Debra Messing Recalls Body Images Issues On The Set Of Will & Grace When She Was A Size 8: 'I Felt Fat And I Felt Ugly'

Debra Messing is opening up!

The 51-year-old became iconic for portraying Grace Adler on the hit sitcom Will & Grace from 1998 to 2006, but recently she revealed a silent struggle with body image issues throughout those years that colored her overall experience as a rising TV star.

Speaking on the latest episode of the I Weigh with Jameela Jamil podcast, Messing got real about her past on-screen insecurities often highlighted in the fitting room:

“When I started Will & Grace I was a size 8, and what happened was, every time I would go in for a fitting, I couldn’t fit into clothes. Eighty percent of it I couldn’t fit into, and I would just leave hating my body and hating myself. I loved my costume designer, she would always say, ‘Don’t worry,’ and she would talk to her assistant and say, ‘OK, can you call over and get a larger size?’ And that was sort of the thing that was always on repeat all the time.”

The difficult relationship with her weight was highlighted once again at the 2000 Emmy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Leading Actress in a TV comedy. Despite being up for the prestigious award, the thespian could not stop comparing her body to other actresses at the event. She recalled:

“This was supposed to be the greatest time of my life, being nominated for Best Actress in a TV show I loved for an Emmy and walking on the red carpet I walked out and I immediately felt so incredible, and then I was standing next to all of these other actresses who were half my size, and I felt fat, and I felt ugly.”

Ugh! We hate to hear this from her. Instead of leaning into those dark thoughts, Debra decided to lose weight using a meal delivery service and noted that her fittings became easier even though she wasn’t at a healthy weight for her age and body type. She admitted:

“I was way too skinny. But, you know, going in for those fittings, I fit into everything. And all of a sudden, I literally could fit into anything that was high fashion. So all of a sudden, everything seemed to open up for me, because I was a 2.”

A bigger closet full of options doesn’t sound like a fair trade for your personal health. Once the starlet realized this and became sick from trying to maintain the unhealthy weight, she immediately changed course:

“My body just could not hold out. My adrenals crashed, I was exhausted and it just became clear to me that I couldn’t be healthy and a size 2 at the same time.”

Side note: There’s a big difference between naturally being a size 2 and taking drastic measures to get there to keep up with imposed beauty standards. They are NOT the same thing and we’re so happy she finally realized this! We’re also glad it didn’t stop her from reprising her titular role in the show’s reboot from 2017 to 2020.

P.S. Debra, you’re everything and more!