Alicia Silverstone, the ’90s Star Who Refused to Bend to Beauty Standards

During the 90s, many young stars had the opportunity to shine. However, it was also common for them to suddenly disappear from the public eye. Luckily, some of them returned a few years later. That’s exactly what happened to Alicia Silverstone, who was at the peak of her career when she realized that fame came with a lot of pressure.

Bright Side wants to tell you the story of Alicia’s success and why she felt judgments toward her physical appearance meant she had to take a break from acting.

Alicia started her career when she was very young, at the age of 6. Her father took some pictures of her and thanks to them she managed to star in some commercials. Her first important gig in television was a small part in The Wonderful Years, back in 1988, after which came the film that would place her in the public eye: The Crush, in 1993.

In the film, the young woman won the affection of teenage viewers with the role of Adrian Forrester, a girl obsessed with an older man. Alicia was only 16 years old when she was working on the film production and lived alone in an apartment in Vancouver; she had to officially emancipate herself to devote herself to her career full time.

The actress admitted that having been independent at such a young age, she probably missed some steps in her emotional development. However, she also realizes that she gained experience and matured earlier than other people her age.

The beautiful actress caught the world’s attention, including Aerosmith’s, who hired her to star in 3 of their most successful videos. After that, Alicia became the youth idol of the moment, and at 18, she got the opportunity to star in a movie that would change her life.

The young woman was cast to play Cher Horowitz in Clueless, a rom-com loosely based on Jane Austen’s Emma, although with a much more modern approach. The film was a perfect reflection of the youth society of the ’90s and left a significant mark on pop culture, lasting more than 25 years after its release.

For the star, all that success was unexpected and a bit overwhelming. Her life took a 180-degree turn in an industry where she claims she felt isolated. “I didn’t expect the reaction we got at all. It was too much, and I think, if anything, it took me away from doing this work for a while and got me much more into my activism,” the actress admitted years later.

Alicia also acknowledged that she was never interested in being a star. She defined herself as a “theater nerd” who was passionate about her profession and simply wanted to act without aspiring to be world-famous. After Clueless, she became the girl everyone was talking about, and all the directors wanted to have in their cast, but that would soon become a burden.

Silverstone was barely 20 when she saw a darker side of Hollywood. It made such an impression that she moved away from what she claimed was her great passion. In 1997 she landed the role of Batgirl in Batman & Robin. It was possibly one of the most important roles of her career. She’d work with George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell. However, critics soon came to demolish her dream. She ended up in the spotlight, both for the film’s flop and for her physique.

Alicia had to put up with being called “fat” and even some nasty nicknames, referring to her character and her tight costume. “They made fun of my body when I was younger. It was painful, but I knew they were wrong. I knew it wasn’t right to make fun of someone’s body shape; it doesn’t seem right to do that to a human being,” the actress said in an interview.

After this bitter experience, Alicia decided enough was enough and would not bend to the standards of such a cruel industry or try to change her body to fit in. “My response was, ’No.’ I had no interest in being a celebrity or maintaining any fame,” she said. “If you’re telling me that acting means I’m going to be called fat, and I have to do things a certain way, then I’ll pass.”

She also acknowledged that she stopped loving acting for a long time, but thanks to a hiatus, she discovered that fame didn’t have to get in the way of her passion or stop her from doing everything she enjoyed about her profession. When she turned 30, the actress hired a new agent, encouraging her to take only those roles she felt connected to. She had to turn down many important film and television roles along the way, but she stayed true to her principles.

In the meantime, the star discovered that there are other activities that she is passionate about and to which it was worth dedicating her time and energy. Alicia became an activist in the fight for animal rights. Also, after 8 years of preparation and planning, she fulfilled another of her dreams: she published a vegan cookbook entitled The Kind Diet.

Later, she rediscovered her love for acting after being encouraged to appear in a play, Boston Marriage. “I felt that was what I was meant to do, I love it so much; I needed to find a way to do both, to be able to be an actress and an activist at the same time, and that’s what I did,” said the performer.

And it seems that she has achieved her purpose since the 45-year-old artist has been very active in acting for the last 10 years. She’s worked as n actress and producer of multiple independent films, television, theater, and dubbing projects. Some of them are Bad Therapy, Scream, or American Woman.

She has also managed to stay away from the spotlight and tabloids by balancing her career as an actress and activist and enjoying her role as a mother. Alicia raises her son Bear, born in 2011, on her terms, ignoring the opinions of others. In a word, she deals with other people’s opinions just like she did when critics were talking about her body: by ignoring them.

Without a doubt, Alicia Silverstone proves that fame and glamour don’t always mean success. She was undeterred by the pressures of the industry to fit into a role she didn’t believe in, and despite staying away from the screen for a while, she managed to find a way to fall back in love with her profession and get her career back on track.

When did you have to deal with other people’s judgments, and how did you handle it? What would be the best way to build a more empathetic and kind world, according to you?