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Yeardley Smith's one woman show 'MORE'

Jun 2, 2004 - © Heather Mudgett.

Yeardley Smith may be best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson on the popular FOX Television animated program 'The Simpsons.'

In addition to her many years on the Simpsons, Smith also has numerous television and movie roles under her belt. Just a few of the movies she's appeared in are: As Good as it Gets, Toys, Jingle All The Way, The Legend of Billie Jean.

This year, Smith revealed that she is in the recovery period of a 25 year battle with bulimia. She reflected on her struggle in a one woman, Broadway play titled: MORE. In a review of the play, CurtainUp.com's Jenny Sandman writes: "Many one-person shows, especially those of the confessional variety, have a tendency to become either maudlin or self-serving in short order, but More is neither. While Smith could easily blame her personality disorder on her emotionally distant parents, her strict Yankee upbringing, or her early meteoric rise to stardom on Broadway, she places the blame squarely on herself and doesn't apologize or make excuses. Instead she tells her story simply and in an energetic, charismatic way. What's mordoesn'tdoen't lean onSimpsonimpson who makes only a token appearance."

Featured on Entertainment Tonight, Smith explains how she finally came to the realization that "You can't fix your inadequacies by losing weight or having plastic surgery". Yeardley continued "The cliché is you can change the outside as much as you like, but the inside more or less remains the same, and you are no more or less a better person for that."

Smith recollects first counting calories at age 9 and was throwing up by age 14. Upon relocating to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career, she (like so many actress do) succumbed to the pressures of the industry and had liposucation. Smith acknowledges that "Ultimately, I don't regret having the plastic surgery." She admits. "I do regret feeling as though if I didn't have it, I couldn't go on for another day." To read the entire Entertainment Tonight feature on Yeardley Smith, click here.

In a recent MSNBC interview, Smith notes that she is still relatively early in her recovery. "I am in an outpatient program that meets for four hours, twice a week, and it is essentially group therapy with the emphasis on eating disorders, of course. I, 29 days ago, stopped eating sugar, and for the first time in 24 years I have no urge for binging and purging." The interview can be foundhere.

The copyright of the article Yeardley Smith's one woman show 'MORE' in Eating Disorders is owned by Heather Mudgett.. Permission to republish Yeardley Smith's one woman show 'MORE' in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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