EXCLUSIVE: Portia de Rossi Opens Up About Early Struggles with Bulimia in 'It Got Better' Docuseries
Portia de Rossi is bravely revealing a very difficult time in her life.
The 42-year-old actress is featured in the second season of the online docuseries "It Got Better," candidly speaking about her struggles as a young model.
"I felt tremendous responsibility when I was 12 years old, and I was put on a catwalk. My modeling agents had told me to go on a diet. So I didn't eat for 10 days before then," de Rossi shares. "I'm up on this catwalk, and I'm a little kid and posing and trying to be sexy and strutting around and all the other models are making fun of my bushy eyebrows."
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The Arrested Development star goes on to describe what happened after the bullying. "When I got in the car after that event and just opened up a bag of my favorite candy and just put my whole head in it and I think, 'Sh*t, what have I done? I just undid two weeks worth of dieting,'" she says. "So then I vomit."
As de Rossi looks back at her battle with bulimia, she explains, "I erase the feelings with food, erase the food with vomiting, but you're still left with the shame."
When thinking about that day now, she calls it "just horrible."
"It Got Better" was inspired by the "It Gets Better Project," formed to prevent suicide among LGBT youth. Coming out and coming of age are a couple of the topics that the web series also chronicles.
The second season of the web series will feature such celebrities as RuPaul, Andrew Rannells, Janet Mock and Nate Berkus.
Watch the video above for an exclusive look at Portia's episode, which premieres on Wednesday.
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