Are most actresses very very slim in real life?

[Mitford1789]

I saw a well known actress a few days ago, standing behind her in the queue for a coffee. She was dressed down, however was clearly very pretty in person. However I was taken aback by how slim she was. I would say she was slightly taller than average, not a tiny person if you know what I mean. But so so slim. Do you think most famous actresses/singers etc are like this? Maybe I’m very naive.

Yes Balloon they started young but they weren’t as bad for women as is made out in modern times.

It's pretty fucking ironic that I'm being attacked and told I'm a troll who needs mental health support by someone who claims to be a model who needs to starve just to maintain the same waist size as a 40-something with a BMI of 20, and posts pro-ana shit about eating cotton balls.

Wowsers I clearly hit a nerve!

I used to model, haven't done for years. Largely because I was crap not just because of weight but hated being cold etc.

who needs to starve just to maintain the same waist size as a 40-something with a BMI of 20,

Oh I missed it was a competition! I'm completely comfortable with my body in my 30s post dc with my BMI of 19 & waist of 27". But if you wanna feel better about yourself because your waist is smaller & your shorter than knock yourself out.

I never ate cotton wool, much prefer food.

I've seen Keira knightley and David Beckham on the street/supermarket and they were both much smaller in stature than I expected, v slim. I do think maybe we just expect celebs to be bigger in some way from seeing them on tv or something? Like they're not real life size. But they are.

One of my best friends is shooting a period drama right now and she was told she had to wear a corset for a few months ahead of filming in order to train her waist. She's already skinny as a rake.

I guess they need it to be authentic, but surely not everyone in the 18th century was thin?

Wowsers I clearly hit a nerve!

The irony of saying that then bragging about how your BMI is lower than mine in the same post.

I'm not the one ranting about eating cotton balls and how I had to starve myself to remain skinny enough to be a model, and I'm not the one calling other people trolls and mentally ill just for pointing out women have different body types and frames.

I'm truly sorry your modelling career and the pressures on you to starve yourself have affected you so badly, but please don't take your anger out on me.

Blimey this thread has degenerated. It should probably be taken down now

Bloody hell this thread has become cringy with people proudly posting their waist size and BMI for us all to admire.

It does illustrate the slightly insidious diet culture though. For a woman in her 30s having a BMI of less than 20 puts her at higher risk for long term medical problems but people will still be proud to show it off.

(I'm not jealous by the way, after a very busy few weeks my BMI is too low and I'm trying to healthily gain a bit of weight. I'm not going to proudly show off my stats though, I'd rather be healthier and larger).

@NutellaEllaElla just what I was thinking. Why are some of you so rude/scathing/unpleasant?
Why do some threads have to become so heated over something which started off as a simple question/ thought / wondering out loud?

The irony of saying that then bragging about how your BMI is lower than mine in the same post.

I already said my BMI upthread & just repeated it. Not sure why that's bragging but you saying what yours is & how your waist size is smaller isn't?

I'm not the one ranting about eating cotton balls and how I had to starve myself to remain skinny enough to be a model, and I'm not the one calling other people trolls and mentally ill just for pointing out women have different body types and frames

The above behaviour is what I have highlighted as not healthy.

I have never claimed I ate cotton balls & mentioned them once yesterday & another poster asked me a question which I responded too. How is that ranting about them? You seem far more hung up on them then I am.

I'm truly sorry your modelling career and the pressures on you to starve yourself have affected you so badly, but please don't take your anger out on me

Again highlighting my point. I've already said I barely had a career as I was shit, ain't no shame in that. And I never starved myself that was the point as I had no interest in doing so.

I'm not the angry one at all just perplexed why a thread talking about the pressures famous women in particular face has been derailed so much.

dorangme you've made numerous posts referring to yourself as "a model" (in a way that implied you are currently a model) and made numerous posts on the pressures on you to starve yourself.

Having posts deleted for accusing posters of being trolls and being mentally ill is way way over-invested.

@HandfulofDust which is why I roll my eyes about people on anti-fat threads saying it is about health. It rarely is. A lot of women are happy to risk their health to look good as defined by society.

Having a very low BMI is a big problem for fertility though and is maybe the reason why so many Hollywood actresses need fertility treatment to get pregnant?
A friend with an ED had stopped ovulating and was told by her doctors to try and up her BMI a bit if she wanted to get pregnant naturally. But she struggled so much with that that they gave her drugs to kickstart ovulation instead. She did get pregnant and managed to eat a little more than usual during the pregnancy and it seemed all ok - as were her subsequent 2 pregnancies. She still has the ED but modern medicine meant she was able to get and stay pregnant anyway. I’m sure this isn’t an uncommon scenario

@WisconsinRaw

One of my best friends is shooting a period drama right now and she was told she had to wear a corset for a few months ahead of filming in order to train her waist. She's already skinny as a rake.

I guess they need it to be authentic, but surely not everyone in the 18th century was thin?

It depends on how authentic they’re being, and when exactly whatever it is is set, but in fact 18thc corsets weren’t about making your waist small, they were more about supporting the breasts, didn’t restrict breathing, and were quite comfortable. Late 18th and early 19thc, the fashionable dress was empire line, and stays ended just below the breasts.

For the serious body-shaping corsets, you’re looking at mid-Victorian era ones, laced very tightly.

It does illustrate the slightly insidious diet culture though. For a woman in her 30s having a BMI of less than 20 puts her at higher risk for long term medical problems but people will still be proud to show it off.

Just to clarify I wasn't saying it as a badge of honour in any way. I'm just naturally quite long & lean with a very small frame but I carry weight on my waist & bust (which again I've already mentioned upthread). However when modelling I was told I should weigh X which would mean a BMI of 16 or less. That was completely unrealistic & unnatural for me despite being someone who is naturally quite slim.

For a woman in her 30s having a BMI of less than 20 puts her at higher risk for long term medical problems

You would think the NHS would warn of this on their BMI calculator.

you've made numerous posts referring to yourself as "a model" (in a way that implied you are currently a model) and made numerous posts on the pressures on you to starve yourself.

My first post said I used to work in the fashion indistry & I said I used to model in the 90s how do you interpret currently from that?

Where did I say I starved myself?

What I did do is reply to your post that a 24" waist was healthy & normal & say it really depends on shape & height.

I'm surprised so many people know their waist and hip measurements. I wouldn't have a clue!

@CHILLLADIES as I said there is a lot of disordered eating in Britain. Not knowing these measurements is a good sign.

I'm surprised so many people know their waist and hip measurements. I wouldn't have a clue!

It only takes a couple of minutes to measure.

Re: corsets - tight lacing wasn't as common as believed in the Victorian era and was considered a bit weird by a lot of people.
Corsetry was only one way of getting a fashionable body shape. Women could wear hip padding, ruffled corset covers and loose-fitting blouses to give the impression of a bigger bust, carefully-placed stripes or contrast-fabric panels on dresses, huge puff sleeves with internal supports or shaped waist seams that drew the eye in and down. Photographs were also commonly doctored to make women's waists look smaller. It's quite easy to spot once you've seen it a couple of times.

Why are some of you so rude / scathing / unpleasant?
Why do some threads have to become so heated over something which started off as a simple question/ thought / wondering out loud?

People take things so personally on here. They come straight out of the gate screaming like banshees about their own very very specific circumstances and that all the other posters are stupid / lying / bullies. It happens on every thread, even about the most banal subjects. Must be exhausting being so angry all the time.

This was an interesting thread about the pressure on actors and actresses to maintain very low body weight and how the camera distorts this so us plebs at home wouldn't know.

I know my waist size because of my jeans unsure about the rest of me. I don't use a weighing scales (broken) but I was in hospital recently & they did my BMI.

I must have missed those posts dorangme - perhaps I was distracted by your posts calling me a troll and mentally ill?

Still utterly baffled at the sheer rage at me saying that women have different body types and that some women are naturally slim and some women would have to starve to reach that size.

This was an interesting thread about the pressure on actors and actresses to maintain very low body weight and how the camera distorts this so us plebs at home wouldn't know.

I thought it was interesting. I only recently discovered that videos could be photoshopped which sounds naive but I didn't know that.

Still utterly baffled at the sheer rage at me saying that women have different body types and that some women are naturally slim and some women would have to starve to reach that size.

This is literally what I've said the whole bloody thread but I guessed you missed that too. Hence why I assumed you were trolling...