You can open any magazine and you’ll see the same thing: lots of men and women who have perfect skin and hair, tanned bodies, who are thin and absolutely gorgeous. This is what today’s society considers beautiful, and every day thousands of Americans diet and exercise in a vain effort to look like these models. What the advertisements don’t tell you is that most of these models are airbrushed, and that it is almost physically impossible to look like that without taking drastic measures and doing serious harm to your body. Nobody is perfect!

There are, however, plenty of stars who are going against this unhealthy image, embracing their real, curvaceous bodies and who are still considered sexy and beautiful by the same society. Kate Winslet, star of the movie Titanic, has been known to turn down roles in movies that require her to lose weight. She also told Jane magazine that pictures of her in other magazines, like People and US Weekly, are airbrushed and not what she looks like at all. She embraces her curvy figure and likes the extra weight that producers and casting agencies tell her she needs to lose. Her career isn’t suffering any either; she has two movies scheduled to come out in 2005 and one in 2006, and she is a beautiful woman.

Sylvester Stallone, best known for his title portrayal as the prize-fighting boxer Rocky, gained thirty pounds for his role as Sheriff Freddy Heflin in 1997’s Copland. While most actors and actresses lose weight in order to prepare for roles, Stallone did the opposite, and his career is doing fine (he was recently in Spy Kids 3:D and has a movie due out in 2005). Renee Zellweger also gained close to thirty pounds for her title role in Bridget Jones’ Diary, and the movie did so well that a sequel is due out soon. People have commented on how they actually prefer the heavier Renee to the thinner one (she was in movies such as Chicago and Jerry Maguire without the extra weight), saying she looks much more attractive and natural when she was playing Bridget Jones.

These celebrities are comfortable and confident with their body images, and are good role models for other struggling with their own body image issues. These unrealistic standards set forth by advertisements cannot be matched, and often do not reflect real people.  Being comfortable with your body image is harder for some than for others, but with all the stars we have to look up to, it can be a lot easier than you think.