Women are always under harsh scrutiny when it comes to their weight. Society places much value on a woman's figure and how she looks compared to her character. If you are a celebrity, the limelight is always on you to stay in shape and look better than mere mortals. The reality is that celebrities, just like us, go through weight fluctuations and weight losses. What's more, the camera can trick you into thinking that someone is bigger than they really are. After all, it does add 10 pounds...or does it?
It is always refreshing to see a celebrity that is more relatable to the average woman, since we are bombarded with size 0 Victoria's Secret models. Hell, even the most famous supermodels are scrutinized if they put on a little bit of weight. Another aspect we overlook about the luxury of being a celebrity is that they can afford the best of the best personal trainers, personal chefs and lifestyle coaches. This can make even someone with the worst metabolism in the world be able to have a Hollywood figure. Not to mention, it is feasible that celebrities could even lie about their actual size in order to seem like they are fitting the ideals.
For better or for worse, here are actual celebrity clothing sizes that will make you feel better about your own body:
16 Chrissy Teigen - Size 6
You can recognize Chrissy Teigen by her infectious smile and her fit yet curvaceous figure. Both her and Kate Upton have recently put a new standard when it comes to fashion. Unlike more svelte models, like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, they admit that their bodies aren't the perfect size 0-2 that is the demand in the fashion industry in order to make it as a model. Not only is Chrissy drop-dead gorgeous, but she is down to earth and relatable. She admits that there is far too much retouching. She told Today: “Anyone who knows the in and outs of the modeling industry and social media [knows] you see people touching themselves up on a daily basis, and you don’t even know what anyone looks like anymore. Honestly, I don’t have the kind of Instagram feed where I’m scrolling through and seeing real women. And that is killing me because I know what these girls look like, and it’s not fair.”
15 Beyonce - Size 6 to 8
Ever since her "Bootylicious" days, Beyoncé has made it clear that she is not ashamed of her body and is willing to flaunt it on stage and on the beach. Her figure is more pear-shaped. She carries more weight in her lower body (butt and thighs) but seems to have a very toned, flat stomach. She prides herself on accepting all body types, no matter how big or small. When she won a Fashion Icon Award at the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York, she gave a beautiful speech about body image. "We have the opportunity to contribute to a society where any girl can look at a billboard or magazine cover and see her own reflection. Soul has no color, no shape, no form."
14 Mandy Moore - Size 6 to 8
Back in the early '90s and early '00s, at the peak of her pop star career, Mandy Moore was very thin. Today, she has put on some weight and is no longer has that teenage metabolism that she once did. That is simply a phase most women go through when they get older and out of adolescence. The majority of us tend to put on some weight after high school. Though she could hardly be considered overweight, she has said that working in Hollywood made her feel bad about her size. In an interview with People, she said: I want to be healthy, but in an industry where you can’t wear a sample size because it’s like a 0 or a 2, it makes you feel bad about yourself. To go to a photo shoot, it’s like, ‘Ugh, God, can’t you just at least get a regular size, like a 6 or 8 or something?’"
13 Mindy Kaling - Size 8
Actress Mindy Kaling, who writes, produces and stars in her own sitcom, The Mindy Project, has talked very openly about the thoughts on her size. Though she is not what is considered fat per se, she could be considered chubby with more cushion for the pushin'. In an interview with Vogue, she revealed, “There’s a whole list of things I would probably change about myself. For example, I’m always trying to lose fifteen pounds. But I never need to be skinny. I don’t want to be skinny. I’m constantly in a state of self-improvement." Ok, Mindy. We're not too sure where you actually stand on the whole 'I want to loose weight, but I don't want to be skinny' thing. She does barre exercises and spin classes to stay in shape, but for some reason she just can't get that toned. Why beat yourself up over it?
12 Amy Schumer - Size 8
Amy Schumer has built a career on being the funny but chubby girl who everyone knows and loves. In fact, that is the premise of her entire comedy career. If Amy Schumer were to drop 20 lbs and all of the sudden have a perfect body, her career would be over. Period. When accepting her Trailblazer award in 2015, she got candid about how her weight has not been a problem when it comes to getting laid. She dropped this hilarious comment: "I'm probably, like 160 pounds right now and I can catch a d**k whenever I want. Like, that's the truth. It's not a problem." With that kind of confidence, the thought of your size shouldn't even cross your mind. However, it's not all of us who are famous comedians.
11 Lena Dunham - Size 8
As you have noticed throughout this list, a specific clothing size can look completely different on an individual depending on height and the way the weight is distributed. For Lena Dunham, the '5"3 star probably has a harder time staying in shape with an endomorphic build and the lack of height for the weight to go. You have to hand it to Lena, though. On the HBO hit show Girls, she is practically naked in almost half of her scenes. This is one of the rare moments in television history where a woman with a not-so-perfect body is seen nude on a regular basis. Her big belly and small boobs combination are not what one would consider the most enviable, but props to her for not giving a sh**.
10 America Ferrera - Size 8
In 2002, the plump 18-year-old America Ferrera stared in the film, Real Women Have Curves. Once it hit the Sundance Film, the once unknown teenage actress got roles in even bigger movies like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Since then, she has seemed to slim down from a size 14 to a size 8, which is still considered "big" by Hollywood standards. In interviews, she has admitted many parallels between her and her character. "The obvious parallel is the whole body image question", she says, as she plays a character who defies convention, in Hollywood terms, not as physically 'flawless' as the norm. "Ana is growing up with a generation that is so obsessed with image and having the perfect body, looking and dressing like a pop star. As an actor, you're kind of expected to submit to that and almost to lead that 'cult' almost. Getting the opportunity to counteract that was attractive."
9 Liv Tyler - Size 8 to 10
When Liv Tyler first became famous as a model/actress in the '90s, she was tall, thin and wore the perfect size 2 with model measurements. She admitted that it was difficult for her to maintain that size and that was what got her to focus more on an acting career than a modeling career. Now, the mother of three children, her body is certainly not the same as it has been before. She hasn't put any pressure on herself to loose the baby weight, as she believes that it happens in its own time. A size 8 on her '5"10 frame hardly appears "big", since her height is able to carry it with grace. Her muscular legs and broad shoulders carry the weight proportionally. It seems like she hasn't been casted that much in Hollywood anymore, so that just shows that many actresses are chosen on body type rather than merit.
8 Kate Winslet - Size 10
Oscar-winning actress, Kate Winslet admitted to having to lose weight for her iconic role as Rose in Titanic. After that, she never wanted to lose weight for Hollywood again. Growing up, she had a negative self-image and was supposedly always the "fat kid" in school. She has been very outspoken about the how much society puts pressure on women to have the perfect body. In interview with People, she spoke about her childhood: "When I grew up, I never heard positive reinforcement about body image from any female in my life. I only heard negatives. That's very damaging because then you’re programmed as a young woman to immediately scrutinize yourself and how you look.” Ain't that the cold hard truth?
7 Nicki Minaj - Size 10
Nicki Minaj's name has sparked a lot of attention in the media. She is known for her curves and her don't-mess-with-me attitude. Some of it comes from her song lyrics and some of it comes from her ridiculous proportions. Nicki Minaj has a very big a**, and her figure is unlike any other big bootie celebrity you have seen. Unlike Kim K or JLo, she is the epitome of a pear shape where literally all of her weight is in her hips and buttocks. Boy, does she have no problem showing it off with her professional twerking skills in many of her videos. In her video Anaconda, it shows her as fit yet ample at the same time. She told Daily Mail, "Everything we see that's labeled as beautiful is very skinny", she explains. "In the song, I kind of say, "F*** them skinny girls.' But it's all love. I consider myself a skinny girl." In this photo though, she seems way more plump than usual.
6 Kelly Clarkson - Size 12
It is no secret that Kelly Clarkson has put on a few since her American Idol days. She has been getting plumper over the years even before she had her baby. Paparazzi photos reveal that her weight fluctuates up and down, most likely through yo-yo dieting. She shocked many of her fans when she gained a massive amount of weight after her second child. It is sad that many people forget how talented she is because they are so distracted by her new curves rather than her range of octaves. She said that she has gotten used to the criticism about her weight, and ever since becoming famous that it is nothing new to her. On the Ellen Show, she addressed this issue: "We are who we are. Whatever size."
5 Kim Kardashian - Size 12
Kim Kardashian has cashed out and made a fortune on having an ample a**. When the Kardashians first became famous, the real reason behind their rise to fame is that they were relatable. Prior to that, Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie had plastered our TV screens with their skeletal frames. When the Kardashians took their place as the reality TV queens, the whole outlook on women's bodies changed dramatically. Suddenly, it was cool to be curvy. This is great, but damn that a** is so huge that it probably deserves its own world record. I mean, come on. The rest of her body is fit and curvy, but that ass just has a mind of its own. When it is photographed with photoshop, it is all smooth and shiny. In this photo though, she clearly has cellulite. Probably more so than the average person.
4 Christina Hendricks - Size 14
When Christina Hendricks made her big acting premiere on Mad Men, as the curvy, sexy secretary Joan Holloway, eyebrows were raised. Clearly, she was a big girl but a big girl with the perfect hourglass figure. All the extra weight on her is in the right places. She became the sex symbol for the entire office and men would check out her ass drooling. This was because they dressed her in outfits that flattered her figure. In this pic, it is more candid as to what her body looks like without the girdles and nipped-in waists. In interviews, her physical attributes have been brought up time and time again. In a world of waif-like thinness that dominates Hollywood, Hendricks is living proof that beauty can exist in a completely different construct.
3 Adele - Size 16
So many singers in the past who have been blessed with the range of voice that Adele has have almost always been on the bigger side. It is almost a cliché. Adele is only 28 years old but seems even older than she really is having a son and being married at a younger age. She is careful not to reveal too much of her plus-size body, and she is rarely (if ever) captured in a bikini by the paparazzi. Though she is famous for her remarkable voice, that hasn't stopped her weight from being under a microscope. In an interview with Australia's 60-Minutes she pointed out, "I've always been asked questions about my body and my weight and my size and my style and stuff like that. And I totally understand, but it's a little annoying that men don't get asked those questions as much."
2 Jennifer Lawrence - Size 6
Jennifer Lawrence has been a big advocate of body image positivity. Her athletic frame and slightly curvy body has made for many fashion designers to come begging her to wear their works of art to award shows. Her statuesque physique has her on the best-dressed lists every single year in a row. She has been praised for not having that typical Hollywood body. In photos, she is one of the few starlets who lacks that thigh-gap, and we all covet. She hopes that society can shift it's perspective as far as what a "normal body" looks like. In an interview with Vogue, she said: "I would like us to make a new normal-body type. Everybody says, ‘We love that there is somebody with a normal body!’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t feel like I have a normal body...I do Pilates every day. I eat, but I work out a lot more than a normal person. I think we’ve gotten so used to underweight that when you are a normal weight it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, she’s curvy.’ Which is crazy."
1 Kate Upton - Size 6
When Kate Upton gained popularity, she graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and landed a small acting role in The Other Woman. Kate is known for not having the rail-thin body that we have become accustomed to when we hear the word supermodel. In fact, she appears to have a little more softness and meat on her. Though she has lost weight recently and gotten fit, her double DD chest and soft love handles have always been her trademark. She doesn't seem to have the chicken legs and rib cages hanging out like some of her other top model counterparts, and that is a good thing. She told Glamour magazine, "At first I tried to diet to become their image, but eventually I realized that it wasn't realistic—that this is just the shape of my body."
Sources: vogue.com, filmmonthly.com, dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com
