Aurora Starchild
Ask most men or women if they think Amanda Seyfried is beautiful, and you’ll probably get more “yes” than “no” answers. The 37-year-old actress has been making heads turn for over twenty years. But despite being a classic example of standard beauty ideals (in her case, long blonde hair, big green eyes, a little nose, plump lips, curvy yet petite), she’s actually had to grapple with weight insecurities. Indeed, she works for her figure and says she’s been considered “overweight” by Hollywood standards.
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Amanda Seyfried Didn’t Say Which Roles She Almost Lost Because of Her Weight
I know, this is incredibly annoying to hear. I myself have often wished I could look like Amanda Seyfried. Imagine being Amanda Seyfried and thinking you need to look “better.” Blargh!
“Fun fact: I almost lost out on several roles in my career because I was overweight. Wrong, America,” Seyfried tweeted in 2014.
By that point in her career, Seyfried had already starred in As the World Turns, performed in her break-through role in Mean Girls, and knocked the world’s collective socks off as Sophie in Mamma Mia! Posters of her were plastered on the walls of teenage boys and girls, young men, and women everywhere. How could such a drop-dead gorgeous bombshell be told she was overweight?
Hollywood Standards of Beauty Have Always Been Impossible
Amanda Seyfried’s exact measurements vary according to different sources, but she’s about 5’2” or 5’3” and reportedly weighs between 119 and 127 pounds. That makes sense, as most women know. We’re usually grappling with monthly weight gain thanks to our reproductive systems among other things. Her chest-waist-hip measurements are reportedly about 36-26-33, giving her a pronounced hourglass shape that has no doubt caused many a real-life Distracted Boyfriend meme.
While today’s beauty standards have shifted to embrace the curvy goddess, the big and beautiful derriere, the larger the better, it hasn’t always been this way. Prior to supermodel Gisele Bündchen popping into the fashion scene in 1997, beauty standards preferred skinny women who looked like 12-year-old boys on heroin. And Gisele is incredibly thin. Then Kim Kardashian started appearing in the media after The Simple Life in 2006. In less than a decade, she was setting new beauty standards alongside Queens like Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez. And boom, the world fell in love with butts that miraculously grew overnight. Much like a chia pet.
Considering the timeline, it now makes more sense why Amanda Seyfried had to contend with body shaming throughout her earlier career.
Amanda Seyfried Has Opened Up About Her Borderline Neurotic Diet in the Past
“If I didn’t run and work out, there’s no way I would be this thin…. But I have to stay in shape because I’m an actress. It’s f**ked up and it’s twisted, but I wouldn’t get the roles otherwise,” she said in 2010 (per Glamour). “If I’d been a bit bigger, I don’t think they would have cast me for Mamma Mia!“
That same year, Seyfried told Esquire that she was on an excruciating diet so she could maintain a certain figure. “I’m on a raw-food diet,” she said while opening a container of tabbouleh. “It’s intense. And sort of awful. Yesterday for lunch? Spinach. Just spinach. Spinach and some seeds.” Shortly after, she ate half a Lexapro to treat her anxiety and a birth control pill, both of course which can also cause a person’s weight to fluctuate.
Seyfried Now Takes a Moderate Approach to Health and Beauty
It seems that Amanda Seyfried has relaxed a bit now that she’s in her 30s. She’s a mother of two and gorgeous as ever. And she’s realized that constantly stressing about food isn’t worth the anxiety. She enjoys crocheting and knitting and takes time to destress with aromatherapy and spa treatments. She also has learned to enjoy food that doesn’t fall into the “squirrel diet” category. Indeed, she is a far cry from when Cady fed Regina Kälteen bars in Mean Girls.
Speaking with Vogue, Seyfried said that she’ll prep herself for big holiday meals by eating eggs and a smoothie and working out beforehand. Then she takes her time and eats slowly when it’s time to celebrate.
“But you know, these days we make ourselves feel guilty, but when it’s the holidays, you should just overindulge,” she added. “Eat that bread and butter, have that drink if you drink, have the egg nog. This is what we live for, these moments. Moderation is a healthy thing. What would we do without it?”
Seyfried also spends a lot of time outside and knows that movement is good for mental health.
“Exercise is first and foremost what I need to keep doing to promote those good vibes, and I try to do it every day,” she said. “That physical release of stress is so therapeutic. Even a half-hour of jump-roping, on the bike, at Pure Barre, always makes for a more relaxing day.”
