“It would have ruined my career.”

television

by Samantha Ibrahim

Calista Flockhart says constant speculation about her eating disorder left her “sleep-deprived” and “depressed” during the years she spent filming the legal drama “Ally McBeal.”

The slender actress, now 59, won a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for her lead role in the hit series, but was dogged by reports that she was suffering from anorexia.

“I loved working on Ally McBeal, and it made it bittersweet,” Flockhart said. The New York Times In an interview on Friday.

“I was very sleep deprived and I was depressed because of it,” she added. “I thought it would ruin my career. I didn't think anyone would hire me again, because they would assume I was anorexic, and that would be the end of it.”

Flockhart is 5 feet tall. 5 inches tall, and weighs widely around 110 lbs.

“Ally McBeal” aired on Fox from 1997 to 2002, and also starred Greg German, Jane Krakowski, Jill Bellows, Lucy Liu, Peter MacNicol, and Courtney Thorne-Smith.

Throughout five years of filming, reports of anorexia followed Flockhart.

“I've had days where I've felt so hurt, embarrassed and angry,” she said. “I was lucky that I had to work. I just put my head down. I've always felt like Calista, you're a good person, you're not mean to anyone, I'm confident in that.”

Flockhart told the Times that if “Ally McBeal” aired today, the sordid reports about her weight wouldn't spread.

“They call it body shaming now. I haven't thought about it for a long time, but it's not really okay to accuse someone of having a disease that a lot of people have,” the mother said.

She added that she “was never in a situation where I had to watch my weight.”

“I only have small bones,” she shrugged. “I'm just lucky.”

In 2006, Flockhart admitted that the stress of filming Ally McBeal left her with no appetite.

“At the time, I was feeling very nervous,” she told . Mirror on time. “I was working 15 hours a day on set and then I was dealing with the end of the show, which was basically my life.

“I started undereating, over-exercising, pushing myself too hard and weakening my immune system. I guess I just didn't find time to eat. I'm healthier these days.”

The actress – who has been married to Harrison Ford since 2010 – is now back in the spotlight with a role in the FX series “Feud: Capote vs The Swans,” where she appears alongside Naomi Watts, Demi Moore and Diane Lane.