The rumors about Rachel Zoë’s (not so) alleged eating disorder have been rampant for years. She’s denied them time and again, and yet they persist. Probably because she keeps getting thinner, if that’s at all possible. Anyway, a few weeks ago Rachel was photographed on some beach in a wrap skirt and a bikini top (we don’t have access to those photos, but you can see one of them here). You could pretty much count every bone in her torso, so those photos started up the “eating disorder” rumor mill yet again. When attending an event last night, Us Weekly caught up with Rachel and they asked her about the rumors… and she was predictably delusional:
Despite an alarmingly thin frame, A-list stylist Rachel Zoe insists she doesn’t have an eating disorder.
The Rachel Zoe Project star, 38, drew stares when she walked the St. Bart’s shore in a bikini Jan. 8.
But Zoe – who attended the Beverly Hills Rimowa store opening Tuesday – tells E! News, “I’m here. I’m fine. I feel great, and I’m good.”
Dr. Fred Pescatore, author of The Hamptons Diet, estimates the 5-foot-1 Zoe weighs just 80 pounds. A Zoe pal is not surprised, telling UsMagazine.com: “She’s obsessed with being skinny. She never eats. If she does, it’s fat-free.”
But Zoe calls all the chatter “silly.”
“I’m going to go and eat dinner after this,” she tells E!.
Zoe has long slammed eating disorder rumors. She told Harper’s Bazaar last year that she doesn’t get why so many people give her a hard time.
“We’ve had Audrey Hepburn, we’ve had Twiggy, we’ve had Veruschka, we’ve had Kate Moss,” she said. “I’m trying to figure out why I am to blame for skinniness.
“Truthfully, I’ve never seen myself as being too thin,” she added. “Sometimes I’ll look at photos and be like, ‘Oh, that’s not a good look.’ But generally speaking, I’m not too thin.”
[From Us Weekly]
I have an admission: I watch The Rachel Zoe Project. It’s not like must-see-TV for me or anything, but I love when Bravo does a marathon on the weekends. I get addicted to watching them all in a row, and I especially love when they’re trying to get people dressed for one of the bigger events. Part of the reason I love the show is because pretty much everyone on it is a despicable person. Everyone from Rachel, to Rachel’s poor enabling husband, to her (now former) assistant Taylor, to the dweeb always in a tie, these people are so far stuck up their own asses, all they see is brown. Anyway, long story short – Rachel doesn’t just have an eating disorder, in my opinion. She also has a very serious drug problem, and she’s already done irreparable damage to her body.
BAH. NANAS.
Rachel Zoe in LA on January 26, 2010, credit: PER/Fame Pictures. Also, at the beach on August 22, 2009, credit: Mike @ Fame Pictures.
just another hollywood victim, nothing new to see here…
My opinion is totally unscientific – but on her show she reminds me of every girl that’s gone too far down the coke path. Most of the time, she looks a bump away from death.
Too thin, not too thin, either way, wouldn’t you think she’d look at her FACE and think “wow, whatever I’m doing is NOT GOOD!” she looks ancient, haggard, and the skin and musculature of her face and neck area is horrifying. It’s what you’d expect on a woman in her 50’s or well-preserved 60’s. How old does Zoe claim to be again, 32? 34? I can’t believe she is willing to sacrifice her face so that her body can look like a praying mantis. Ugh.
Of course the rumors are silly, doesn’t every woman know that a diet of tissues and dust is perfectly acceptable?
sheesh……..
She may not be to blame for the first time the skinny=beautiful trend hit us – but she and her horrible lollipop victims are definitely to blame for fiercely perpetuating and defending it.
I don’t buy her “I’m naturally skinny” s**t anymore. She really has been getting thinner and thinner lately. If she hasn’t got an eating disorder the size of a Buick, then I’m Heidi Klum. Plus, keep in mind that pictures add about 12 pounds. Sends shivers down your spine, doesn’t it?
delusional much???!!
Silly? You know what else is silly? Walking around looking like a Halloween decoration.
I’m in agreement about a possible drug problem. Weren’t there some blinds about a stylist encouraging her clients to take whatever was necessary to be stick skinny? Nicole Richie, Lohan, etc. General consensus was Rachel.
Very disturbing.
Whoa…makes her head look GINORMOUS!!!! Not good.
If this is her definition of “fine,” then her supposed 38 years of life have been HARD on her.
Cigarettes, a plain side salad, diet coke (white powder and/or brown liquid form), and a buh-nah-nuh once-a-week does not make for healthy eating.
lucy2 – It was rumored that was why Richie dropped her as a stylist and why they didn’t talk for a few years until recently reuniting.
ive never seen so much jewelry on a skeleton!
I wouldn’t be surprised if I get a big ol’ lecture on this, but here goes —
I think drugs and “need freaks” are so rampant in High Stakes Hollywood that her and her clients alleged drug problems are like which came first, the chicken or the egg.
Sick sick sick. I HATE this glorification of thin. My sister died of eating disorders and alcohol/drug abuse 20 years ago and it just breaks my heart that this is STILL going on in the fashion industry. People like Rachel Zoe shouldn’t be allowed on TV.
K: your commentary couldn’t be more spot on
she’s going to: “like literally like die”
@ gloaming, lmfao tissues and dust.
but yeah she looked like a wet mop in the pics from st barths.
& if by fine she means “i eat a chickpea in the morning then a cup of starbucks for lunch then nothing at all for the rest of the day” then yes, she is fine.
….i love the rachel zoe project though.
Two dead giveaways:
1.) “I’m really not that skinny”
2.) “I’m going to go eat dinner after this”
The second one makes the disorder obvious because a person that doesn’t have an eating disorder wouldn’t even think of saying that because it’s so regular and expected. The fact that she notices it, says it like it’s evidence is generally a sign she doesn’t do it that often and sees it as some kind of “accomplishment”. I’m not trying to be all like “I know all about this” but if I know two things it’s eating disorders and drug addictions. And girl definitely has an eating disorder. I don’t watch her show so I don’t know about the drugs.
She’s emaciated in person. Eat for God’s sake and more than a dinner mint and diet coke for a change. Diet Coke is a double entendre where she is concerned. I don’t have much good to say about her. When I worked retail in BH she was starting out and I had to deal with her and she is not nice…ever.
What is truly hilarious is that this little nobody considers herself to be in the same league as Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy, Veruschka and Kate Moss. None of whom, may I add, had that hideous visible-ribs xylophone sternum; they were all naturally slender and did not starve themselves to end up looking a saggy bag of bones. Not convinced she’s a starver? This is not natural:
http://www.starmagazine.com/news/16387
I’m sure she kept her pareo on because her midsection would doubtless give her away in its concavity with razor sharp hipbones sticking out. YUCK!
I’ve seen Rachel in person…SCARRY…the droopy skin on her face is a dead give away that she is not supposed to be THAT skinny. She looks totally unhealthy. She totally does not eat her hair is super thin and you can see EVERY bone in her body. I can not understand why anyone would want to look like her…BUT I do think she is a fantastic stylist…and from her show she seems like a worker and a workaholic…IDK I feel bad for her! This is one of the main reasons I left the fashion/entertainment industry because they love that scarry skinny look…that I smoke cigarettes all day, drink coffee for meals, gaunt look…so super sad.
She has to be joking,I have seen more meat on a butcher’s pencil.
I do not like her taste in clothes. Why is she famous?
Is funny because none of the women she mention are that skinny, come one Kate Moss started the heroin chic look and now she looks way bigger than most models.
She is delusional , news flash when you are naturally skinny you can’t count someones ribs cage, you can’t see their collar bone.
My best friend is the same height of Rachel Zoe and she weights 90 pounds and she does not look like that , she looks super healthy , you can’t see her skeleton and she eats like a cow .
Plus rachel said that most the time she only had an grapefruit and coffee. Funny because grapefruit is something that is say to burn fat and everyone knows that coffee accelerate your metabolism and haves very little calories.
The two things she eats are things that accelerate your metabolism and Vertigo my ass , she does not have Vertigo she haves a problem with her stomach. Plus is pretty telling when in her show one of the models try on a dress and Rachel took it the dress put it infront of herself in the mirror and Said ” I wish I looked like her”.
There is a subtle but obvious difference that is apparent with people who are eating disorder skinny as opposed to being naturally skinny. Rachel Zoe is eating disorder skinny, no question about it. If not for injections to help plump her face out It would be as gaunt as the rest of her. I have seen her show a few times and enjoyed it a lot..but there is something that is NOT radiating from her no matter how funny her words are. It’s a lack of life force and vitality. If she seemed to be getting help in some way I would understand her wish for privacy while she got a better grip on her issues. It does appear though that she is in denial and unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, we can’t run from these things in ourselves forever. Eventually the truth must be dealt with. I hope for her sake and the people who love her she manages to face these truths & look at herself honestly..before its too late. No different than any of us I suppose…
Just look at her head! She’s not old enough to have sagging face skin. She practically has jowls. Gross.
I wonder which will go out on her first…the heart or liver.
Doesn’t she want to live a full life? Some people are beyond help.
if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck…it must be an elephant! (yeah that sounds right)
why is everyone picking on an elderly lady?
At her age the muscle mass goes.
give granny a break!!!!!
but why is this old lady famous for dressing celebs? And if she’s responsible for ppl wearing those ugly azz early 90’s frames I’ll be forced to find her and steal her Osteoporosis meds!!!!
I watched about four episodes of her show the first season but seeing her made me really sad and I had to stop. I had a friend who used to be tall and beautiful and well proportioned. She studied and worked hard and finally got her dream job in the fashion industry in NYC. Within one year of working for Calvin Klein she was a raging cokehead and had gotten scary skinny. She told me that at Klein, after they completed the designs for each season, they would have a “ski party” where they would consume mounds of “snow.” This was back in the 80s. I had to stop visiting her and cut all ties to her because I did not like her or her friends. I learned that she had died of a heart attack in the early 90s. I can’t even look at a picture of Calvin Klein.
Anyway, Ms. Zoe needs to reassess herself, her life and what she wants/needs. She has said she wants a baby but there is no possibility of that. You need body fat to get pregnant.
I do like the way she styles people…but I HATE the way she dresses herself. Always flowy draped stuff, crazy messy hair and too much accessories…to hide the bones, of course.
How can she say she is fine??…we can practically see inside her and know that she isn’t eating anything.
Delusional much Rachel??
I am almost 38.
If my face looked that old, I would die.
All that skinny aside, anyone know who makes those fab sunglasses? Seriously, although I’m sure I couldn’t afford them, but still…
48, and lookin’ every second of it. And then some.
she should never take her clothes off. ever.
She looks like shit. And seriously…she’s in her 30’s? I’m 40 and….not like this.
Michael K used to post pictures of her before she had her face done. Anyone with two cells in their brain can tell she’s anorexic. I’m really surprised her husband doesn’t confront her with the issue. I’d be afraid of touching her too hard for fear of breaking her bones.
http://dlisted.com/node/21168
She obviously has eating issues and i think is a true anorexic who sees fat when they look in mirror wven though they weigh 80 pds. SO I do believe her when she says she doesnt think she is thin – anorexics never due. I do think she has a drug problem also. I want to brian her husband for not intervening! She will die if she doesnt get help. Rachel i love your show please get some help. It doesnt make you weak or less of a person to admit you have a problem. It takes a strong person to say I have a problem and I need help.
I think everyone posting here needs to rememebr true anorexic are sick and they dont realize they are thin and have a problem so we shouldnt be bagging on her. I think she really thinks she is fat like any true anorexic would at 80 pds. I would rather encourage her to talk to someone. If she doesnt think she has a problem then what can it hurt? maybe that combined w her husband helping her and the support of public she will get help she needs nefore its to late.
38!?!? I laughed so hard that seltzer just came out my nose….
Ok, clearly none of you guys has ever had an eating disorder.
First of all, who goes up to someone and asks them if they have an eating disorder? seriously? That’s so rude. If she did/does have an ED, it’s none of our damn business.
Second: having an eating disorder is not some crime against humanity, nor is it a choice. So stop acting like it is.
Third: having an eating disorder is the most miserable thing ever. It sucks balls. It is NOT fun. And it’s not something you ever fully recover from.
If anything, you should be concerned about her and feel bad for her–because if she does have an eating disorder, she’s probably having a really rough time.
You need to realize that an eating disorder is not a diet and is not about being shallow or obsessed with your looks. It is a mental illness just like depression and the lot.
is that thing human?! I’m scared.
i want to undress her and replace her as my new rear view mirror glow-in-the-dark skeleton..A skeleton that looks so human, my friends would be envious for sure!!!
I really feel for you both, wow and Jaded.
She looks terrible…I remember reading an interview with her where she said she sometimes “forgets to eat” and can ‘go all day on a large Starbucks’
Yuck…what is worrisome is that if she does have an eating disorder she is presenting it as a completely ‘normal’ way to look to other women and it isn’t…she looks like she’s in her late 40’s not late 30’s. Nicole Richie apparently called her ‘raisin face’…mean but apt.
woowwww… those photo’s are frightening!
I agree with Kim and Wow, hating on someone for having an illness is not acceptable. I think it is possible she is a workaholic who thinks not eating is normal in her industry and doesn’t acknowledge that she has a disorder.
After watching her show though, and I know it does not show every interaction with her clients, I genuinely don’t get the impression she has that level of control over their diets or lifestyle. The episode where she gets Liv Tyler (never a skinny girl) a summer wardrobe is one – she is aware of her needs and you never get a remote sense she is trying to pressure her into a style that wouldn’t suit her shape. She is nothing but complimentary to Liv’s shape and look. I doubt Liv or anyone would entrust so much in her if she made them feel insecure or horrible about themselves.
I think the actresses who work with her who get scary skinny are bowing more to industry pressure, she seems to have clients of all shapes and sizes. She spends every second of her life (seemingly) sourcing clothes and accessories for numerous people. Her business sense is chaotic at best and I thnk that may be why she doesn’t have time to breathe much less eat. It is sad too because I do think she is great at her job, but there is no question she is running herself into the ground.
I know people who are questionably too thin and claim it is natural, I know people who have had eating disorders, somehow I think she falls somewhere in between, at least in her mind. It does seem strange her husband doess’t intervene though as he does seem to genuinely care about her well being.
Thank you, Mrs. Darcy.
It’s very dismaying that serious illnesses like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have become popular topics of gossip.
To everyone else (with the exception of a few posters):
Your comments are very, very hurtful–not just to Rachel, but to anyone who has or has had an eating disorder.
Some of the stuff on here is just downright hateful.
And you wonder why people with EDs don’t go around trumpeting the fact of their disorder?
It’s because people act as if having an eating disorder makes you free game for all sorts of snottiness.
Thanks, Wow. People don’t understand or try to understand disorders well. They believe people with them should simply make the choice to change their situation and magico, presto, done. It doesn’t work that way. Even on gossip sites, simple humility can and I think should be exercised. It’s so ironic that “celebrity” teens and young adults are knocked for being bad role models yet the anonymous posters on gossip blogs are awful role models by being nasty, mean-spirited people who trash public people that have serious, sometimes grave, illnesses.
it is an illness, and what do you against it? Go and see a doctor, get some help.
anorexia always flirts with being skinny and the admiration that comes with it.
thats what makes it hard. its the wish to be admired, to be perfect. its a mental state but one that will kill you.
and the drug abuse is not making it better..
Eating disorders are much, much more complicated than that. They are NOT just about wanting to be skinny or admired.
If anorexia simply amounted to a desire to be attractive, “perfect,” and liked by others, I can assure you that many, many more people would have anorexia.
Family strife and the inidividual’s sensitivity to stress are much better indicators of who is at risk of developing an eating disorder than are vanity and self-centeredness.
The fixation on skinniness that you find in eating disorders is often just a manifestation of something more basic: the human need to feel like things are under control, to have a sense of security.
I think those are things almost anyone can identify with.
She is a walking skeleton and in denial. Whatever.
um… so there’s more than one “wow” I see. I’ve been using it for quite some time now. Those previous ones in this thread are not me.
Having said that though, I will say that it is a bit annoying when people automatically assume someone is this tragically thin due to anorexia. She could also have some other medical issue, or even as someone has said it could be “drugs”. Although I hate to even assume that because that is another stereo-type.
Something is going on with her, but I wouldn’t be so quick to say she’s anorexic.
Sorry, wow #1. I just entered the first word that popped into my head 🙂
I wasn’t aware that people use the same name for every single post they write. I assumed that the rule prohibiting commenting under multiple names was referring to within the context of the discussion/thread/topic.
Er… I’m not sure what I should be called now?
Anyhow, I agree with you about not jumping to conclusions. What I was saying before was just in response to all of the nasty comments above.
looks unhealthy and nasty… no man is falling for that… for sure
i’m thinking she’s either got some sort of eating problem or she’s really about 80.
i have seen women naturally look like that while still being fairly healthy… in the nursing home that was my first job.
Wow2 – thanks for posting. Please don’t take the snark to heart – your comments are very insightful.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are very complicated, serious illnesses that often share a comorbidity with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. (In fact, many of the same neural pathways are triggered in both anorexia and ocd, making the urge to purge/restrict calories a psychological compulsion, as opposed to a mere preoccupation with weight.)
The problem is, when you take a disorder that the majority of the public knows very little about and put in the superficial context of Hollywood – the illness itself ends up looking superficial. We can go on for hours about the entomology of EDs amongst people in the entertainment business. The fact is, like any illness or addiction, it’s incredibly complicated and individualistic.
But when you take someone like Rachel Zoe, who is not only in denial about her emaciated frame – she’s actively “teaching” others (both directly and indirectly) the “tricks of the trade”. . . well, sabers will rattle. Is it necessarily right to pick on a women who is so clearly mentally ill? No, of course not. But the fact is she goes at great lengths to put herself out there, thereby attracting a lot of attention. Which further complicates Zoe’s entomology and chance at a healthy rehabilitation.
Personally, I think it’s sad when “too skinny” becomes a major source of public discontent, but “just skinny enough” is the standard ideal of beauty.
lucy2 – you are right. But there weren’t only blind items about a stylist encouraging clients to stay skinny no matter what.
Nicole Richie stopped working with Zoe because she claimed Zoe was putting unhealthy pressure on her to be skinny. Notice how much healthier Richie started to look – while still being very skinny – when she fired Zoe.
Looks likes drugs to me, but let’s not forget that she wouldn’t be in the news and on blogs if she weren’t this thin. She’s getting a lot of attention for being a dangerously ill, dangerously thin drug addict. Healthy women don’t get attention.
If she is, in fact, actively pressuring other women to be thin, then that is certainly something to be frowned upon.
I will point out, however, that Nicole Richie isn’t exactly a paragon of honesty.
Remember when Lindsay Lohan stole a bunch of clothes from “friend” Lauren Hastings? When Hastings texted Lindsay demanding her clothes back, Richie (who was with Lindsay when she got the text) sent a reply saying (among other things):
“I’ll go to Good Will and pick out a nice new pair of pants for you to wear and split open because you’re getting so fucking huge. If you’re going to do drugs, AT LEAST have something to show for it!! Lose some damn pounds and get a life.”
I’d take Richie’s comments with a grain–no, a gallon–of salt.
I don’t understand why people with bony body structures wear sleeveless clothes that show off their skeletal figures.
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