'All I heard was, ‘Not right – not tall enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough...' These actresses have been hurt by Hollywood beauty standards
How would you feel if you were told you weren't sexy enough to star in a film?
That you just aren't hot enough to attract a male audience?
Not right – not tall enough, not pretty enough...
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How would you feel if you were told you weren't sexy enough to star in a film? That you just aren't hot enough to attract a male audience? Well, these famous ladies have all been hurt by Hollywood beauty standards. Find out how they overcame cruel jibes about their looks and weight...
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
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Before marrying Prince Harry, 42-year-old Meghan Markle was an actress with her most famous role coming in legal drama ‘Suits’. The Duchess of Sussex was plagued with anxieties about her looks and how her perceived beauty, or lack of looks, would affect her career. In an essay penned for Darling magazine, she said: "I was in my early 20s, still figuring so much out, and trying to find my value in an industry that judges you on everything that you're not versus everything that you are. "Not thin enough, not pretty enough, not ethnic enough’, while also being ‘too thin, too ethnic, too pretty the very next day'.”
Jessica Chastain
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The 46-year-old actress has gained international success and fame thanks to roles in films such as ‘Molly’s Game’, ‘The Forgiven’ and 'It Chapter II'. In a candid interview The Telegraph, Jessica admitted she was crippled by insecurity about her looks because she'd lost roles based on her appearance. Jessica said: “Trust me, it's only been in the past five years that people have been telling me I'm attractive. Before then, I wasn't getting parts because people kept telling me I wasn't pretty enough.”
Kate Winslet
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In 2016, the 47-year-old star took home a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Joanna Hoffman in the film ‘Steve Jobs’ about the Apple founder. During her acceptance speech, Winslet opened up about the moment she was told she should expect "fat girl parts" when she was just a teenager. Kate said: “When I was younger, when I was 14, I was told by a drama teacher that I might do OK if I was happy to settle for the fat girl parts. So, what I always feel in these moments is that any young woman who has ever been put down by a teacher, by a friend, by even a parent, just don't listen to any of it, because that's what I did – I kept on going and I overcame my fears and got over my insecurities.”
Jessica Alba
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In a previous interview with ELLE, 42-year-old actress Jessica Alba recalled a moment during filming on 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer' that completely knocked her confidence, almost to the point where she quit acting. She said: “I remember when I was dying, the director was like, 'It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica.’ It all got me thinking, 'Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough?’ And so, I just said, 'F*** it. I don’t care about this business anymore.’ I wanted to stop acting. I hated it. I really hated it.”
Andrew Garfield
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Who could possibly think that actor Andrew Garfield was told he’s not handsome enough? In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the 40-year-old star revealed that he was up for the role of Prince Caspian but his audition, however, was a disaster. After asking his agent multiple times why he didn’t get the part, he was told it was “because they don't think you're handsome enough, Andrew". The part was eventually given to actor Ben Barnes. ever gracious, Garfield was magnanimous in defeat. He said: "Ben Barnes is a very handsome, talented man. So, in retrospect, I’m not unhappy with the decision, and I think he did a beautiful job.”
Bonnie Morgan
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Actress and contortionist Bonnie Morgan told Entertainment Weekly that, when she was younger, she auditioned for the part of Topanga Lawrence on ABC series ‘Boy Meets World’. She lost out on the part to Danielle Fishel due to her looks, despite impressing with her acting skills. She said: “It came out very quickly to my agent that the director didn't think I was pretty enough. Literally did not think I was pretty enough, so that meant that a grown-up, a man, a boss could lie and tell me I was untalented because the fact was he didn't think I was pretty."
Minnie Driver
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The ‘Good Will Hunting’ star, 53, talked with The Cut prior to the release of her book ‘Managing Expectations: A Memoir in Essays’. During the interview, Minnie opened up about a time when a producer told her she was “not hot enough” for his film. She recalled: “It was devastating. To be told at 26 that you're not sexy when you maybe just got over all your teenage angst and started to think, you know, 'Maybe in the right light and the right shoes and the right dress, I'm all right.'"
Anna Kendrick
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Hollywood sweetheart Anna Kendrick revealed in a candid talk with Marie Claire that she has received lots of criticism about her appearance, both in her personal life and professional career. The 28-year-old actress said: “The most common thing that I get is, 'Am I the only one who doesn't think that Anna Kendrick is pretty?' And you're like, 'No, you're not the only one. Arguably, all of the boys in my high school agree with you.'"
Reese Witherspoon
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Reese Witherspoon is known for her remarkable on-screen work in films such as ‘Legally Blonde’, ‘Just Like Heaven’, 'Walk The Line' and ‘Lucy in the Sky’, just to mention a few. But despite her phenomenal success, Reese, 47, recalled how her beginnings in Hollywood were so hard with her being deemed not attractive enough to cast. She said: "You have to be focused and tough because it takes a tenacious personality to deal with rejection. When I first came here [to Los Angeles] all I heard was, ‘No, not right – not tall enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough.’ But I didn’t really care about their opinions. I’m stubborn.”
Emma Thompson
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Acting icon Dame Emma Thompson has a five-decade spanning career with a filmography that includes ‘Cruella’, ‘Men In Black 3’, ‘Sense and Sensibility' and 'The Remains of the Day'. In an interview with The Times, Emma, 64, admitted that she has always been deemed to be "not pretty enough" for certain roles, but she has never let that stop her. She said: “I've never really been offered sex scenes. As my mother said, I've basically played a series of 'good' women. I do 'cerebral.' And I have also never conformed to the shape or look of someone they might want to see naked. And by 'they,' I mean male executives. I'm too mouthy, not pretty enough, not the right kind of body. And, crikey, you are constantly told what kind of body you have."
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