Ewan McGregor’s Daughter Clara Opens up About Rape, Abortion Ordeal in Emotional Instagram Post

Clara McGregor, the daughter of Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor, revealed in an emotional Instagram post Friday that she was raped and had an abortion. She also opened up about her battle with anxiety and depression, and struggles with drug abuse. The post has earned dozens of comments from her friends and fans, who showed her their support.

“I want to take this time to talk about mental health. [I’ve] been so ashamed of some of my mental health issues that I haven’t even wanted to tell friends,” McGregor wrote. “[I’ve] suffered from crippling anxiety since I was 4 years [old] and gone though my fair share of depression.”

McGregor said she has been going to therapy and psychoanalysis since she was a child and is “so grateful” for how much that has helped.

“[I’ve] worked on myself and continue to do. I deal with past trauma, some more recent than others,” she wrote. “My anxiety has stopped me from living the life I wanted to lead. It was a cage I was stick in and still struggle to get out of.”

McGregor said she used Lexapro, which has helped a “great deal.” She got the courage to tell her doctor about her struggles, who told her “You don’t have to live this way” and “he was right.”

“[I’ve] also struggled with substance abuse, due to my anxiety it led me to Xanax and I’m proud to say [I’ve] been clean and sober off pills for 110 days. I went to Cirque Lodge for a little while to get myself on track and met the most wonderful people who changed my life,” McGregor revealed. “I was so ashamed of my addiction, of my anxiety and depression. I was ashamed of the abuse I had let happen to me.”

McGregor said she blamed herself for the “bruises, the black eyes, the rapes and for the attacks a man did to me.”

Thankfully, McGregor is working to regain her “power.”

“[I’ve] had a hard year. [I’ve] been figuring out who I am but I feel so loved and blessed with where I am now,” she wrote. “Thank you to those who helped me though my darkest tomes. You [know] who you are.”
McGregor shared more details in the caption to her note, revealing she survived an abusive relationship and had an abortion.

“I didn’t know there was a way to get better. But there is,” she wrote. “Help yourself so others can help you too. And never be ashamed to talk about it.”

Many of McGregor’s friends and fans showed their support for her in the comments section.

“Clara, this is beautiful and brave and I’m So proud of you,” actress Francesa Reale wrote.

“Love you, thank you for being brave enough to talk about these things and shining a light on a stigma,” actress Cinthya Carmona added. “A reality for most of us, that the outside world doesn’t get to see. Through it all you have handled it all with Grace and you spread so much love to those around you. Grateful to the movie gods for bringing us together, you have helped me in many ways.”

McGregor is Ewan McGregor’s eldest daughter. She has three younger sisters, Jamyan, 18, Esther, 17, and Anouk, 8.

Photo credit: Jun Sato/GC Images/Getty Images