--- description: Find out what Downton Abbey star Jessica Brown Findlay told the Telegraph about living with an eating disorder. title: 'Downton Abbey' Star Jessica Brown Findlay Overcame an Eating Disorder image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02cc0362ae5a402a/6988c005196cf43a9b03f664/jessica-brown-findlay.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Downton Abbey_ Star Jessica Brown Findlay Overcame an Eating Disorder  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 27, 2017 4:55 PM CUT  LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 12: Jessica Brown Findlay attends the 70th EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) at Royal Albert Hall on February 12, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage) LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 12: Jessica Brown Findlay attends the 70th EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) at Royal Albert Hall on February 12, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)Samir Hussein—WireImage  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 27, 2017 4:55 PM CUT [_Downton Abbey_](http://time.com/4249452/downton-abbey-finale-characters/ "undefined") star Jessica Brown Findlay hopes sharing her experience with an eating disorder can help others. In [an interview](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/jessica-brown-findlay-had-eating-disorder-since-14/ "undefined") with the _Telegraph,_ Findlay revealed that she developed an eating disorder at age 14 — and that societal standards of beauty were harmful to her self-esteem. “I think that we can feed certain ideas of what beauty is and what success is and I just feel there has to come a time where those aren’t the rules anymore,” she said. “Then we can have a mature conversation about what that is about, and about depression.” The actor, who is set to appear in [Hulu’s forthcoming series _Harlots_](http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/27/jessica-brown-findlay-says-her-new-drama-harlots-is-surprising-and-relevant-6535161/ "undefined"), said she now knows that being a smaller dress size won’t make her better at her craft. But she said that it took therapy and self-reflection to get her to that point. Now, she hopes that others facing the same challenges can have the same open dialogue. “The more we have brave discussions like that going forward, the easier it is to talk about things, and the less alone we can feel,” she told the _Telegraph_. “It’s certainly made me feel less alone.” Read the [full interview at the _Telegraph_](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/jessica-brown-findlay-had-eating-disorder-since-14/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4713930/downton-abbey-jessica-brown-findlay-eating-disorder/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4713930/downton-abbey-jessica-brown-findlay-eating-disorder/"},"headline":"Downton Abbey Star Jessica Brown Findlay Overcame an Eating Disorder","datePublished":"2017-03-27T16:55:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:16.800Z","description":"The actor hopes speaking about it will help others","url":"https://time.com/4713930/downton-abbey-jessica-brown-findlay-eating-disorder/","keywords":["motto","Mental Health","Eating Disorder","Wellness","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02cc0362ae5a402a/6988c005196cf43a9b03f664/jessica-brown-findlay.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02cc0362ae5a402a/6988c005196cf43a9b03f664/jessica-brown-findlay.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"EE British Academy Film Awards - Red Carpet Arrivals","caption":"EE British Academy Film Awards - Red Carpet Arrivals","creditText":"Samir Hussein—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4713930/downton-abbey-jessica-brown-findlay-eating-disorder/","name":"Downton Abbey Star Jessica Brown Findlay Overcame an Eating Disorder"}}]}] ```