Actress Hilary Duff (35) spoke for the first time in an interview about the hardest year of her life. At 17, she suffered from an eating disorder. "It was awful," she told Women's Health Australia.

The background to the disease was her career: she became world famous as a teenager through the "Disney Channel". "I couldn't help it, I thought I was in front of the camera and actresses have to be skinny," Duff recalls.

Luckily, the US actress was able to overcome her eating disorder and regain a healthy relationship with her body. "I'm thankful for my health," she says today. It is particularly important to her to spend time with people who make her feel good and who have a lifestyle similar to hers. This includes "enough sleep and a balanced diet," she emphasizes.

In May this year, the actress caused a stir when she posed nude for the cover of Women's Health. "I'm proud of my body," Duff said at the time. "The older I get, the more confident I feel in my own skin."

The ex-Disney star continued that becoming a mother would have particularly helped her to accept her body. "I find it fascinating to be a woman and to see the changes that the body goes through over the course of life."

The Texan native had her first child, son Luca, at age 24 and has two other children with now husband Matthew Koma, 35.

"My body has come in many different shapes and sizes, and it has helped me have a wonderful family," said Hilary Duff.