House of the Dragon star Olivia Cooke is getting real about the darker side of fame—speaking candidly about panic attacks, body image struggles, and the pressure of Hollywood’s latest weight-loss craze.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the 30-year-old British actress revealed that she suffered a severe mental health crisis in her early twenties after moving to the U.S. to pursue her acting career.
“I had panic attacks every day for three weeks,” Cooke recalled. “It turned into OCD and intrusive thoughts that lasted for years. It was like being tortured from within—I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
Cooke said the experience left lasting scars, but her recent roles have brought new challenges. While filming nude scenes for Prime Video’s The Girlfriend, she admitted to feeling more vulnerable than ever.
“It’s incredibly difficult not to feel insecure when only you, your partner, and your doctor see you in that state,” she said.
The actress also spoke about the pressure of working in an industry increasingly obsessed with Ozempic-fueled transformations, as A-listers flaunt dramatic weight loss online.
“To protect myself, I deleted social media while shooting Brides in Budapest,” Cooke revealed. “Avoiding the constant barrage of shrinking bodies has been a relief. I’ve never scrutinized my own body this intensely before. It feels like another way to make women anxious about simply existing.”
Since rising to fame as Alicent Hightower in HBO’s House of the Dragon, Cooke has become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after young stars. But her willingness to speak openly about anxiety, body image, and self-worth is setting her apart in an industry still obsessed with perfection.
