Calista Flockhart Opens Up About Anorexia Reports: “It Would Ruin My Career”

By Samantha Ibrahim

Published January 27, 2024, 10:37 a.m. ET

Calista Flockhart says the relentless speculation about eating disorders left her “sleep-deprived” and “depressed” during the years she spent filming legal drama Ally McBeal.

The rail-thin actress, now 59, won both a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for her starring role in the hit series, but was dogged by reports that she was battling anorexia.

“I enjoyed working on 'Ally McBeal,' and it just soured it,” Flockhart told The New York Times in an interview Friday.

“I was very sleep deprived and depressed because of it,” she added. “I thought it would ruin my career. I didn’t think anyone would ever hire me again because they would just assume I had anorexia and that would be the end of it.”

Flockhart is 5 feet tall. 5 inches tall, her weight is generally estimated to be around 110 pounds.

“I enjoyed working on 'Ally McBeal,' and this just pissed it off,” Flockhart told The New York Times about the rumors surrounding her body. AFP via Getty Images Flockhart is pictured in 1999. For years she was dogged by reports that she suffered from anorexia. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Flockhart is 5 feet tall. 5 inches tall, her weight is generally estimated to be around 110 pounds. She is pictured in 1998. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Ally McBeal aired on Fox from 1997 to 2002 and also starred Greg Germann, Jane Krakowski, Gil Bellows, Lucy Liu, Peter MacNicol and Courtney Thorne-Smith.

Reports of anorexia followed Flockhart throughout the five years of filming.

“I had days where I was really hurt, embarrassed and angry,” she said. “I was lucky that I had to work. I just put my head down. I always felt like, 'Calista, you're a good person, you're not mean to anyone,' and I'm confident in that.”

“Ally McBeal” aired on Fox from 1997 to 2002. The legal drama made Flockhart a household name. ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection “I thought it was going to ruin my career,” Flockhart said of the eating disorder speculation. She is pictured in the late 1990s. Getty Images

Flockhart told the Times that if “Ally McBeal” aired today, mean-spirited reports about her weight wouldn't filter through.

“They call it body shaming now. I haven't thought about it in a long time, but it's really not okay to blame someone for having an illness that many people struggle with,” said the mother of one.

She added that she had “never been in a situation where I had to watch my weight.”

“I only have small bones,” she shrugged. “I’m just lucky.”

Flockhart now appears in “Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans.” She is pictured at the premiere earlier this week. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

In 2006, Flockhart admitted that she lost her appetite due to the stress of filming Ally McBeal.

“At the time this was all happening I was seriously stressed,” she told the Mirror at the time. “I worked 15 hours a day on set and then dealt with the end of the show, which was basically my life.

“I started eating too little, exercising too much, pushing myself too hard and taxing my immune system. I guess I just didn't find time to eat. I’m much healthier these days.”

The actress, who has been married to Harrison Ford since 2010, is back in the spotlight with a role in the FX series Feud: Capote vs The Swans alongside Naomi Watts, Demi Moore and Diane Lane.

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