By Jennifer Marino
Sigler told her story at South Side Middle School on Nov. 18. The mostly teenage audience was probably drawn by her celebrity status from her role as Meadow on "The Sopranos," but they also got "substance," said SSHS social worker Naomi Bisk.
The boyfriend broke up with Sigler soon after running into the ex and her doubts started to spiral out of control. A junior at Jericho High School at the time, she joined her friends in dieting. If nothing else, she could and would control her weight. The compliments she began to receive on her weight loss spurred her forward.
Sigler's life became a rigid schedule of constant exercise and limited eating. At her lowest, the 5'7" actress and singer weighed 88 pounds. One day in the car with her parents, she started crying because they were running an hour late. She had strayed from her schedule. She remembers saying, "I don't want to live." That was when she realized she needed help. Her parents brought her to a therapist and a dietitian.
That is not the end of the story. Before she fell into exercise bulimia, Sigler had filmed the pilot for "The Sopranos" as a healthy 15-year-old. In the depths of her eating disorder, she received the news that the show had been picked up.
"The Sopranos" was another challenge to her recovery. By the second season she had gained back the weight she had lost and fans were not kind. Sigler responded on "The Sopranos" website and then went on a talk show, "The View." A young woman named Samantha suffered from an eating disorder and was helped by Sigler telling her story. So it became Sigler's "mission."
It has been a "long road back," said the 21-year-old, who currently stars on Broadway in "Beauty and the Beast." She says her eating disorder is like a scar that will always be with her, but now she focuses on her health, family and friends first and career second.
After Sigler told her personal story, registered dietitian and author, Sondra Kronberg, addressed some of the facts surrounding all eating disorders. Kronberg spoke of the emotional and physical aspects of the disease. As much as it doesn't make sense to those on the outside, eating disorders are often a way of coping for those suffering with them, she said.
A question and answer session followed, with many questions regarding what to do if a relative or friend has an eating disorder. Sigler said that she would have liked it if her friends had told her that they were there for her when she was ready to talk.
Copies of Sigler's book, "Wise Girl" were on sale in the lobby and at the end of the evening a line of autograph seekers with books in hand snaked down the auditorium aisle.
Bisk was happy with the turnout for the event, which was sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women and the SADD chapters in all the RVC schools. Attendees were able to get some hard facts from Kronberg and handouts. Bisk was especially pleased that the community and the school came together to make the event happen. "What a wonderful team. I would do a program with [NCJW] any day," she said.
