Recent photographs show the 42-year-old star of “The Practice” with a distended stomach, unnaturally puffy face and grotesquely inflated lips.
The shocking photos were snapped Oct. 20 when the actress stopped for gas in Santa Monica, Calif.
“She’s a mess,” declared an insider about Lara, who dated Jack Nicholson for two years before they split in 2002. “Jack’s very worried about her – and he’s not the only one!”
Lara has been haunted by anorexia rumors for years, and in August, The ENQUIRER revealed that the 5-foot-4 star weighed about 90 pounds. She still appears to be frightfully thin.
“She’s not eating, and her behavior has become increasingly bizarre,” said the insider.
In a startling disclosure, a source who observed Lara at Laguna Beach, Calif., over the past Labor Day weekend revealed the actress had a minder that cared for her like a child.
“Lara was wearing a bikini, and it made me almost ill to look at her,” recalled the source. “She was skin and bones. A woman who appeared to be a caregiver kept adjusting her clothes, fixing her bra and putting her hair in a ponytail.”
The source said that Lara also screamed at her husband – 47-year-old San Antonio real estate agent Donald Ray Thomas – then gushed about how much she loved him.
“Her husband seemed embarrassed by her behavior and mostly ignored her,” noted the source.
“Lara was acting so strangely. She got up and stumbled toward the water, mumbling to herself. Then she staggered back and collapsed onto the sand. Wherever she went, the woman companion dutifully followed to make sure she didn’t hurt herself. Lara appeared incredibly frail and unable to take care of herself.
“Meanwhile, families sitting nearby moved because Lara kept using foul language and was scaring people. She also reeked of alcohol and sweat. I got the impression she hadn’t showered in days.”
A longtime drinker, Lara’s life seemed to fall apart after she and Nicholson parted ways a decade ago. She dulled the pain with alcohol and tried to spruce up her appearance with cosmetic procedures, say sources.
At one point, Lara turned to Alcoholics Anonymous for help, The ENQUIRER reported.
“She seemed to have settled down after she married Donald in 2006,” said the insider. “But now she’s acting out again and looks worse than ever!”
