Former Model: 'My Modeling Career Lasted For 3 Years And As A Result, I've Had Anorexia For 8'

Former Model: 'My Modeling Career Lasted For Three Years And As A Result, I've Had Anorexia For Eight'

The modeling industry isn't short on horror stories of models going to dangerous lengths to meet impossible physical standards. But even we were stunned by the latest tale, brought to us by former model Georgina Wilkin.

The 23-year-old Brit is telling the story that made her an advocate against eating disorders -- because, as she told the Telegraph, "At the end of the day, my modeling career lasted for three years and as a result, I’ve had anorexia for eight."

Wilkin started modeling at 15, at which point she was automatically told to lose weight -- "a few inches from my hips so I could be eligible for the best jobs," she told the Telegraph. She did, and even then was turned away from casting for being too big. On her own and feeling alone, the pressure quickly developed into anorexia.

And the big problem was that anorexia brought results. "My agent told me I looked great when I hadn’t eaten for 48 hours," she tells the Sunday Times. "At one point I was hospitalized because I was so ill -- a few weeks later I was booked for a Prada campaign."

Casting agents and those she worked with encouraged Georgina's weight loss... and turned a blind eye when it became an obvious issue. As the Daily Mail reports, Georgina recalled, "My lips and fingers were blue because I was so thin that my heart was struggling to pump blood around my body. The make-up artists would have to disguise it with concealer." She says she sees the same "telltale blue lips and hands" on models today.

Georgina wrestled her way out of the industry and on her way to recovery from her anorexia, but she's making it her mission to raise awareness by campaigning with Beat, an eating disorder charity in the UK.

Several other models are already doing their part to draw attention to the problem. From the model who said she's seen girls pull out their own teeth to look skinny to the models eating cotton balls to stay full, there are enough eye-raising habits to hopefully raise even more awareness and bring about reform.

Women who fight back against the skinny standard:

Lena Dunham

Women Who Defy Conventional Body Types In Hollywood

Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE