The ladies of ‘Hairspray’ talked about being “plus size” in Hollywood and we love every word of it
One of the best things about being alive is that everyone is different; they come in a myriad of shapes, sizes and colors.
And although we don’t see enough diversity in TV and movies, People let us know that the women of Hairspray talked about being plus-size in Hollywood, and what they said was full of SO much yes!
From this groundbreaking new fitness magazine for plus-size women to the plus-size vlogger who wants Disney to make a princess for bigger women, it’s great to see so many examples of people and the media embracing the fact that not everyone is “sample size” and that it’s perfectly okay. In fact, it’s amazing.
In this video, Ricki Lake, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Maddie Baillio discuss their Hairspray roles that go against stereotype and inspire other young women that they can be actors no matter what. Size doesn’t matter.
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"I remember telling my mom I wanted to be in Annie, and she told me, ‘You’re not the starving orphan type,'" recalls Ricki Lake.
Of course, she went on to play plus-size Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 version of Hairspray, which was an iconic role.
Winokur played the same role in the 2002 Broadway stage musical, having been inspired by Lake.
"I think having a role like Tracy — was so amazing for me — but also every high school does Hairspray, and the fact that there's little girls everywhere who normally have to play Jan in Grease; these girls get to be Tracy Turnblad. It opened up the world for that," said Winokur.
Now Baillio is a college sophomore just starting her acting career, but she’s starring as Tracy Turnblad in the NBC’s Hairspray Live!
So the moral of the story is, good things definitely come back around, and Hollywood is becoming more inclusive. There’s a long way to go, but we can’t wait to see many more Tracy Turnblad’s in the future!