'I know what it's like': Lana Condor opens up about eating disorders and body dysmorphia

One of Hollywood’s rising young stars is getting real about the pressures of womanhood in a candid new interview.

Within five years, Lana Condor went from a New York teen studying dance to landing roles in “X-Men Apocalypse” to the lead the Netflix smash hit romantic comedy, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.”

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In a new interview with Elle Canada, the 21-year-old actress revealed past struggles with disordered eating and body dysmorphia. The Vietnamese actress may still be young, but is already rallying against the notion that women should have dissatisfied relationships with their bodies.

“I look at my friends, and I’m like, ‘You’re f—ing gorgeous.’ But they feel like they’re fat and ugly. I don’t know how this happened, that women feel like they need to apologize [for their physical imperfections],” Condor told the magazine.

For Condor, the pressures women feel to look a certain way or be a certain size exists on its own, outside of the entertainment industry. “I mean, take away the word ‘actor’ and just keep 21-year-old: It’s hard,” she admits.

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Condor also opened up for the first time publicly about her past struggles.

“I know what it’s like to have an eating disorder and body dysmorphia — and also what it’s like to be a friend to someone who has that,” she said.

With a background in ballet and dance, a world known to be riddled with body pressures, Condor wants to call a time-out on beauty standards.

“I think it’s time to give people comfort,” she said. “You have to eat. You have to stop thinking that a certain body shape is ideal, because it’s not.”

Now, Condor looks to set a good example for her more than six million followers on social media.

“That’s why I literally post about every meal I eat,” she said.

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Condor’s mature outlook is something she credits to her parents who she says gifted her with focus and determination.

“They’ve always told me that anything is possible; they instilled in me the idea that you can do whatever you want as long as you work hard,” she said.

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