Tallulah Willis reveals hair loss amid recovery from 'severe' anorexia
Tallulah Willis is shining a light on the physical impact of her battle with an eating disorder.
In a candid Instagram post on Sunday, the actress, who is the youngest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, shared a deeply personal reflection, detailing the hair loss she experienced during the most severe phase of her anorexia.
The post included photos from her time at a recovery facility in 2022, showing her hair cropped close and visibly thinning.
In the caption, Tallulah Willis opened up about how, at the time, she saw her hair loss as a twisted badge of honor, shaped by the unhealthy mindset her disorder created.
"I wanna talk about when I was balding because of my severe anorexia," she wrote. "The first photos were taken in summer 2022 in Austin TX while I was at Driftwood recovery. I want to talk about how I for a long time in my life I would have seen those patches of bare skin blurring through sparse hairs as a badge of honor. 'I was sick enough to make you look' :( ."
She continued, "While I was at driftwood I temporarily needed a wheelchair to walk because my leg muscles had atrophied so badly. I'm still working to build back the muscles decimated during those many many years. I had such breakable and fragile hair, so thinned I had to use thousand clippies to keep things in place. And usually they slipped off because they [had] nothing to grab into."
"I chose to crop some of them because for me this truly isn't a stage to show off how I nearly starved to death (publicly!), but I think the photos serve as a teaching tool," she added.
Tallulah Willis went on to detail her recovery journey with gratitude, sharing that looking through recent "after" photos brought her joy, and expressing how something as simple as feeling her hair bounce now feels empowering.
"I didn't realize how comforting a big bun could feel like, how sexy it feels for your hair bounce a little when you walk," she wrote. "I didn't value myself or my health but I am of the lucky who have made it to the other side. I made my disorder public and now it only feels right to make my recovery as well."
"I want to heal and hug and soothe every busy mind that's out there still hurting," she concluded her post. "Keep going I love u all đź«‚."
Eating disorders are serious and potentially "fatal illnesses associated with severe disturbances in eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions," according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) notes that low caloric and fat intake can lead to dry skin, brittle hair, and hair loss. In response to prolonged starvation, the body may also develop fine, downy hair called lanugo to conserve warmth. Additionally, severe and extended dehydration can result in kidney failure.
In the U.S., NEDA estimates that 30 million Americans will experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives.
In addition to Tallulah Willis, Bruce Willis, who was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022 and frontotemporal dementia in 2023, also shares Rumer Willis and Scout Willis with Moore.
He is also father to daughters Mabel Ray and Evelyn Penn, whom he shares with his wife, Emma Heming Willis.
If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or NationalEatingDisorders.org.
