Lily Collins is promoting her new Netflix movie To The Bone, in which she plays a young woman struggling with anorexia. The first trailer came out this week, it looks good and it’s got Keanu Reeves in it! As it’s a Netflix release I’ll probably catch it since the commitment level is low. Lily is on the cover of the July issue of Shape in a bikini, which doesn’t seem like the wisest promotional decision for this film. Maybe she’s trying to show that she’s healthy now, as she lost weight for the role. (She did it under the supervision of a nutritionist.) Lily has previously admitted that this role was a particular challenge for her as, like her character, she suffered from anorexia as a teen. She talks about that and about body image in this interview.
On her vision of what health is
I never dreamed I’d be posing in a bikini on the cover of Shape. It’s a complete 180 for me. It’s a magazine about what it means to be healthy.I used to see healthy as this image of what I thought perfect looked like—the perfect muscle definition, etc. But healthy now is how strong I feel. It’s a beautiful change, because if you’re strong and confident, it doesn’t matter what muscles are showing. Today I love my shape. My body is the shape it is because it holds my heart.
On how preparing for the role helped her
Although I was in recovery for several years before the movie, preparing for the film allowed me to gather facts about eating disorders from professionals. It was a new form of recovery for me. I got to experience it as my character, Ellen, but also as Lily.On how she eats now
I’m a clean eater. I love chicken, fish, and vegetables and grains like quinoa, but I don’t eat red meat. I steer clear of processed foods. I also treat myself to the occasional dessert when I’m out with friends. But on the daily, I want to give my body what it needs to be the best version of myself. When I splurge, it’s usually on things that I’ve baked, because it’s satisfying physically and emotionally.On disclosing her anorexia in her autobiography and in interviews
I did consider that talking about my struggles with an eating disorder would overshadow my accomplishments as an actor, but I also knew this was something I needed to do to move forward as a human and an actress. I needed to let go. I’ve always strived to start conversations about taboo subjects with young women. Sharing my story in Unfiltered happened to coincide—not strategically!—with To the Bone, but I’ve always admired people who are relatable and honest. Having suffered from an eating disorder doesn’t define me; I’m not ashamed of my past.
Honestly the opening line to that last paragraph “I did consider that talking about my struggles with an eating disorder would overshadow my accomplishments as an actor” made me eye roll. It’s not the concern so much, which is valid, it’s the way she phrased it. This is Phil Collins’s daughter and I can’t name any film she’s been in other than that Snow White movie and I had to go to IMDB to get the title, Mirror Mirror. Which, if I think about it, makes this a possible issue for her since her work isn’t that well known. It takes nerve to open up about personal issues like this to the public and I doubt I could do it. So many people have misconceptions about anorexia and consider it borne out of vanity when it’s a devastating mental illness. She does deserve credit for being so open and honest about her struggles.
photos credit: Shape, Getty and WENN
She wrote an autobiography???
Any id on that gorgeous bikini? I need it, want it, got to have it.
I found it, Tori Praver Eloisa top. It seems to be selling out fast, though so hop on it!
edited for spelling
Thank you so much!!!!!!!!
She looks so fit and healthy, good for her. It sounds like a very dangerous thing to lose weight for a role, even with professional oversight, given her history. Glad she made it through ok. I’m interested in seeing the film.
That’s a lot of make-up for a swimsuit cover….
I was thinking the same thing, it looks really stupid.
Maybe were they trying to make her look more adult. She seems so young…
That’s ok girl, we never dreamed you would, either. 🙄
LoL
Umm she was nominated for a Golden Globe this year. She’s pretty accomplished
She was great in Rules Don’t Apply’. She seems to be making interesting film choices.
She’s also in The Last Tycoon with the lovely Matt Bomer.
And in “Abduction” with Maria Bello, Alfred Molina and Taylor Lautner.
And you wouldn’t be, if your dad wasn’t Phil Collins.
She’s so gorgeous! If it’s on Netflix and has Keanu I will check it out
And it’s directed by Marti Noxon of Buffy fame. And produced by Keanu’s sister.
She looks great. I love that bikini and she looks healthy. I hope she stays on the right path to feeling better for herself both physically and mentally.
How many times does a child of a famous person have to prove themselves until that’s not mentioned anymore? Yes, her dad is famous, and yes, it probably got her her first roles…but I think she’s done enough good work at this point that it doesn’t need to be pointed out every single article.
Until people know them more for THEIR work, than for their parents’. See also: Drew Barrymore, Mariska Hargitay, Michael Douglas, etc.
She’s thin. Guess that’s enough to nab a bikini cover? I do love her eyebrows though.
Weird pose. No judgement here !!!
She looks gorgeous !! in the red top/skirt combo. I love her make-up there. And I want the top AND the skirt !!
She looks so much like Eliza dushku the early years to me with the dark lipstick.
good observation
FYI, unless you’re running your meals through an irradiator prior to eating, all food is ‘dirty’. Don’t worry about it – all food is dirty, life is dirty, being organic is dirty.
You’re clean after you take a shower…food isn’t clean. All food has bacteria (why do you think it goes bad?). ‘Clean eating’ is an oxymoron.
Yep. Also true recovery from an ED is very against concepts like “clean” eating. Food is not moral, and it does not convey anything about your cleanliness or purity. Language like that is indicative of the fact that she isn’t fully out of it.
If you want to be taken seriously as a actor, isn’t being on the cover of Shape like one step forward and two steps back? You expect this crap from Kate Hudson and other thirsty types whose careers are tanking, or they are trying to prove that they’ve still got “it”. It makes no sense for this girl to choose this path for cheap PR.
I’d say it’s just one step forward one step back until you’re the one calling and not the one being called.
It seems fairly tone deaf that they put her on a magazine cover celebrating a healthy shape when she just filmed a show where she has anorexia?!?!