10 Mighty Women Who Couldn’t Care Less About Beauty Standards

The pressure on celebrities to conform to unrealistic beauty standards is no joke. That’s why it’s empowering to see women who defy the odds and make their own rules. They are, now more than ever, comfortable and proud to speak their truth without a filter.

Bright Side has compiled a list of a few of our favorite strong women who are leading the way to define your own beauty standards.

1. Jamie Lee Curtis

In the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once, Jamie Lee Curtis decided that she will no longer try to conceal her body. She wanted to look “as real as possible” for her role and she instructed everyone that there should not be “concealing of anything” — including her stomach. Jamie opened up about how she’s been sucking her stomach in since she was 11 because she became conscious of what others might think, but this time she let her belly all out.

2. Lady Gaga

Fresh from her Super Bowl halftime performance, Gaga addressed the comments about her body saying that she is proud of her body and everyone should be proud of theirs too. She then gave a piece of powerful advice to her fans who feel the need to cater to anybody: “Be you, be relentlessly you.”

3. Drew Barrymore

Drew is determined now more than ever to teach her daughters that they should feel lucky to grow old. She wants to show her children that it’s okay to be who they are and to not focus on what they look like. For Drew, it’s important that her kids grow up to be good people.

4. Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek embraces aging by posting a selfie and declaring to the world how she is proud of her white hair.

5. Janelle Monáe

Singer Janelle Monáe defied beauty standards when she arrived at the 2022 Met Gala in a futuristic gown with fuzzy underarms.

6. Pink

During her speech for receiving her Vanguard award, Pink made an ode to her daughter, who opened up to her about feeling bad that she looks like a “boy,” by saying, “We don’t change. We take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl. And we help other people to change so they can see more kinds of beauty.”

7. Ashley Graham

Ashley Graham made history and smashed the glass ceiling in beauty standards when she became the first-ever plus-size model to be featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. She has continued to challenge the norm by sharing raw photos of her pregnancy journey including getting real about stretch marks.

8. Rachel Bloom

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend writer and star Rachel Bloom isn’t afraid to show her flaws and break the taboo on normal female hormone cycles. She shared a photo of her acne during the shooting season saying that the hectic schedule and her peak hormonal cycle are causing her acne to run amok.

9. Jennifer Lopez

JLo has always been known for being one of the most beautiful in Hollywood, but the truth is, she used to be criticized for her curvy figure. She even fired her manager who told her to lose weight. She proudly says that her body is beautiful and there was no other way to be but herself.

10. Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks used a throwback post moment to educate her fans about focusing on yourself rather than pleasing other people. As a 14-year-old, she used to worry about how she looked. Now, she has learned that it’s better to make yourself feel beautiful for yourself and not because you want others’ approval. She ended her post with a powerful statement: “Being praised for my looks is nice but not nearly as satisfying as being praised for my accomplishments or deeds.”

Which game-changing celebrity is your favorite? What other beauty standards do you think people should rethink?