It can be tough to have a good perspective on what the average body is when the majority of celebrities are absolutely teeny tiny. Sure, you see people of all shapes and sizes in your everyday life. However, when it comes time to flip through a magazine, or watch a movie, or even check out the red carpet looks on your favourite fashion website, the celebrities tend to look identically tiny and impossibly thin – something that can be discouraging if that’s not really your natural body type.
Once upon a time, curvier ladies had to simply try to come to terms with their own bodies, or engage in unhealthy behaviours trying to diet down to the size that the majority of celebrities they admired were. That time, luckily, has passed. Lately, curves are all the rage – and instead of finding workouts designed to whittle down every spare inch of body fat, women are trying to build their booty to get those enviable curves.
And, luckily, there are now enough curvy, body positive women in the entertainment industry that women and young girls watching have a more varied source of inspiration. They see a ton of talented, hard-working, gorgeous women who are telling them they’re perfect just the way they are – and we couldn’t be happier about that.
Here are 15 stunning celebs with curves who love their bodies and think that you should love yours too, no matter what size you are.
15 Kelly Clarkson
Many high-profile pop stars have personal trainers from the very beginning, who work with them to ensure they always look slim and trim. However, Kelly Clarkson’s time in the spotlight has been accompanied by something that virtually every woman experiences – weight fluctuations. There have been times when Clarkson was fairly petite, and times when she was much curvier. While many women might find the public scrutiny devastating, Clarkson channelled some major strength and essentially told all her weight critics to take a hike. Her lasting career proves that you don’t need to be a size 0 to be a pop star.
14 Kim Kardashian
Okay, you pretty much can’t have a list of curvy celebrities without including Kim Kardashian. I mean, she was basically one of the trendsetters who led women to the gym to do endless squats in pursuit of a shapely derriere. Regardless of her weight, regardless of whether she was pregnant or still holding onto some baby weight, Kim has never shied away from form-fitting clothing that shows off every curve. She’s known for rocking body-con clothing that showcases her assets – and why not? When you’ve got that Kim K booty, you should definitely be showing it off whenever you can.
13 Kate Upton
While some supermodels who specialize in lingerie or swimsuit might be slightly curvier than their runway counterparts, on the whole, supermodels still tend to be fairly slim and lanky due to their height. However, Kate Upton’s meteoric rise in popularity proves that the public loves women with curves. Upton started modelling when she was young, and quickly ended up rocking swimsuits thanks to her enviable curves. She snagged the cover of the iconic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, began getting small roles in films, and has crafted a career more diverse than the majority of models have – and she doesn’t regret it for a moment. Upton is still fairly slim, and could have likely dieted away some of her curves to enter the world of high fashion modeling – but, as she says, “I want to enjoy life, and I can’t if I’m not eating and miserable.”
12 Demi Lovato
Since she has gone through a variety of demons so publicly and honestly, including struggling with an eating disorder, Demi Lovato has become one of the most outspoken advocates for body positivity and loving the body you’re in – just as it is. She fully embraces her curves and actively tries to make sure she keeps her mindset positive to ensure she doesn’t fall back into bad habits – and we love her for it! Particularly since many of her fans are on the younger side of the spectrum, it’s a great example for her to be setting.
11 Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff first caught the public’s attention as the plucky Lizzie McGuire on Disney’s The Lizzie McGuire Show. Once that wrapped, she started branching out with a few film roles here and there, released an album, and has since become known to everyone – not just the Disney-watching crowd. Growing up in the spotlight is tough, and in her late teens, Duff shed a ton of weight – she was only about 98 pounds, by her own admission! Now, she’s a super-talented star, she’s a mom, and she totally digs her curves and wouldn’t change a thing about them. We agree!
10 Beyoncé
There’s no doubt that Beyoncé is in absolutely phenomenal shape – you would need to be to perform the types of high energy shows that she does. However, Bey has definitely held on to her curves. Her thighs and booty may be absolutely toned and rock hard, but she hasn’t slimmed them down to conform to the pop star norm. She rocks teeny tiny outfits on stage, preaches girl power, and absolutely slays, all day. I mean, if you’re ever having a day where you’re feeling bad about your curves, all you really need to do is listen to a younger Bey with Destiny’s Child’s hit song “Bootylicious.”
9 Meghan Trainor
Body positivity has become a huge part of Meghan Trainor’s personality, given that she burst onto the music scene with “All About That Bass”, a song that is literally all about the fact that women can be gorgeous no matter what their size – beauty isn’t reserved for size 2s. While it definitely helped that the song was crazy catchy, you have to admire the fact that Trainor took a stand and debuted with a song that packed such a message instead of a generic pop love song. Keep on rocking that body positivity and those curves, Meghan!
8 Christina Hendricks
Hendricks has become known around the world for two things – her role as the sassy Joan Holloway on Mad Men, and her insane curves. However, would you believe that she wasn’t always so curvy? Back in her younger days, Hendricks was working as a model in Italy. Unlike many of her fellow models, Hendricks found herself munching on endless carbs and sipping cappuccinos – and ended up gaining 15 pounds! While most women would freak out, Hendricks found she actually loved her body with the extra weight, that it made her look more womanly. She’s kept those curves ever since, and it has definitely earned her a lot of fans.
7 Jennifer Lopez
It’s no secret that Jennifer Lopez is known for her curves – ever since she first stepped onto the scene, she’s been proudly rocking her booty. I mean, the woman even wrote a song all about it, her recent hit “Booty.” However, you may not know just how inspirational J.Lo’s infamous booty is – according to an interview Sir Mix-A-Lot gave in 2014, she was the inspiration behind his song “Baby Got Back,” which was pretty much the original anthem for curvy girls.
6 Mindy Kaling
Throughout her career, the insanely talented Mindy Kaling has played characters who absolutely loved their curves and weren’t afraid to hide them. Kelly Kapoor, Kaling’s first big role, could do little else but talk about how hot she was. And then, of course, Dr. Mindy Lahiri, the incredibly smart ob/gyn with a love of celebrity culture and bright, colourful outfits. Kaling is constantly stepping out on the red carpet amongst a sea of size 0 and 2 actresses, but she doesn’t let it get to her – instead, she rocks gorgeous gowns, takes fashion risks, and works on winning show after winning show. I mean, the woman is amazing.
5 Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj can hold her own in a rap battle with the boys, but she’s also proven that she’s not afraid to step up to the slim pop stars in promoting love for curvy women. While Minaj doesn’t have a lasting beef with country cutie turned pop queen Taylor Swift, it’s no secret that she released her video for “Anaconda” around the same time that Swift released “Bad Blood,” in which she featured her squad of stick-thin supermodels. Minaj herself is known for her crazy curves, but she made sure that virtually all the women in “Anaconda” were curvy, showing viewers that you don’t need to look like a supermodel to be beautiful.
4 America Ferrera
Considering that California cutie America Ferrera made her feature film debut in a movie called Real Women Have Curves, it might not be surprising to learn that she’s been outspoken about body positivity for basically her entire career. It’s often made a part of her characters’ stories, but it’s not something that defines any character she plays – or, in fact, her real life attitude. Sure, she may not be a sample size like other actresses, but she’s intelligent, vibrant, confident, and utterly charming in interviews. And, at only 32, her career is just getting started – she’s beginning to branch out with more complex roles and only continues to get better.
3 Melissa McCarthy
Television fans might recognize comedic powerhouse Melissa McCarthy from her role as Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls and as the leading character on the sitcom Mike & Molly. However, most of the world first got to know the gorgeous woman in the hit comedy film Bridesmaids. Since proving her comedic chops in that film, she’s gone on to snag starring roles in countless zany comedies such as The Boss, The Heat, and the upcoming remake of Ghostbusters. She’s also helping her curvy fashionistas out by creating a plus size clothing collection, Melissa McCarthy Seven7. Her weight has fluctuated over the years, but as McCarthy herself has admitted, she’s leading a healthy lifestyle and doing everything right, so she totally embraces her size.
2 Adele
When she first stepped onto the scene, Adele was an absolute breath of fresh air in a sea of fairly uniform pop stars. First of all, she had a retro vibe going on, and a huge set of pipes that didn’t need any smoothing over whatsoever. Second, she wasn’t a size zero – and she absolutely didn’t care! As Adele herself said, unless her weight began to affect things like her health or her intimate life, she wasn’t bothered about conforming to what mainstream society thought a pop star should look like. Lately, Adele has slimmed down considerably, but it’s all due to decisions she’s made for herself – not because she listened to some manager and tried to lose tons of weight to become the perfect pop star.
1 Lena Dunham
Over the course of her hit HBO show Girls’ run, Dunham has received her fair share of criticism for choosing to show off her character Hannah’s body time and time again. However, Dunham rightfully realized that there were many scantily clad women on television – it’s just that they were usually a smaller size. So, she stuck to her guns and kept showing off Hannah’s curvy body, bringing a great message to viewers. Dunham might not have what Hollywood deems the ‘perfect’ body, but her incredible career offers way better inspiration to impressionable young girls.
Sources: etonline.com, cbsnews.com, popsugar.com
