'Riverdale' Star Camila Mendes Opens Up About Eating Disorder Battle

Camila Mendes is speaking out about an incredibly important issue in her cover story for Marie Claire Malaysia‘s June 2018 issue, out now.

Here’s what the 23-year-old Riverdale actress said…

On accepting her body: “When I grew up, I was obsessed with being thin. I always wanted to be lean, and then I went to college, I noticed my body was changing and it made me feel out of control but I didn’t understand it. I thought I was just gaining a lot of weight…at that time there weren’t many voices out there that championed curvier body types. But now, we see models like Ashley Graham who are encouraging women to embrace being unique, and that made me let go of the standard that was established so long ago – that thin is the only type of beautiful.”

On eating disorder misconceptions: “There is the common misconception that when you have an eating disorder, you are really skinny, and that is not the case at all, it’s actually quite the opposite. People don’t know that you don’t necessarily have to look like you have an eating disorder to have one. And because I was never that skinny, I never thought that I did (have the disorder.)”

On working with Project Heal, an organization that aims to raise awareness for eating disorders and helps to fund treatment: “Growing up, my sister had a very serious eating disorder, and was in rehab for awhile. I think the biggest message through Project Heal is to let the public know just how high the costs really are to get treatment, and how an eating disorder is not recognised as a mental illness when in fact, it is one of the deadliest mental illnesses there is.”

For more from Camila, visit MarieClaire.com.my.