During Sunday night’s Primetime Emmy Awards, many Breaking Bad fans expressed shock at Anna Gunn’s dramatically different look. Whereas the Skyler White they knew (and mostly didn’t love) from the past five seasons had a bit of meat on her bones, actress Anna was remarkably slim.
“Woah, Anna Gunn is so skinny… What happened?,” one person on Twitter wondered. Another added the 45-year-old “looked like she was starving.”
Now, Anna is setting the record straight about her gradual Breaking Bad weight gain and seemingly drastic weight loss.
“I was actually ill while I was filming the show and it affected my weight,” Anna told People at the Governors Ball after the Emmy Awards. “They gave me cortisone and I puffed up and gained weight. Now I’m better, thank God.”
Cortisone shots are frequently used to relieve swollen joints and are common treatments for arthritis treatment. In addition to weight gain, rheumatologist Dr. Catherine Burt Driver explained for Medicine Net that cortisone shots may result in thinning of the skin, easy bruising, acne, elevated blood pressure, cataracts and/or osteoporosis.
^Anna Gunn before and after: As Skyler White and during an Emmy Award pre-party.
Although Anna didn’t explain her affliction, she emphasized she’s doing much better these days: “I’m doing fine, thankfully. I’m feeling really good.”
