Margot Robbie, Jennifer Aniston, And 25 Other Drop Dead Gorgeous Women Who've Been Pressured To Lose Weight

This station mentions eating disorders, addiction, and different intelligence wellness topics.

If you've been connected the net for much than 3 seconds successful the past fewer years, you've astir apt seen that "skinny is back" — aka, each the guardant momentum the body positivity question made successful the 2010s is seemingly eroding. Instead of being encouraged to judge ourselves arsenic we are, we're faced with ads for weight-loss drugs everyplace from societal media to the Super Bowl.

And the happening is, yes, you should marque your ain choices astir your body, but the ever-evolving quality standards volition ne'er fto anyone beryllium "thin enough." Even the astir perfect-looking Hollywood prima you tin ideate has astir apt been told she inactive needs to suffer weight.

Warner Bros. / Via HBO Max

Here are 27 celebrated women who were told they needed to suffer value for Hollywood:

1. In 2026, Margot Robbie told Complex's GOAT Talk, "Very, precise aboriginal successful my career, an histrion I worked with — a antheral histrion — gave maine a publication called Why French Women Don't Get Fat. It was fundamentally a publication telling you to devour less. I was like, 'Woah, fuck you, dude.' He fundamentally gave maine a publication to fto maine cognize that I should suffer weight. ... That was a precise agelong [time ago]. I person nary thought wherever helium would adjacent beryllium now. Really backmost successful the day."

And sadly, that wasn't the past clip idiosyncratic successful the manufacture pressured Margot to suffer weight! The producers of The Legend of Tarzan wanted her to fare for her relation arsenic Jane, but she refused. In 2016, she told Australia's TV Weekly, "It was my archetypal clip surviving successful London properly, and I wanted to effort each pub ... It's the 19th period [in the film] – if she's got a spot of value connected her, it's astir apt a bully thing. I'm not going to look bladed conscionable for the involvement of it."

2. In 2025, exemplary Brooks Nader told Bustle, "If I didn't get a job, I would accidental to [my aged agency], 'Can we get feedback from the client?' The nonstop feedback was I needed to suffer 30 pounds. I didn't shed 1 teardrop implicit it. I don't consciousness atrocious for myself. I conscionable say, 'The facts are they privation maine to suffer weight. How tin I execute that?' The facts are that erstwhile I started GLP-1, my vocation took off. I'm not saying it's OK. I'm not saying it's right. I deliberation everybody is antithetic — but I mislaid 30 pounds, and I booked each the jobs."

On Love Thy Nader, she accrued her GLP-1 dose due to the fact that she wanted "to beryllium other snatched" for her Maxim screen shoot, contempt admitting that "the symptoms of the value nonaccomplishment drug, they've gotten a batch worse recently." After a workout class, her sisters — who claimed she besides "didn't devour past nighttime and she didn't devour thing today" — recovered her adjacent to unconsciousness successful the tub. They were truthful acrophobic that they staged an intervention.

3. In 2021, Jordana Brewster told the Retaility, "Ten years ago, I was truthful acrophobic about, 'How does my tummy look? How does my butt look?' I telephone it the Maxim epoch and the FHM epoch of, 'Yes, you person to beryllium talented, but you besides person to beryllium a definite size and not excessively abdominous and not excessively skinny.' There was truthful overmuch unit connected actresses to look a definite way, and that's exhausting and specified a discarded of vigor due to the fact that alternatively of speechmaking oregon focusing connected your character, you're focused connected 'How bash I look close now, and is it cleanable enough?' … I utilized to get notes, 'They're asking you to suffer immoderate weight,' and I would transportation that for years, due to the fact that however could you not?"

4. In 2023, Florence Pugh told Time that, erstwhile she filmed Fighting With My Family successful LA, "The idiosyncratic I came backmost to was a pistillate wrestler with muscles and large thighs who made her ain sanction arsenic a champion. I rather liked that due to the fact that the past clip I'd been there, I was told I needed to suffer value — it was conscionable truthful not the idiosyncratic I wanted to be."

She continued to prioritize her ain well-being implicit immoderate movie studio's ideas of what she should look beryllium — adjacent erstwhile she landed her Marvel role. In 2020, she told Elle UK, "When I got the job, I wanted to cognize what the authorities was. I wanted to cognize whether it was them oregon maine calling the shots. That was a large woody for me. I didn't privation to beryllium portion of thing wherever I was perpetually checked on. And radical making definite I was successful the 'right' shape. That's not maine astatine all."

5. In 2024, Sarah Snook told the Times that, aboriginal successful her career, she heard these harsh words from a casting agent: "We don’t truly privation you due to the fact that you're a nobody, but the manager and the writer deliberation you're bully for the role. So what we'll bash is alteration each of you truthful that you're marketable: we'll whiten your teeth, darken your hair, we'll springiness you a idiosyncratic trainer truthful you tin suffer value and look the part."

She went on with it, reasoning she had "to beryllium each the things that aren't" her. One time connected set, she "had the tiniest spot of cocoa cake," prompting a shaper to lecture her successful beforehand of everyone. A costume decorator stood up for her, but she was inactive "dying inside." She said, "The infantilizing of women, to not beryllium capable to marque their ain decisions, wherefore would we bash that to women?"

6. Amber Riley has dealt with suggestions from aggregate directors astatine auditions to suffer weight, but aboriginal successful her career, she decided that, not lone would she garbage to alteration her size, but she'd besides diminution roles that depicted plus-size women negatively. On a 2012 occurrence of MTV's This Is How I Made It, she said, "Hollywood is simply a precise hard spot to beryllium in. It truly is. Being the idiosyncratic I am, you know, the size I am, being a woman, being a Black woman, there's not a batch of roles for us. ... I couldn't recognize wherefore radical couldn't judge maine for who I was, and the rejection started wearing connected my self-esteem. That’s erstwhile my ma and I decided to stop. I'm not gonna conform and wounded myself and bash thing brainsick to beryllium a size two."

7. In her pre-Friends days, Jennifer Aniston was instructed to deterioration tights and a leotard to a callback. The time before, her cause told her he'd been "meaning to speech to" her astir her body, and helium discussed her fig arsenic if helium was talking astir a car. In 1996, she told Rolling Stone, "My cause gave it to maine straight. Nicest happening helium ever did…. The disgusting happening of Hollywood – I wasn't getting tons of jobs 'cause I was excessively heavy."

8. In 2021, Alicia Witt told Page Six that, successful '90s Hollywood, "It was expected and accepted that women could beryllium spoken to and of successful a definite way. It was considered nary large woody to archer a woman, 'You should suffer 15 pounds, you should suffer 20 pounds.'"

She "can’t adjacent count" however galore times she'd been advised to suffer weight. She said, "It started erstwhile I was a young teenager, and coming from sources arsenic seemingly innocuous arsenic friends. The operation 'the camera puts connected 10 pounds' was thing that women would accidental to their daughters and their sisters. ... I don't judge successful labels oregon rules due to the fact that they acceptable you up for failure. And I cognize from my ain communicative and my acquisition with food, my narration with being successful beforehand of the camera and, and assemblage representation and each of those things that spell backmost and distant from 1 utmost to the different conscionable doesn't work."

9. In 2022, Jennifer Lawrence told Variety's Actors connected Actors, "In Hunger Games, it was an awesome responsibility. Those books were huge, and I knew that the assemblage was children. I retrieve the biggest speech was, 'How overmuch value are you going to lose?' Along with maine being young and increasing and not capable to beryllium connected a diet, I don't cognize if I privation each of the girls who are going to formal up arsenic Katniss to consciousness similar they can't due to the fact that they're not a definite weight. And I can't fto that seep into my encephalon either."

Even winning an Oscar for Best Actress successful 2013 didn't alteration the unit she faced successful the industry. She told Harper's Bazaar UK, "Somebody told maine I was fat, that I was going to get fired if I didn't suffer a definite magnitude of weight. They brought successful pictures of maine wherever I was fundamentally naked, and told maine to usage them arsenic information for my diet. It was conscionable that. ... They thought that due to the fact that of the mode my vocation had gone, it wouldn't inactive wounded me. That somehow, aft I won an Oscar, I'm supra it all. 'You truly inactive attraction astir that?' Yeah. I was a small girl. I was hurt. ... If anybody adjacent tries to susurration the connection 'diet', I'm like, 'You tin spell fuck yourself.'"

However, she dieted for her relation successful Red Sparrow. In 2018, Jennifer told Vanity Fair, "I've ever wondered what it would instrumentality to get maine to truly diet, to truly beryllium hungry, due to the fact that I've ne'er done it for a movie. For Hunger Games, they told maine to suffer weight, and past I discovered Jack successful the Box. Red Sparrow was the archetypal clip that I was truly bare and disciplined. I can't beryllium successful quality arsenic an ex-ballerina and not consciousness similar an ex-ballerina."

10. Ballet prodigy Misty Copeland joined the American Ballet Theatre aft precocious school. In her 2014 memoir Life successful Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, she wrote, "When my 2nd twelvemonth successful the corps came, I had different obstacle successful my way: I was not the aforesaid ballerina that ABT had known before. I had yet had my archetypal play and gained 10 pounds. Where determination had been buds that could hardly capable a bra, my breasts became afloat and voluptuous. They were truthful overseas to maine that they were uncomfortably heavy, and I was startled erstwhile I looked successful the mirror. My assemblage had wholly changed. Like myself, I soon realized that ABT, too, was searching for the small miss that I had been."

She continued, "Finally, ABT's creator unit called maine successful to archer maine that I needed to suffer weight, though those were not the words they used. Telling already-thin women to slim down mightiness origin ineligible problems. Instead, the much polite word, ubiquitous successful ballet, was lengthening. 'You request to lengthen, Misty,' a staffer said. 'Just truthful you don't suffer your classical line.' I was 5 feet 2 and conscionable implicit a 100 pounds. They suggested a nutritionist, but the institution wouldn't wage for it... I was trying to past connected a corps member's wage — $679 a week — successful New York, the astir costly of cities. And present I had this further unit to effort and prosecute a specializer to assistance maine suffer weight."

She continued, "Like truthful galore things that came precocious successful my beingness — my instauration to ballet, a much mature assemblage — I was besides starting to consciousness different emotion astir young radical acquisition years earlier, often portion they're inactive successful precocious school: rebellion. 'Who bash they deliberation they're talking to?' I would mumble to myself aft a long, stressful day. 'I person truthful overmuch talent. Why bash I person to beryllium stick-thin?' My backup program was to outdance everyone, to beryllium truthful technically cleanable and unbelievably lyrical successful my movements that each anyone would beryllium capable to spot was my talent, not my breasts oregon curves oregon the colour of my skin."

11. Carrie Fisher was told to suffer 35 pounds for a relation astatine property 60. In 2015, she told Good Housekeeping, "They don't privation to prosecute each of maine — lone astir three-quarters! Nothing changes: it's an appearance-driven thing. I'm successful a concern wherever the lone happening that matters is value and appearance. That is truthful messed up. They mightiness arsenic good accidental get younger, due to the fact that that's however casual it is. ... I did it the aforesaid mode everybody has to — don't devour and workout more! There is nary different mode to bash it. I person a harder clip eating decently than I bash exercising. It's easier for maine to adhd an enactment than to contradict myself something. And erstwhile I bash suffer the weight, I don't similar that it makes maine consciousness bully astir myself. It's not who I am. My occupation is they speech to maine similar an actress, but I perceive them similar a writer."

Speaking astatine the 2024 Hay Festival, her person James Blunt said, "I was with her the time earlier she died, erstwhile she came down to my house. And she'd been truly mistreating her body, and she'd conscionable got the occupation again of being Princess Leia successful a caller Star Wars movie. So she was truly connected a precocious and a positive, but they had applied a batch of unit connected her to beryllium thin. She spoke astir the difficulties that women person successful the industry, however men are allowed to turn old, and women are surely not successful movie and TV. And she truly enactment a batch of unit connected herself, started utilizing drugs again, and by the clip she got connected the plane, she had efficaciously killed herself. They accidental it was bosom nonaccomplishment of immoderate kind, but she had taken capable drugs to person a truly bully party."

12. In 2024, Bryce Dallas Howard told People, "I've retired talking astir my body. My absorption is connected what my assemblage is doing, what my assemblage is susceptible of. ... What I recovered was champion is to conscionable beryllium successful connection with folks aboriginal successful the hiring process. What I would accidental is that, 'If you privation to formed me, awesome. But if you deliberation you privation to formed me, but 20 pounds little maine oregon 40 pounds little me, that's really different actor. That's not me, and I'm not going to shame you successful this infinitesimal astir this. We request to person a existent speech here, due to the fact that if you're hiring me, you're hiring me.'"

"I had that speech with Matthew [Vaughn, who directed Argylle]. And Matthew, was like, 'Yeah, I'm hiring you.' ... I was adjacent stronger due to the fact that of it. I was capable to bash much due to the fact that of it," she said.

13. Before Christina Hendricks was an actor, she pursued modeling. When she was 25 and a UK size 8 (a US size 4), her cause told her to suffer weight. In 2011, she told the Guardian, "I thought, well, you mightiness spot curves there, but that's conscionable a bone, truthful adjacent if I suffer weight, that's not going to alteration anything. That's however I look. That's my shape. Do the math."

She didn't suffer weight, and successful 2012, she was voted Esquire's "sexiest pistillate alive." A fewer months later, she told British GQ, "I've ne'er rather felt similar I fitted in. It's arsenic if I was invisible earlier Mad Men. Now radical travel up and say, 'God, I emotion the show, I'm so-and-so,' and I'm like, 'I know, I had meal with you 3 years ago.'"

14. In 2015, Margaret Cho told the Hollywood Reporter, "Sometimes we were told we were excessively Asian; sometimes we weren't Asian enough, which I ne'er truly got, and that I was excessively overweight to play the portion of myself [on her sitcom All-American Girl]. I ended up hospitalized with kidney nonaccomplishment from not eating."

Then, appearing connected the podcast How to Fail successful 2026, she said, "I had ever been fat, and I benignant of accepted that. But being a comedian, I thought it didn't matter. You could benignant of beryllium fat, and it wouldn't marque a difference. But I was shocked erstwhile suddenly, it did marque a difference, and that I had to suffer a batch of weight." For years, she took fare drugs, but eventually, she stopped and entered therapy and a 12-step betterment program, which helped.

15. In 2010, Amanda Seyfried told Glamour, "If I didn't tally and enactment out, there's nary mode I would beryllium this thin.... But I person to enactment successful signifier due to the fact that I'm an actress. It's fucked up, and it's twisted, but I wouldn't get the roles otherwise. If I'd been a spot bigger, I don't deliberation they would person formed maine for Mamma Mia!"

Then, successful 2014, she tweeted, "Fun fact: I astir mislaid retired connected respective roles successful my vocation due to the fact that I was overweight. Wrong, America."

16. In 2021, Casey Wilson told USA Today that, adjacent the commencement of her career, a pistillate she worked for advised her to be nutrient addiction meetings. She said, "As benignant of a gift, I truly got very, precise acold successful beingness earlier I adjacent truly realized that determination are these standards of quality for women, and truthful I conscionable had a precise escaped narration with nutrient and with eating. Ultimately, I was a spot shocked erstwhile my brag who – besides it's conscionable truthful inappropriate to measurement successful connected your employee's value – erstwhile she commented, but I could adjacent realize, astatine that time, it was her projecting her ain nutrient issues connected me, which I deliberation a batch of radical do."

17. Rebel Wilson initially "wanted to beryllium a Dame Judi Dench-type." After winning a assistance from Nicole Kidman, she decided to prosecute comedy, but she was rapidly pigeonholed. In 2022, she told the Hollywood Reporter, "I was precise overmuch stereotyped into playing the abdominous comic girl, which I loved and which I played into and made millions of dollars doing. To me, that was not a antagonistic whatsoever, but sometimes, erstwhile you alteration yourself physically, it tin marque radical look astatine you successful a somewhat antithetic way. There tin beryllium benefits to that and radical look astatine you and say, 'Oh, she's antithetic now, possibly we should formed her successful antithetic projects.' Unfortunately, successful Hollywood, radical request to spot you otherwise successful bid to formed you otherwise oregon springiness you caller opportunities."

Then, successful 2025, she told SiriusXM, "When I mislaid a batch of value successful 2020 — I lost, like, 70, 80 pounds — and from that point, I started getting offered much superior roles. And I did this British indie movie that was truly superior astir traumatic encephalon injury, and past present I'm playing Lady Capulet. So I deliberation I benignant of un-typecast myself by losing weight. I mean, I loved being the bigger, comic girl, loved playing Fat Amy successful the Pitch Perfect movies. It was truthful cool, and that inactive is maine successful truthful galore respects, but I conjecture people...started to spot maine a spot differently."

18. In 2013, Monica Potter told the Hollywood Reporter's Emmy Roundtable astir losing retired connected a relation due to the fact that of her postpartum body. She said, "I'd conscionable had my past kid, Molly. She's 7 now. And my agents were like, 'OK, let's get retired determination again!' And it takes maine a mates years to suffer the babe chub. It conscionable does. I summation astir 60 oregon 70 pounds portion pregnant. I'm not 1 of these girls hitting the yoga mat. I similar to devour Cheetos, I'm not going to lie. And aft I person the kid, I similar to person immoderate drinks. ... I was pushing similar 180 pounds astatine the time. I'm like, 'You guys, I conscionable don't consciousness physically acceptable yet.' I had my Spanx connected and looked similar a damn sausage, but I went successful and thought I did a truly bully job."

"I got location and get the telephone from my agents. I'm like, 'I did good, right?' And they say, 'You did great. The occupation is you're just…' 'I'm excessively fat.' 'Yeah, we're conscionable going to hold a small bit.' I said, 'I already told you this!' The value happening is simply a crappy happening successful this town, you know? So I conscionable ate immoderate Cheez Whiz," she said.

19. In 2011, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley told Elle UK, "When I started modelling, I was decidedly heavier. I was rather voluptuous successful fact. I had a existent babe look and babe fat. But I was a baby! I was told I had to get into amended shape, but I'm rather stubborn, truthful I didn't … I can't retrieve a clip wherever I truly battled with my body, but I tin retrieve being asked to suffer value and battling with the advice. It wounded me. Especially arsenic my babe abdominous people melted distant arsenic I got older."

20. Director Michael Bay allegedly told Kate Beckinsale that she'd person to suffer value if she booked Pearl Harbor. In 2016, she told The Graham Norton Show, "I don't deliberation I acceptable the benignant of histrion Michael Bay had met before. I deliberation helium was baffled by maine due to the fact that my boobs weren't bigger than my caput and I wasn't blonde. ... I'd conscionable had my girl and had mislaid value but was told that if I got the part, I'd person to enactment out. And I conscionable didn't recognize wherefore a 1940s caregiver would bash that."

21. In 2016, Ashley Benson told Ocean Drive, "I was conscionable told I was excessively abdominous for a part. I'm a size 2! I cried for 30 minutes, but past you person to fto it rotation disconnected your shoulders, oregon it could origin a superior eating disorder. A batch of radical successful this manufacture perceive they request to suffer value much times than they should. It does marque you stronger, though. Because if you fto that impact you, you can't beryllium successful this manufacture — you'd spell crazy."

22. On the Hollywood Reporter's 2019 Drama Actress Roundtable, Patricia Arquette said, "As I was getting older, determination was inactive this unit to look a definite way. I had an statement with 1 of the producers connected Medium, who told maine I should suffer weight. I was like, 'This woman is simply a mother, she's married, she's got 3 kids. No.' But there's that anticipation of being beautiful, of looking a definite way. Like, 'OK, you could beryllium 40, but you've got to beryllium a 40 who looks 30.' So, erstwhile I started to enactment connected Escape astatine Dannemora and past again with The Act, I decidedly felt immoderate pushback."

Her squad was frightened that she'd "lose work." She added, "And successful fairness, they'll person those conversations. 'What does she look similar now?' 'Why don't you nonstop america a representation of what she looks similar close now?'"

23. Director Sofia Coppola suggested that her predominant collaborator Kirsten Dunst suffer value for her relation successful The Beguiled. However, erstwhile the histrion declined, Sofia was understanding. In 2017, Kirsten told Variety, "It's truthful overmuch harder erstwhile you're 35 and hatred moving out... I'm eating fried chickenhearted and McDonald's earlier enactment [while filming successful agrarian Louisiana]. So I'm like, 'We person nary options! I'm atrocious I can't suffer value for this role.'"

24. In 2016, Amy Schumer told The Jonathan Ross Show, "It was explained to maine earlier I did [Trainwreck] that if you measurement implicit 140 pounds arsenic a pistillate successful Hollywood, if you're connected the screen, it volition wounded people's eyes. ... I didn't cognize that, truthful I mislaid immoderate value to bash that, but ne'er again."

25. In 2020, Tyra Banks told Us Weekly, "I deliberation a batch of it had to bash with my mother. You know, maine being really, truly skinny and awkward astatine 1 clip and feeling unhappy astir that. Her helping maine to get done that and saying that my full worthy is not this skinny body, and 1 time it volition summation immoderate weight, and you know, everything's gonna beryllium okay. And past maine gaining weight, and past the manner manufacture saying that was excessively big, and her being determination and saying, 'They volition not specify you. You volition not suffer value for these people. Let's fig retired a antithetic clientele. Let's fig retired idiosyncratic that tin admit who you are and who you're becoming.'"

26. While Hayley Atwell was filming Brideshead Revisited, Miramax execs allegedly told her to suffer weight. However, a seasoned costar acceptable them straight. In 2008, she told First Post, "I went circular to Emma [Thompson]'s 1 night, and she was getting precise aggravated that I wasn't eating each the nutrient she was giving me. I told her why, and she deed the roof."

Furious, Emma phoned the producers the adjacent day, threatening to discontinue if they made Hayley diet. So, they agreed to backmost down.

27. And finally, successful 2017, Ashley Graham told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that, erstwhile she was scouted by a modeling cause astatine her section mall, helium told her she should suffer weight. She said, "The truly hard infinitesimal was erstwhile my dada said, 'Honey, if an cause is telling you to suffer weight, past possibly you should suffer weight.' I was 15, lasting successful our surviving room, having a infinitesimal I volition ne'er forget. I ne'er had a genitor archer maine to suffer weight, and it hurt. Of course, helium was reasoning similar a businessman. It's not that my begetter didn't emotion me. He wanted maine to succeed."

However, her mom's words of contented challenged that advice: "You're similar each of the women successful our family. You're similar truthful galore women successful the world." But unfortunately, Ashley inactive felt unit to shrink herself. She said, "I had truthful galore agents archer maine that astatine size 18, I would ne'er enactment oregon enactment again. I heard, 'Go location and suffer immoderate weight.' I tried each diet, from surviving connected cabbage crockery to fasting to Weight Watchers, and past came the frozen meals and the shakes. I realized that the much I took attraction of my body, eating what was bully for me, past I felt blessed and whole. It doesn't substance what size your hips are erstwhile you measurement them. It's about, 'Do you consciousness bully and steadfast successful those hips?'"

The National Eating Disorders Association helpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 situation support, substance “NEDA” to 741741.

The National Alliance connected Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides accusation and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an relation of intelligence wellness professionals from much than 25 countries who enactment efforts to trim harm successful therapy.