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Lily Collins says she struggled with eating disorders as a teen

The actress plays a young woman with anorexia in the new movie "To the Bone."

By Annie Martin
Lily Collins at the InStyle and Warner Bros. Golden Globes after-party on January 8. File Photo by David Silpa/UPI
1 of 3 | Lily Collins at the InStyle and Warner Bros. Golden Globes after-party on January 8. File Photo by David Silpa/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Lily Collins is coming forward about her past struggle with eating disorders.

The 27-year-old actress said in an interview with IMDb Studio that she connected with her character in To the Bone on a "very personal" level because she also battled anorexia.

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"This was definitely a more dramatic role for me. I suffered with eating disorders when I was a teenager as well," Collins admitted.

"I wrote a book last year and I wrote my chapter on my experience a week before I got [writer and director] Marti [Noxon's] script and it was like the universe kind of putting these things in my sphere to help me face, kind of dead on, a fear that I used to have and a way to explain it as someone who's gone through it and to open up a topic that is considered quite taboo with young people nowadays," she said.

To the Bone follows Collins' character, Ellen, as she struggles with an eating disorder. The movie co-stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie Preston and Lili Taylor, and premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Sunday.

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"[The role] caused me to have to emotionally go there, but in a way that was the most safe, healthy way possible with a nutritionist, and really to physically go there," the actress shared. "It did require a different set of emotional skills, to kind of go back in time for me, with ... my experiences."

"So definitely a different type of film for me to do. Very, very personal," she added.

Collins thanked fans for their support in an Instagram post Saturday. She told her 5.6 million followers she was feeling "so free" since coming forward with her story.

"Owning my past, being open, and having no shame or regrets about my experiences," the star wrote. "Sharing my history with eating disorders and how personal this film has been is one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life."

"Thank you for all your love and support. I'm sending all of mine right back (especially today!) and remember, you are never ever alone #Unfiltered," she said.

Collins is the only daughter of singer Phil Collins and his second wife, Jill Tavelman. She is known for the films Mirror Mirror and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, and will star on the new Amazon series The Last Tycoon.

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