Hilary Duff is embracing her body.
The actress, 34, posed nude for Women’s Health May/June cover and shared the struggles she has faced with accepting her body over the years.
In her interview with the magazine, Duff recalled feeling a lot of “horrifying pressure” revolving her body image as a young actress, which eventually led to an eating disorder when she was 17. Duff proudly told the outlet that now she accepts her body and doesn’t conform to Hollywood’s standards.
“I’m proud of my body,” Duff said. “I’ve gotten to a place of being peaceful with the changes my body has gone through.”
Duff is a mom to three kids, Mae, 13 months, Banks, 3, and Luca, 10.
“I think that at 34 I have just gained a lot of respect for my body,” Duff continued. “It’s taken me all of the places I need to go. It’s helped me build a beautiful family. I feel like the older I get, the more confident I get in my own skin. And my body’s been many different shapes and sizes and I’m really just fascinated by, one, being a woman. And two, all the changes that your body can go through throughout your lifetime.”
Duff noted that she didn’t fully accept her body until after her daughter, Banks, was born.
Duff shared that she felt “powerful” by being a mom and that it was the mental battle that got her to accept her body.
“I do feel lucky in the mental health department where I haven’t had huge hurdles to get over, but just like everyone else I have my issues, my insecurities, pain,” she said. “Therapy helps me a lot. I try to do a Zoom with my therapist at least twice a month, if not more, if I need it. But I think just talking and having the right people around you that can truly listen when you need them too, and taking space for yourself.”
Duff shared that she’s trying to prioritize her mental health by continuously going to therapy.
“We bust our a– to get our bodies in shape and to look the best we can. We get facials and Botox and our hair done and highlights and brows and lash lifts and all this s—. But I want to work on the inside,” she explained. “That’s the most important part of the system.”
On Tuesday, Duff shared to Instagram that the cover shoot was “scary.”
“Sooooo, this was scary….. I knew doing this would terrify me and I was right,” Duff captioned the images. “Women’s Health Magazine had the most lovely all-women shoot and I actually had the best time. I felt strong and beautiful and laughed a lot getting into some of these poses without my high waisted mom jeans and oversized whatever I normally wear. Thank you to everyone who normalized this day for me and propped me up with compliments and love.”
She concluded with: “I love these photos so much, thank you for capturing a moment in time where I felt both completely vulnerable but powerful.”
