Ashlee Simpson was once so desperate to fit in as a dancer, she succumbed to an eating disorder.

The 23-year-old stunned fans earlier last month when she proudly posed for the June cover of Shape magazine in a red string bikini with a newly toned figure.

But the Boyfriend hitmaker insists she wasn't always as confident with her body image.

She recalls: "When I went to ballet school, I was around a lot of girls with eating disorders, and I actually had a minor one myself.

"It was about six months of not eating too much at all. I was 11 and five foot, two inches and about 70 pounds. My parents stepped in and made me eat."