Abbott Elementary's Lisa Ann Walter Reveals How Sheryl Lee Ralph Helped Her With Body Image Issues

The educators at Abbott Elementary even manage to teach themselves lessons sometimes.

After saying that an ex-boyfriend attempted to shame her "for being fat" during her time on the NBC sitcom Emeril in 2001, Lisa Ann Walter revealed her struggle with body image actually extended much further.

"I wish it was just once," Lisa exclusively told E! at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles March 30. "I was fat shamed my entire life because I was the fat kid. Back when I was growing up, there weren't as many heavy kids."

However, the actress revealed that her Abbott Elementary co-star Sheryl Lee Ralph has been responsible for helping her turn a corner.

"With Sheryl in my ear saying, ‘I won't hear that anymore, I won't hear you talk that trash about yourself anymore,'" Lisa said she realized that "finally, at this point in my life, I'm not trying to be anything other than what I am. And I love it."

Lisa shared that during difficult times during her childhood, she would cope with food.

"I happened to be a latchkey kid with the first divorced parents in school," The Parent Trap star said. "I found my comfort in bread and butter with sugar on it. That's what I knew how do: Feed the loneliness with carbs and fat. That felt good."

The 59-year-old admitted that struggling with her weight made for a challenging adolescence.

"I got teased mercilessly growing up because white girls weren't supposed to have all this junk," she said. "We weren't supposed to have this kind of figure. We were supposed to be really skinny like those girls on Charlie's Angels."

Abbott Elementary airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

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--Reporting by Dayn Nanda