8 Women Opened Up About Fighting Unrealistic Beauty Standards in Hollywood

It’s not a secret that celebrities are under pressure to perform well and maintain a good appearance simultaneously. This means that a character we see in a movie has a certain body type that demands a lot from actresses. In addition to Hollywood, there is a whole modeling world and showbiz where women are asked to change their looks. But today, we have 8 fearless celebrity women that decided to share their stories with us. Let’s see what they have to say.

1. Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer was under a lot of pressure to drop some weight for the movie Trainwreck, which she wrote and starred in. She once claimed in an interview, “It was explained to me before I did that movie that if you weigh over 140 pounds as a woman in Hollywood, that if you’re on the screen, it will hurt people’s eyes.”

She stated that after working with a trainer and being put on a strict diet that she claimed included some meals with “no food,” she could only shed 3 pounds.

2. Jennifer Lawrence

In one of her interviews, Jennifer Lawrence revealed that she was pressured to lose weight for The Hunger Games. “I remember the biggest conversation was, ’How much weight are you going to lose?’” she told Viola Davis. “Along with me being young and growing and unable to be on a diet, I don’t know if I want all of the girls who are going to dress up as Katniss to feel like they can’t because they’re not a certain weight. And I can’t let that seep into my brain either.”

3. Ashley Benson

Ashley Benson used to get “told all the time to lose weight” and has heard “you’re too fat for this” several times over the years. In an interview, she candidly shared, “I feel good. I don’t want to lose 20 lb. because I don’t need to... I think that all of these sizes are healthy.”

4. Beyoncé

Beyoncé “began hearing people criticize her after she had gained some weight” when she was 19. She revealed in an interview, “None of the sample clothes fit me. I was feeling a bit insecure from hearing some of the comments.” But as she states, one day, she woke up and refused to feel sorry for [her]self. “It was the beginning of me using whatever life handed me and turning it into something empowering to other women and men who were struggling with the same thing,” she said.

5. Gigi Hadid

People were critical of Gigi Hadid and tried to convince her that she didn’t have a runway figure when she began her modeling career right out of high school. Back then, she “still had [her] volleyball body,” and remembering it, she explained, “It was a body that I loved. I knew how hard I worked to have those muscles, to be curved in those places.”

6. Viola Davis

Early in her career, Viola Davis faced pressure to try and lose weight. She was constantly told that she was “too fat” and “heavy.” She has been asked, “You wanna be an actor? Then you gotta lose weight.”

7. Patricia Arquette

For Medium, Patricia Arquette was asked to drop weight, and she admitted that she felt so annoyed about it. But she thought it was “a conversation [her] whole life.” When True Romance came out, some critics said she was too fat or heavy. However, she was able to leverage her experience as a movie star to fight back against these requests.

“I was in a position of power and could say, ’On True Romance, Tony Scott never made me feel like that. What are you saying? That every married woman has to look a certain way? [My character] has 3 kids. It’s about a marriage, not a modeling competition.’”

8. Kate Winslet

Early in her career, Kate Winslet was asked to lose weight by tabloids, and her agency was frequently questioned about potential roles by asking, “How’s her weight?” The actress said of the tabloid media coverage about her body, “It was critical and horrible and so upsetting to read.”

Which woman’s fight against old beauty standards surprised you the most? Do you have something to add? Share your thoughts in the comments.