Kravitz: New role made me revisit anorexia

Zoë Kravitz’s parents were terrified that starring as an anorexic woman in The Road Within would cause her eating disorder to rear its ugly head.

The 26-year-old star is the daughter of singer Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet. And Zoë, who battled anorexia nervosa as a teenager, has revealed in a new interview that her new role sparked concern among her family.

However, Zoë added that her decision to open up about her past helped prove to her mother and father that she was strong enough to take on a character so close to home.

"I think me talking about it so candidly is comforting to them," she told People.com. "I wouldn't talk about it – I don't think – if I wasn't feeling better."

To play Marie, Zoë had to lose an incredible amount of weight once again. But, with the help of a nutritionist, she managed to do so as healthily as possible – filling up on pureed vegetables and sticking to an intense cardio regime to get down to a tiny 90lbs.

And as well as managing to resist the temptation of falling back into old habits, Zoë says she’s hoping the role has helped her kick her eating issues once and for all.

"It definitely jolted me back in some ways into that world and it was hard to gain the weight back and want to gain the weight back," she said. "I would gain a few pounds and people would be like 'Oh, you gained a few pounds!' and it would trigger whatever that cycle was that wanted to control that."

"And I think because of that, I dissected it so much for the role and I was really understanding that I needed to break this cycle. Even though it kind of triggered everything back up for me, it allowed me to really confront it and then hopefully let it go forever."