From Broadway Pressure to a Brave New Life: Diane Keaton’s Journey Through Bulimia

The news of Diane Keaton’s death at 79 is a moment to reflect on her entire life’s journey, including the painful period when industry pressure almost broke her. Her battle with and recovery from bulimia, an illness that began after being told to lose weight for a Broadway role, is a powerful story of survival and rebirth.
The trigger was simple and all too common in the entertainment world: a directive to lose 10 pounds. For Keaton, this seemingly small comment opened the door to a devastating eating disorder that would dominate her life for years. It became a compulsion she couldn’t control, a way to “feed my hunger” that spiraled into a dangerous addiction.
The depths of her illness were profound. Keaton described a life organized around binging on up to 20,000 calories a day and then purging. Her stark description of a “typical dinner” reveals the chaos and desperation that had taken over her life, a stark contrast to the poised actress the public saw.
The turning point was her decision to seek help, embarking on a rigorous schedule of therapy five days a week. This was the beginning of her journey back to herself, a long and difficult process of untangling the psychological knots that had bound her for so long.
Her recovery was a brave rebirth. It paved the way for a new chapter in her life, one where she felt whole enough to become a mother, adopting two children in her 50s. From the pressures of Broadway to a life of fulfillment, Keaton’s journey is a testament to the possibility of healing and creating a life of one’s own design.