Oprah spoke with actress Portia de Rossi about her battle with eating disorders that eventually reduced her to 82 pounds and the fear she lived with every day that it would be revealed that she was a lesbian in Hollywood. Now healthy and married to Ellen DeGeneres, Portia is ready to share her story in her new book.
Original Air Date:
Monday, November 1, 2010
Guests:
Oprah welcomed actress Portia de Rossi to the show.
Show Summary:
As a private actress and wife to Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi has seemed to have it all with a successful career, strong relationship and Hollywood image, but on today's episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show she shared how the image came with the price of her health and self image. Portia de Rossi's book Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain discusses her struggle with eating disorders, self hatred, fear about coming out as a lesbian and learning to accept herself as she is.
Explained from the perspective of an ill person starving their body to be thin, Portia de Rossi's book is for anyone who has ever been on a diet, said the actress. Taking the reader into the depths of her experience, Portia was frank about the way she looked at food and how she treated her body; not holding back so that the audience could see the twisted way a person can think when they are sick. When her body began to shut down Portia got the wakeup call that she needed to get her life back on track and sharing her story will hopefully inspire women who are hurting their bodies to seek help and health.
Special Highlights:
This episode featured the following highlights:
- Portia de Rossi was hiding many secrets during the start of her career as she dieted her way down to 82 pounds and feared that it would get out that she was a lesbian in Hollywood.
- Becoming a master at creating a character, Portia de Rossi projected what she thought she should be, even giving herself a far more exotic name than what she was born with. Everything in her life was created to gain external validation and fit into the Hollywood image.
- After collapsing on a trip home to Australia and finding out she had early onset osteoporosis and the start of organ failure, Portia realized she needed to turn her life around.
- Portia now is in a healthy place with her wife Ellen DeGeneres and is finding healing through love as she now accepts herself for who she is and isn't afraid now to reveal her past and her sexuality.
What to Take Away from the Show:
Portia de Rossi opened up in a raw and honest way about being in the midst of an eating disorder that is deeply rooted in self hatred, a distorted view of the body, and paralyzing fear. Writing the book as if still in the middle of the illness, Portia has given a voice to a life that many people have experienced - either in their own life or with someone that they love - but few understand or discuss. Showing people a way out through love and recognizing that "sometimes the way you see yourself is not how the world sees you" is a gift to anyone who has lived though the painful journey, knows someone who has, or is currently fighting for their life to see that things can get better and that there is a way through.
Products Featured in This Episode:
Portia de Rossi - 'Unbearable Lightness'
Atria
Portia de Rossi's book, Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, shares her story of battling eating disorders and fear that her sexual orientation would be revealed and her career in Hollywood would be over. Telling her story as if still in the middle of her illness, de Rossi helps people try to understand the obsession with weight and dieting and the road to self acceptance and healing.