Gwyneth Paltrow’s 'Shallow Hal' Body Double Developed Eating Disorder

The lady who was cast as the body double in 'Shallow Hal' for Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed the experience resulted in her developing an eating disorder.

Ivy Snitzer (20 at the time) she landed the job in the 2001 movie. Gwyneth sported a bodysuit and prosthetics to portray lead character Rosemary, who is an overweight woman who captures the attentions of a man who's been hypnotised into seeing only a person's inner beauty.

Ivy, now aged 42, filmed full and close-up body shots in Paltrow's stead.

In a recent interview, she revealed she felt "really comfortable" filming and was "treated like I mattered" by cast and crew.

Later, however, she struggled with severe body image issues. Two years afterwards, she was "technically starving to death."

She shared she wasn't prepared for the exposure and scrutiny.

"It didn't occur to me that the film would be seen by millions of people. It was like the worst parts about being fat were magnified."

She remembered having people approach her, and accuse her of promoting obesity.

“It is not the worst thing in the world to be fat.” 

One person even cruelly sent her diet pills in the mail.

"I got really scared. I was like, maybe I'm done with the concept of fame, maybe I don't want to be an actor. Maybe I'll do something else."

The attention shifted her perception of herself, and she changed her diet.

"I hated my body the way I was supposed to. I ate a lot of salads. I had eating disorders that I was very proud of."

She had gastric band surgery in 2003, shrinking the size of her stomach, and reducing the amount of food she could consume.

To speed up the weight loss, she also resorted to overexercising, purging and restricting her calorie intake. 

“It didn’t occur to me that I was supposed to be ashamed of those behaviors."

He health deteriorated more, experiencing a serious complication after the surgery.

"I got a torsion — like dogs get and then die."

She admitted to having a difficult time keeping down food, and subsisted on sports drinks and watered down shakes.

“I was so thin you could see my teeth through my face and my skin was all gray." She also noted her mood was impacted.

“I was just so bitchy all the time. I kind of alienated a lot of my friends. My mother was also dying; it was bleak. Humans shouldn’t have to experience how very bleak that particular time in my life was.”

She remembered being shocked to discover people were suddenly kinder.

"Everything was so different. It was really nice to be treated well.”

'Shallow Hal' was criticised upon release for depicting a plus size woman. It was even reported to have reinforced "every stereotype about fat people."

"Plus-size women don't break chairs all the time, and we aren't compulsively eating. There are many reasons why people are larger than average, and food consumption isn't a major reason."