AIMEE LOU WOOD: LA IS EMOTIONALLY BULIMIC
The actress Aimee Lou Wood has described Los Angeles as an “emotionally bulimic” city.
The White Lotus star, 31, insisted she could make the comparison herself as she had previously suffered from the eating disorder.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar before receiving the Television Actress award at the magazine’s Women of the Year ceremony on Thursday, she described Hollywood as a “super-sized adventure”.
She said: “I find LA emotionally bulimic, and I say that as an ex-bulimic.
“It is this super-sized adventure where everyone’s talking about you all the time and you have to talk about yourself all the time. And then I leave, and I want to throw it all up.”
The actress, who lives in south-east London, rose to fame in the hit Netflix series Sex Education before achieving global stardom with her portrayal of Chelsea in the third series of the HBO show White Lotus.
She made headlines when she criticised a Saturday Night Live sketch impersonating her with exaggerated prosthetic teeth as “mean and unfunny”.
Speaking about how her life has taken a dramatic turn since the show aired in February, she said: “Before it came out, everyone told me my life was going to change because the show is American, and it’s so big.”
She ended up being nominated for an Emmy Award for best supporting actress in the satirical drama series, which is a spiky deconstruction of wealth, privilege and murder set in lavish holiday resorts.
“I loved the fact that I was nominated for my most American project ever and not only did we win nothing, I was sat with a bunch of Northern actors winning everything,” Wood quipped to the magazine about the runaway success of Netflix’s show Adolescence.
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‘I didn’t really want to be an actor’
Despite not winning the accolade, the role has catapulted her to a big name in Hollywood. She is now starring alongside Angelina Jolie in the upcoming American comedy film Anxious People.
Discussing filming the latest project with one of the most famous actresses in the world, Wood said Jolie recently stuck up for her while they were filming a scene that saw a number of crew shouting directions her way.
She explained: “I’ve spent years feeling unable to say anything like that for fear of seeming argumentative - but now I feel like I can take ownership of what I need to thrive, and tell people what won’t work for me.
“When I spoke up, all I could see was Angelina giving me a thumbs up. She’s possibly the most famous woman ever, but she’s so normal.”
Wood added: “I’m fairly certain she drives herself to set each day.”
The actress, who studied at London’s prestigious acting school the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, revealed in September that she has been diagnosed with ADHD and is having tests to see if she is autistic. She has described her neurodivergent diagnosis as a relief and her “superpower”.
Speaking to the magazine, she said acting has always allowed her a “safe space for me to work out my feelings”.
However, she added: “All I’ve ever wanted was to be a writer. I didn’t really want to be an actor. I don’t really understand how I got here!”
Read the full interview in the December/January issue of Harper’s Bazaar, on sale from November 7.
2025-11-06T06:30:44Z