On 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' (weekdays, syndicated), Portia de Rossi spoke frankly to Ellen DeGeneres about struggles with self-worth and anorexia that have plagued her for most of her life. De Rossi's story is laid out in detail in her new autobiography 'Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain.'

De Rossi said her poor self-image started when she began modeling at 12-years-old. "It objectifies you," she said. "It kind of sexualizes you at a very young age, and I'm not saying all child modeling is necessarily bad, but it should be age-appropriate."

"The first year of modeling ... was really difficult, because, while I had a reasonable amount of self-esteem, I soon lost it, because I was constantly compared to other girls," de Rossi added.

And, as de Rossi got older, she also battled an eating disorder that reduced her to 80 lbs. "I looked in a mirror and I saw that I had very emaciated arms. I saw my bones and I knew that I was underweight, but my eye went straight to the inch of fat that I still had on my stomach and the fat that I still saw on my thighs, and it still does," she said.

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