Celebrity Diets

[thingee]

Jan 30, 2011 10:32:21 GMT -4 nowyouseeme said:

Celebrity body image has changed so much in the last 15 years. Remember Rose McGowan's 1998 VMA outfit? NSFW. I can't imagine someone wearing that today and not being told they were overweight.

Agreed, she would be called a fat pig all over the internet. Sad, because her body was stunningly beautiful.

[Deleted]

Nothing's changed in the past 15 years. Fifteen years ago, Jennifer Aniston and Courney COx were trying to out-skinny each other on "Friends". Midriff baring tops were all the rage and every starlet was trying to whittle her waistline down to nothing. Rose McGowan wasn't called a fat pig in that dress because people were too busy screaming "Holy cats! She's naked!"

If you're looking for some magical time where Hollywood loved chunky gals, you'd have to go back to the silent era. Thin has always been in. Only the boob size and acceptable buttock protuberance changes.

[Deleted]

The "ideal" for women during the flapper era in the '20s was thin, flat chest and stomach, and narrow hips. Add in the bob hairdo and basically women were trying to look like boys. There have always been some people who prefer a curvier look, but that's not often been the ideal or the norm.

[koshergrit]

Jan 30, 2011 10:32:21 GMT -4 nowyouseeme said:

Celebrity body image has changed so much in the last 15 years. Remember Rose McGowan's 1998 VMA outfit? NSFW. I can't imagine someone wearing that today and not being told they were overweight.

I always thought she looked beautiful in that outfit, due to her shape.

[talkbox]

I wonder if the high incidence of cancer in celebs is because they keep doing all these drastic diets?

[thingee]

I wonder if the high incidence of cancer in celebs is because they keep doing all these drastic diets?

High incidence of cancer in celebs? I can't imagine there is a statistic to back up such a claim.

I know three people currently dealing with cancer, none of them famous. It just happens.

Feb 8, 2011 20:53:33 GMT -4 @dguzpy said:

Nothing's changed in the past 15 years. Fifteen years ago, Jennifer Aniston and Courney COx were trying to out-skinny each other on "Friends". Midriff baring tops were all the rage and every starlet was trying to whittle her waistline down to nothing. Rose McGowan wasn't called a fat pig in that dress because people were too busy screaming "Holy cats! She's naked!"

If you're looking for some magical time where Hollywood loved chunky gals, you'd have to go back to the silent era. Thin has always been in. Only the boob size and acceptable buttock protuberance changes.

I disagree that nothing's changed in that period. I'm not talking about "chunky gals", I'm talking about healthy-looking women who apparently have a normal BMI (as Rose looks in that picture, circa 1998.) It was in the late 90s that actresses starting freaking out to get overly bone-thin (see Ally McBeal), and it was much talked about then. Now, it is the norm for actresses to be as small as Calista Flockhart was. It was only a few seasons in that the Friends women all started getting so very thin -- I doubt Jennifer Aniston would be cast today with her season 1 figure (I thought she looked great, FWIW.)

In my non-professional opinion, lead actresses in the early 90s (Melrose Place, 90210, etc) tended to be around a size 4-6, whereas today most of them probably average a size 2. JMO, obviously.

[ladyboy]

I would always notice that they would GET thin(ner) once they became famous. So they might start out on a show looking more "normal" but after a season or two they'd start to go "Hollywood" - skinny bobble head, probably some work starting, etc. It does seem that actresses are thinner now than they were 20 years ago, even after going Hwood.

[satellite]

It does seem that actresses are thinner now than they were 20 years ago, even after going Hwood.

I agree. I was (and am) a big fan of "Twin Peaks", and viewed all the actresses on that show as gorgeous and healthy looking. So maybe ten years later ('00 or so) I found that Sherilyn Fenn was in the movie Two Moon Junction from 1988, and I remember watching it and thinking that she looked a bit chunky in her nude scene, which she really wasn't, but I guess I had gotten used to seeing all these thinner/gym-toned bodies as the standard.

In addition, there's now the assumption that teenagers and their mothers should want to wear the same styles, so there's this level of competition if you will where older actresses are supposed to keep/improve upon their 20 year old bodies.

If you watch soaps, or any long-running show like orginal BH: 90210 it's interesting to see how the standards change over time.

[magazinewhore]

I remember seeing that Rose McGown photo and thinking she looked a bit heavier than most actresses. Her shape is (and was not) the norm back then either.

[biondetta]

It does seem like actresses have been getting thinner and thinner. I find myself watching shows with female leads and get distracted by how thin they look sometimes. The fact that this seems to happen with almost every show I watch has made it more noticeable to me. That said, I do think that the woman who plays Olivia on Fringe looks more normal. Definitely thin, but in a healthy, non-distracting way.