Notable TV & Movie Characters with Eating Disorders

Written By jennifer setlik

Movies

1. Ellen (Lily Collins) – To the Bone (2017)

  • Disorder portrayed: Anorexia nervosa

  • Overview: Follows a young woman’s experience in residential treatment.

  • Pros: Shows a range of ED experiences, attempts to humanize illness

  • Cons: Some viewers felt it romanticized thinness or lacked nuance

2. Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) – Black Swan (2010)

  • Disorder portrayed: Disordered eating behaviors, body dysmorphia

  • Overview: A ballet dancer spirals into psychosis and extreme body control

  • Notes: While not explicitly labeled as an eating disorder, Nina’s restrictive eating and obsession with perfection align with ED traits

3. Isabelle (Bella Heathcote) – A Beautiful Boy (2018)

  • Disorder portrayed: Bulimia nervosa

  • Overview: The film focuses on addiction but briefly explores bulimia as a co-occurring issue

  • Notes: Less central, but illustrates how EDs often overlap with substance use

4. Tracy Freeland (Evan Rachel Wood) – Thirteen (2003)

  • Disorder portrayed: Disordered eating, self-harm, and binge behaviors

  • Overview: Explores adolescence, peer pressure, and risky behavior

  • Notes: Chaotic and raw portrayal of teen distress, including food-related behaviors

5. Emma (Sophie Lowe) – The Slap (2011)

  • Disorder portrayed: Bulimia nervosa

  • Overview: A young woman struggles with binge-purge cycles in secret

  • Notes: Shows the hidden nature of bulimia and social stigma

TV Shows

1. Cassie Ainsworth – Skins (UK)

  • Disorder portrayed: Anorexia nervosa

  • Overview: Cassie is depicted as whimsical, fragile, and heavily disordered

  • Pros: Acknowledges the psychological toll of anorexia

  • Cons: At times glamorized or romanticized ED traits

2. Blair Waldorf – Gossip Girl

  • Disorder portrayed: Bulimia nervosa (early seasons)

  • Overview: Blair secretly purges in response to stress and body pressure

  • Notes: ED storyline is introduced but inconsistently addressed

3. Rue Bennett – Euphoria

  • Disorder portrayed: Not a traditional ED, but Rue’s disordered relationship with eating is explored in some scenes

  • Notes: Highlights how depression, substance use, and eating patterns can interconnect

4. Kate Pearson – This Is Us

  • Disorder portrayed: Binge eating disorder

  • Overview: Kate's lifelong struggles with weight, shame, and emotional eating are portrayed with some depth

  • Pros: Rare depiction of BED in a non-stereotypical way

5. Emma Nelson – Degrassi: The Next Generation

  • Disorder portrayed: Anorexia and bulimia

  • Overview: A high school student develops restrictive and purging behaviors

  • Pros: One of the few teen shows to tackle ED recovery head-on

6. Debbie Gallagher – Shameless (US)

  • Disorder portrayed: Bulimia tendencies (vomiting after meals)

  • Overview: Implied rather than explicitly labeled

  • Notes: Shows how disordered eating can emerge in chaotic environments

Important Considerations

  • Many portrayals focus only on thin, white women, reinforcing stereotypes and excluding diverse experiences

  • Some shows glamorize or minimize eating disorders

  • Others treat disordered eating as a brief plot device without resolution

  • Eating disorders affect people of all genders, sizes, races, and ages

Responsible Representation Is Evolving

More recent media is beginning to portray eating disorders with greater care and inclusion, though there’s still progress to be made in representing:

  • Men, trans, and nonbinary individuals with EDs

  • People in larger bodies

  • Culturally diverse and neurodivergent experiences

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jennifer setlik
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