice was Harvard, and as luck would have it, the Harvard women's swim team was in need of a breaststroker. Schuyler was offered a spot, and a seemingly perfect match was made. Schuyler had been depressed as a girl and suffered through eating disorders. 

The Barbie Twins: Pinup and model sisters Sia and Shane Barbi - known as the Barbi Twins - battled anorexia and bulimia. The sisters have written a book about their struggles with an eating disorder (Barbie Twins - Dying To Be Healthy: Millennium Dieting and Nutrition) and are touring through schools and colleges, raising eating disorder awareness. 

Justine Bateman: Former 'Family Ties' actress Justine Bateman struggled with bulimia. Justine is now an activist for recovery and speaks from time to time at eating disorder support groups about her experiences with an eating disorder.

Victoria Beckham: Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice from the Spice Girls) publicly admitted struggling with an eating disorder in the early days of the Spice Girls, after years "in denial". "I was very obsessed. I mean, I could tell you the fat content and the calorie content in absolutely anything," she told ABC's 20/20 in 2003. While being a Spice Girl, Victoria was under a lot of pressure from the management to lose  weight and stay slim. Beckham also said that bandmate Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) encouraged her and Melanie C (Sporty Spice) to do sports and take liquid meal substitutes. Victoria eventually started to binge eat and in one passage from her autobiography she describes eating 10 bowls of cereals at once. In her book "Learning To Fly", which also contains a lot of pictures of the star, Victoria talks about her obsession with her appearance and describes her illness.