Anne Hathaway’s performance as Fantine in the 2012 film adaptation of Les Miserablés won her an Oscar award — but at the cost of her health. The actress opened up about the role to People ‘s editor-in-chief Jess Cagle for the latest episode of The Jess Cagle Interview , explaining that she lost 25 pounds to portray the orphaned girl. Hathaway’s weight loss journey, however, was extremely difficult.
“I’d lost an unhealthy amount of weight in two weeks,” the 36-year-old star revealed. “I didn’t know anything about nutrition. I taxed my body, and my brain bore the brunt of it for a while. I just felt very anxious and very lost at that time.”
Hathaway revealed that she knew she needed to improve her health, but rising up from the dangerous weight loss took a toll on her body — and she was getting sick.
The Serenity star continued on to say that her declining health caused her to lose sight of her successes. She found herself struggling with anxiety and identifying herself at the time, despite the positives in her life — such as turning 30, and getting married.
“So to just have this moment and not really know who I was… it wasn’t a comfortable feeling. And I didn’t do what I hoped that I would if I ever found myself in that moment,” Hathaway said.
Eventually, Hathaway was able to move past the health issues and to improve herself. However, she can still recall the days when she wasn’t quite taking care of herself. An earlier story from the Inquisitr reported that Hathaway said she often felt pressured — 10 years ago — to keep her body looking a certain way, even if it was unhealthy. The actress admitted to starving herself for awards shows, and smoking heavily to calm her nerves.
The actress continued to struggle with anxiety for a decade, despite her rise to fame. Hathaway revealed that she really began taking care of herself during filming for Brokeback Mountain . She learned to ignore what critics have to say, and decided that she wouldn’t be apologizing for “taking up space” any more.
Hathaway certainly did learn how to stick it to the haters and trolls. In April of 2018, for example, the actress shared a video of herself doing a workout routine. In the caption, she announced that she was gaining weight for a new movie — and wanted to shut down any fat-shamers who would soon comment on her changing weight, according to Today .
“To all the people who are going to fat shame me in the upcoming months, it’s not me, it’s you,” the actress said.
