Anorexic? No, I'd just had a really bad dose of the flu, says Joely Richardson

[Honey]

Concern: A gaunt-looking Joely in October



As soon as they were published, the pictures of a painfully thin Joely Richardson walking the red carpet at a celebrity party provoked an inevitable wave of concern for her health – and anxiety that she may have fallen victim to an eating disorder.


But now Miss Richardson, one of the world's highest-paid British actresses, has revealed the reason for her startling weight loss: a bout of illness followed by a vigorous exercise regime.
The 43-year-old star of the Nip/Tuck TV series declared: 'What was inferred was that I had done something crazy to look like that, and what was even more upsetting was the idea that it was some sort of illness, like anorexia or bulimia.
"The truth was, I'd had a hernia operation, which had quite a long recovery period, coupled with really bad flu, so I probably did lose about ten pounds."


Miss Richardson explained that when she recovered she began exercising five times a week, doing push-ups and sit-ups for about ten minutes.
"I wanted to be stronger, to have more energy," she said.
The actress added that she was "infuriated" by suggestions that her weight was an indication of an eating disorder because her diet and exercise regime were "the best they've ever been".
And she said of the speculation that followed publication of the pictures in October: "That actually really bothered me because the whole weight issue is truly nonsensical.
"There was an inference that in Hollywood skinniness equates to success, and it's complete rubbish. Look at a lot of those top girls – J Lo, Salma Hayek, Julia Roberts – they are exactly their right body size. Scroll down for more...
Healthy appetite: Joely, who says she has always been a big eater,
has now regained weight



"I have a teenage daughter and the idea that she could be brainwashed into thinking that skinny is beautiful and that being voluptuous isn't, is terrible. I think there's nothing lovelier than someone who's voluptuous."

Miss Richardson, the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and the late Tony Richardson, said she was "always eating" and added: "We're all huge eaters in our family.
"I think it's the Italian side of the family. We've always been big cooks and big eaters."
The star, who has now regained some weight, earned a reported £3million a year for her role in the American series Nip/Tuck but in 2006 quit to spend more time with her daughter Daisy, 15, who had been suffering from a rare circulation problem. Scroll down for more...
A painfully think Joely on the red carpet



Explaining her decision to leave the show, she told Easy Living magazine: "I'd worked incredibly hard the year before. But one day I thought, 'What am I doing? Everything that's of value in my life I'm not spending time on.'

"I bought a house in the countryside and it was the complete opposite to the world I'd previously inhabited. If you go back to the basics – painting, cooking, pulling vegetables out of the garden – your mind goes completely quiet."
After her break, Miss Richardson returned last year to make a fifth series of the award-winning cosmetic-surgery satire. She has been reported as saying she would have plastic surgery herself but now says she is undecided.
"I've been quoted saying I'm pro-plastic surgery but I'm not: I'm firmly on the fence," she said.
"There are examples of people who've gone way too far with it and that's sad but I never say never." * The March issue of Easy Living is on sale from Thursday, January 31.

Anorexic? No, I'd just had a really bad dose of the flu, says Joely Richardson | the Daily Mail

[MrsDark]

Maybe if these chicks didn't insist upon remaining so consistently skinny they could actually afford to lose 5 or 10# when they came down with the flu or something else without looking like a concentration camp victim. If you can't afford to lose a few pounds without looking like this, you're probably too thin.

[sprynkles]

I think this is BS. It looks like she lovvvves how thin she
looks. Her arm skin hanging off her. My gawd, I didn't even
recognize her.

[buttmunch]

Don't most people with an eating disorder go on about how healthy they are, how they always eat and that they're really upset anyone would say they had a problem?

[MrsDark]

Yup, pretty much.

[buttmunch]

Someone's living near a river in Egypt.

[MissDecember]

I want that strain of flu.

[celeb_2006]

Yup, the convenient illness and exercise excuse.

[suede]

I want that strain of flu.

In.

[kasippu]

Hi my first post ...and I post to this.
why oh why would you wear a dress like this one and pose like you do if you do not want to accentuate how skinny you have become. you have the 'flu' aka attentionseeker she even sucks in her cheeks that really did not need the suction.

[SnuffMaker]

I call bullshyt! I know ED's when I see them. I'm guessing because she eats A California roll, 5 steamed asparagus, and a shyt load of caffeine a day OR something to that equation she and many others think that justify them eating. Yeah she maybe a big eater its probably this staple of "big eaters" in Hollywood: egg whites w/sour cream, bowl of plain oatmeal, can of tuna, steamed white fish or salmon, steam veggies, plain yogurt w/fruit. And that to some weightloss pill w/exercise and that there my fellow Gossip Rockers is 2 ways to a "Hollywood" body.

[nycgirl]

Well to be fair when I had the flu (a really bad case of it too) I lost quite a few pounds from not being able to eat or keep anything down and my mom even pointed out how skinny I looked. But I never looked like a concentration camp victim! This is probably BS, sounds like she's making excuses. Plus if she had the flu and was so sick (or even if she was just getting over an illness) why was she at some Hollywood event?

[angelais]

I want that strain of flu.

Word.

[Sialia]

If she knew that she was too skinny and that it had happened due to illness, then why wear that dress that clearly shows it off??? I mean, why not wear something more covered-up and flattering if she was concerned about being too thin? Sheesh.

[ya-ya_sister]

I want that strain of flu.

Count me in too. My 20 year reunion is coming up. When I was in college I got the flu really bad. I was already thin- 115 pounds and 5'6" so the illness sent me under a 100 pounds. While I looked a little puny, my skin did not hang off my back.