Article from Cox News Service
Thanks to Lisa of NYC and Dan for this information!
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:BPAGE34/1:BPAGE340417101.html
Updated: Tuesday, Apr. 17, 2001 at 10:25 CDT
'Sopranos' Sigler fights, speaks about disorder
By Kevin D. Thompson
Cox News Service
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Jamie-Lynn Sigler knew she was in
trouble when death started to look like an option.
As a 17-year-old high school senior, Sigler couldn't handle the
mounting pressures. She broke up with her boyfriend. She was
cramming for the SATs. And she was getting ready to star as mob
daughter Meadow in what would become TV's hottest show -- "The
Sopranos."
"I felt like things were out of control," says Sigler, 19, who stars in
a touring musical production of "Cinderella," which begins an 11-day
run Wednesday at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. "I
felt the one thing I could control was how much I ate and
exercised. It became a little routine and it snowballed and became
this huge obsession."
The 120-pound Sigler hated how she looked. Couldn't stand to see
herself in a mirror. She exercised like a demon, monitored every
calorie and dropped to a ghastly 90 pounds.
Still, she wasn't happy. Neither were "The Sopranos"' producers,
who threatened to recast Sigler's part if she didn't get well. "She
didn't have that sparkle in her eye and she was lackadaisical," says
Ilene Landress, the show's co-executive producer. "And you
certainly didn't want to see her in a no-sleeve tank top."
Sigler didn't, either.
"Suicide crossed my mind and the fact that I even considered it
scared me," she says softly.
Thankfully, intense therapy sessions and the aid of family and
friends helped Sigler control her eating disorder.
"The past three years have been the best of my life because of
"The Sopranos," but also the worst," says Sigler, now a
spokeswoman for the American Anorexia Bulimia Association. "But I
think I'm finally at the point where I can move on."
Sigler has definitely been moving across the country since taking
over for Deborah Gibson in March in Rodgers and Hammerstein's
classic stage tale, which also stars Eartha Kitt as the Fairy
Godmother. But when you think "Cinderella," you don't picture the
moody Meadow Soprano in the role.
"That's one of the reasons I wanted to play this part, because I'm
actually nothing like Meadow," Sigler says during a telephone
interview. "It's refreshing for me to play a part like this and let
people see a different side of me because there's not the slightest
bit of Meadow in this character."
Paolo Montalban, who plays the dashing prince, says Sigler brings
an innocent voluptuousness to Cinderella.
"I feel like a schoolboy next to her," says the 27-year-old actor,
who also starred with Brandy in ABC's recent adaptation. "On stage
she elicits the feelings the prince has for Cinderella. He doesn't
know how to talk around her. And when you're around a pretty girl,
you're unsure of yourself, but at the same time, you're
comfortable."
Gabriel Barre, the show's director, praises Sigler as a wonderfully
authentic 19-year-old who boasts a delightful mixture of real
toughness and self-worth. And, yes, Barre has noticed Sigler's
pretty hot.
"I think that's a great thing for a contemporary play," says Barre,
who looked at more than 200 women for the role. "The mission of
this production is to not be totally subservient to the Disney revival.
It was actually quite important for us that "Cinderella" and the
prince be sexy and hot so the kids and teen-agers could identify
with their feelings. And we wanted to be sexy for the adults too,
quite frankly."
While Gibson may have opened in the starring role, Sigler was
always Barre's first choice. But she was too busy filming "The
Sopranos" and couldn't join until March.
Kitt remembers meeting her new co-star for the first time during
rehearsals in New York.
"She came into the studio, came over to me and said, `I'm taking
over the part of Cinderella,"' Kitt recalls. "I said, `Who is this crazy
girl? I've never seen her before. Who is this nut? She's interfering
with me paying attention to rehearsal."'
As far as working with the legendary Kitt, who is often heard
performing her famous Catwoman purr from her dressing room, Sigler
says, "She inspires me every day. To know that she's 74 and has
the energy to go on eight times a week is amazing."
What's amazing to Sigler, who majored in psychology for one
semester at New York University, is that she's starring in a famed
musical production. The Long Island native and Manhattan resident
has always loved musical theater. She started taking dance classes
at 3 and began her acting career at 9 in the role of Marta in a
regional theater Sigler performing in more than two dozen theatrical
productions.
"Cinderella," Sigler says, is special because she identifies so much
with the character.
"My favorite part of the show is when I come down the staircase for
the first time to the ball," she says. "She's just looking around, she's
so nervous and I know that feeling. It's kind of like growing up. I did
all of this musical theater and wanted this so bad and here I am."
The moment is especially poignant for Sigler because of her weight
battles and fleeting desire to end her life.
As an actress, Sigler says she always felt the pressure to be thin.
She would look through magazines and constantly compare herself
with the twiglike celebrities and models she saw. Sigler was even
reluctant to say how much she now weighs (120 pounds) because
she didn't want other young women to feel the kind of pressure she
did.
"This is something that will always be with me," says Sigler, who
exercises only three times a week now and eats healthily. "Every
woman touches on it because of the way our society is.
Unfortunately all of this happened in the public eye, and I had to
deal with a lot of criticism, but you take the good with the bad. It
just made me a stronger person."
Now as a spokeswoman for the bulimia association, Sigler is in a
position to help troubled young girls. And nothing pleases her more.
"I get tons of letters, tons of opportunities to talk to girls and write
articles," she says. "I just felt like making something good out of
something bad."
At the moment, Sigler's career is advancing quickly. There's "The
Sopranos," "Cinderella" and her upcoming pop CD titled "Here to
Heaven." Sigler, who's part Cuban, part Jewish, says the CD will
have a lot of Latin and R&B influences on it. She's recording some of
it in Miami while doing "Cinderella" in Fort Lauderdale.
"It's young, I'm not trying to be sophisticated," she says.
Sigler is, however, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jennifer
Lopez.
"She's definitely someone I look up to and admire," she says. "She's
made her mark in every aspect of this business and that's definitely
something I'd like to do."
Sigler certainly enjoys working on "The Sopranos." Meadow is a
Columbia University freshman now, and Sigler has been part of more
in-depth story lines this season. For instance, she's dated a
half-Jewish, half-black student, sampled the drug Ecstasy, crashed
a friend's car into a guardrail and lost her virginity. The love scene,
Sigler points out, wasn't easy.
"I was really nervous," she says. "Everyone still thinks of me as a
little girl so it was weird for them to see me (in a love scene). My
parents had a hard time watching it."
It's also hard for Sigler to comprehend "The Sopranos' " phenomenal
success.
"We didn't even think people were going to watch it," she says. "It's
bizarre and surreal. (When I'm out in public) I always get, `Has
anybody ever told you that you look like that girl from "The
Sopranos?"' And I don't want to be, like, `Yeah, it's me,' but I get
that a lot. Then, of course, everybody I'm with goes, `Yeah, it's
her."'
So, what about Sigler's personal life? Anyone special in it?
"I don't have time for boys right now," she says matter-of-factly.
"I'm very shy when it comes to that. I wait to be set up with
somebody I know. I'm not into meeting random people. Besides, I've
had my share of boyfriends, and it's not a priority for me right now."
E-mail: kevinthompson@pbpost.com
Story Filed By Cox Newspapers
For Use By Clients of the New York Times News Service
Distributed by The Associated Press (AP)