Has Cate Blanchett been lured to the diet darkside?

Has anyone else seen the recent photos of actress Cate Blanchett at a fashion gala looking so skeletally thin that she is almost unrecognizable? The Oscar-nominated actress has always been slender and fit easily into Hollywood's skinny standards, but she always looked healthy and beautiful. Now her hair appears to be thinning, her face is gaunt and her ribs and shoulders protrude sharply from her skin.

The general, and sadly natural, assumption seemed to be that the actress is just one in a line of women in Tinseltown who have obsessively starved themselves down to almost nothing. I couldn't believe that an already successful and well-respected actress in her late-30s would succumb to the pressures of Hollywood so suddenly and it appears that I may be right as there are rumors that Blanchett has lost the weight for a future rule -- in a film titled Cancer Vixen.

Either way I am amazed by the types of torture actors are willing to go through for their craft. I wonder if there is that big a difference between losing huge amounts of weight for a specific role versus doing so to gain acceptance and, as a result, film parts in the future? These images are a shocking reminder of the toll that excessive and sudden weight loss take on a person's appearance and despite the fame and fortune associated with stardom, they make me quite happy to have a regular desk job where I can eat chocolate and pizza whenever I like.