Olivia Cooke has battled panic attacks and a mental breakdown at 22, and body image issues. Now the House of the Dragon star is opening up about it.
During a new interview, Olivia shared that she faced a tough time after moving to the U.S. in her early twenties to pursue her acting career.
The beginning of her mental health crisis included "panic attacks every day for three weeks." This progressed into OCD and intrusive thoughts, which she fought for over three years.
"I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It was like you're being tortured from within," she told The Sunday Times.
The actress battled body image issues again more recently when she did nude scenes in Prime Video’s The Girlfriend.
"It's so hard not to feel insecure when only yourself and your partner and your doctor see you like that," she explained.
She faced even more pressure amid the Ozempic wave in Hollywood as celebrities dropped pounds on social media.
To avoid the same experience while filming Brides in Budapest, she got off social media.
"To not be inundated with endlessly shrinking bodies has been a relief. I don't think I've ever navel-gazed that hard about my own body until now. Not to blame this on the patriarchy, but it does just feel like another way to suppress women [and] make them even more anxious and scared about just being in a bigger body," she added.
Olivia Cooke sot to global fame with her role as Alicent Hightower in the Game of Thrones prequel television series House of the Dragon.
