Ewan McGregor’s model daughter Clara, 25, discusses her tranquiliser addiction, mental health struggles and abortion ordeal in candid interview as she becomes face of lingerie brand
- Clara reflected on her addiction to Xanax, admitting her family had to intervene after she became hooked on the prescription drug
- The actress, 25, also spoke passionately about her opposition to the Texas abortion law, saying: ‘All women should be able to access the option to have a termination the way that I did’
- Clara is the eldest daughter of Ewan McGregor and Eve Mavrakis, who split in 2017 after 22 years of marriage
Clara McGregor has spoken candidly about her addiction to tranquilisers, anxiety battle and abortion ordeal in a searingly honest interview.
After being named as the new face of Bluebella Lingerie’s Autumn Winter 21 campaign, the 25-year-old model spoke out about her shocking past, admitting she would never have had the confidence to shoot the campaign before heading to therapy to battle her demons.
The model – who is the daughter of actor Ewan McGregor – explained that she began suffering from chronic anxiety at the age of four and has spent years being held back by her mental health issues.
Candid: Ewan McGregor’s daughter Clara, 25, discussed her tranquiliser addiction, mental health struggles and abortion ordeal as she became the face of Bluebella Lingerie
Clara touched on her battle with drug addiction after being prescribed tranquillisers and becoming dependent on them.
She confessed her loved ones were forced to intervene and helped her reach a point where she can liver her life sober.
She explained: ‘Around four years ago my family and my partner Jimmy (film producer Jimmy Giannopoulos) spotted that things were getting out of hand, they said, “you’re just not yourself anymore”.
‘When I was on Xanax I had no energy, and I would start forgetting things. That’s the scary thing, I would forget whole chunks of days.
‘It was incredibly hard for me to get off them, but I didn’t want to be in that space anymore and would never consider taking one again.’
Confident: The model, 25, spoke out about her shocking past, admitting she would never have had the confidence to shoot the campaign before heading to therapy to battle her demons
One to watch: Clara is set to star alongside her Hollywood megastar father Ewan for a new film about a dad taking his drug addicted daughter to rehab
While a difficult battle to overcome, Clara revealed she was using her experience for inspiration in her upcoming film role.
Clara is set to star alongside her Hollywood megastar father Ewan for a new film about a dad taking his drug addicted daughter to rehab.
As well as Clara, Ewan shares daughters Esther, 19, Jamyan, 20, and Anouk, 10, with ex-wife Eve Mavrakis, they split in 2017 after 22 years of marriage and their divorce was finalised in August 2020.
In May 2017, Ewan began a relationship with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, whom he met on the set of Fargo. Their son, Laurie, was born in June 2021.
Struggles: The model -explained that she began suffering from chronic anxiety at the age of four and has spent years being held back by her mental health issues
Shocking: The actress was not in a good place when she was battling her addiction, trapped in a ‘toxic’ relationship and later found out she was pregnant
Ewan has also struggled with addiction, going teetotal in 2000 after stating that he would often turn up to sets drunk or hungover in the late Nineties.
Clara said of their new film: ‘It’s something that was very loosely inspired off of our relationship. There is nothing you’re going to see in the movie and the characters that has anything to do with us, but I’ve taken certain emotional concepts and the concept of addiction and family bonding and some of the issues that my dad and I dealt with and I put it on to these other characters in a different world in different situations.
‘The emotions and conflicts have been inspired off of my experiences and his experiences.
‘The conflicts that come up in family and mending those conflicts, especially with a father and daughter. That was inspired off of my father and I finding each other again in moments and how we lost each other in moments.’
Campaigning: Clara discussed her decision to terminate the pregnancy and insisted it’s something that women should not feel ashamed of
The actress was not in a good place when she was battling her addiction, trapped in a ‘toxic’ relationship and later found out she was pregnant.
Clara decided to terminate the pregnancy and insisted it’s something that women should not feel ashamed of.
She explained: ‘I have no shame that I got an abortion. I was very young, 20-21-years-old, I was with someone who was toxic and not a good person, and I was very lucky to have the option to make my own choice.
‘I am always very open to talk about it because it’s not something that any woman should be ashamed of; it should be discussed openly, if you feel comfortable to, and it should not be a taboo subject.’
Heartbreaking: Though years of therapy have helped her, Clara spent most of her life dealing with crippling mental health issues – and was diagnosed with chronic anxiety at the age of four
Family first: Clara said of her anxiety, ‘My sister Esther and my mum are a great help. If I’m going through it, it often helps just to talk through it with them’
Touching on the new Texas abortion law, she added: ‘All women should be able to access the option to have a termination the way that I did… it feels like it’s a war on women and a war on women’s bodies, it’s control.’
Now, Clara is in a loving and stable relationship with her partner Jimmy, and the couple live in New York with Murphy their dog, a Chihuahua, pincher, terrier mix.
While she said that Jimmy is definitely ‘the one’, she insisted that it’s too early for them to be thinking about starting a family.
Moving forward: Reflecting on how far she’s come, Clara said, ‘I simply couldn’t have done this campaign before. Anxiety is suffocating and you just end up limiting yourself’
Though years of therapy have helped her now, Clara spent most of her life dealing with crippling mental health issues – and was diagnosed with chronic anxiety at the tender age of four.
Reflecting on how far she’s come, Clara said: ‘I simply couldn’t have done this campaign before. To jump on a plane and meet new people and shoot a lingerie campaign. Anxiety is suffocating and you just end up limiting yourself, it makes your life a lot smaller.
‘I’m 25 now and I’ve spent a lot of time working on it with therapy, but it’s only in the last three to four years that I feel less constricted by it.
‘My sister Esther and my mum are a great help. If I’m going through it, it often helps just to talk through it with them.’
She added: ‘I’m 25 now and I’ve spent a lot of time working on it with therapy, but it’s only in the last three to four years that I feel less constricted by it’
Clara first touched on her troubled past with an Instagram post in 2019 in which she revealed she had been raped.
Ewan’s oldest daughter wrote on Instagram: ‘I want to take this time to talk about mental health. I’ve been so ashamed of some of my mental health issues that I haven’t even wanted to tell friends.
‘I’ve suffered from crippling anxiety since I was 4 years and gone to therapy since I was a kid and I am so grateful for what therapy and psychoanalysis has done for me.
‘I’ve worked on myself and continue to do so. I deal with past trauma, some more recent than others.
She continued: ‘My anxiety has stopped me from living the life I wanted to lead. It was a cage I was stuck in and still struggle to get out of. I got on medication such as Lexapro which helped a great deal. I opened up about it and got the help I needed.
‘I was told by a doctor ”you don’t have to live this way” and he was right. I’ve also struggled with substance abuse, due to my anxiety it led me to Xanax and I’m proud to say I’ve been clean and sober off of pills for 110 days.
‘I went to Cirque Lodge for a little while to get myself on track and met the most wonderful people who changed my life. I was so ashamed of my addiction, of my anxiety and depression.
‘I was ashamed of the abuse I had let happen to me. I blamed myself for the bruises, the black eyes the rapes and for the attacks a man did to me.
‘But I’m regaining this power now.’
New gig: Clara is now the global ambassador for Bluebella lingerie and the face of the Autumn Winter 2021 collection, which launches on October 14
She added: ‘Thank you to those who helped me through my darkest times. You know who you are.
‘This was really hard for me to open up about so go easy on me.
‘Lil moment of honest in hopes that it can help others feel less alone. This past year I dealt with addiction, I got sober, and I dealt with a great deal of depression and anxiety I had an abusive relationship, I had an abortion the list goes on.’
Opening up: Clara first touched on her troubled past with an Instagram post in 2019 in which she revealed she had been raped
She continued: ‘Anxiety has been something I’ve lived with since I was 4 years old. I’ve been having panic attacks since I was a child and I didn’t know that I could live my life without this crippling fear.
‘I didn’t know there was a way to get better. But there is. Help yourself so others can help you too. And never be ashamed to talk about it.’
Bluebella Autumn/Winter 2021 collection is available at Bluebella.com from today.
For confidential help and advice with addiction, talk to FRANK on 0300 123 6600
For help and advice with mental health issues, visit Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/
Cute couple: Now, Clara is in a loving and stable relationship with her partner Jimmy, and the couple live in New York with Murphy their dog (pictured together in June)
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