“Hairspray” star Marissa Jaret Winokur has worked hard to lose 60 pounds recently, but she says it wasn’t to please Hollywood; rather, it was to get healthy. And surprisingly, she says she felt more comfortable in her old body than she does in the new.
“I need[ed] to change my way of life. But, interestingly enough, there are moments in my life [where] I felt more comfortable in that body sometimes than in this body,” she said.
At size 14, Winokur says her doctor was concerned for her health, so she made a drastic change and dropped down to a size 2. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean she won’t have to compete for roles; unfortunately, the industry will probably always see her as “plus size”.
“I definitely have moments where I’ll go to an audition or a meeting and girls are just so much skinnier,” she said. “I’m still in Hollywood. I still will be considered a chubby actress.”
The issue of a female’s body type and weight in Hollywood has led to many actresses speaking out to call for its end. Ashley Judd–who is reportedly currently considering a career in Kentucky politics–wrote an essay for The Daily Beast earlier this year regarding the way women are perceived and treated after they are in the spotlight.
“The insanity has to stop, because as focused on me as it appears to have been, it is about all girls and women. In fact, it’s about boys and men, too, who are equally objectified and ridiculed, according to heteronormative definitions of masculinity that deny the full and dynamic range of their personhood. It affects each and every one of us, in multiple and nefarious ways: our self-image, how we show up in our relationships and at work, our sense of our worth, value, and potential as human beings,” she wrote.
As for Winokur, she says she’s afraid to throw away her old clothes for fear that she’ll gain the weight back and have nothing to wear.
“I know it’s horrible, but here’s the thing … my fear is, what do you do? I have jeans that fit me great and what if I gain it back? I need those jeans,” she said.
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Marissa before the weight loss (Credit: “Dance Your Ass Off”)