Renee Zellweger told 'stop or you're going to die' in alarming warning from doctors
Renee Zellweger told 'stop or you're going to die' in alarming warning from doctors
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This Valentine's season, Renée Zellweger will reprise her role as one of the most iconic rom-com heroines of all time: the one and only Bridget Jones. And there's one question she "doesn't want to answer". For generations of singletons, Bridget's numerous clangers and complicated love life have proven all too relatable—as have her various insecurities and quest to like herself very much "just as she is." Renée, too, has often found herself at the centre of discussions about body image, having famously gained 30 pounds to play loveable everywoman Bridget.
More recently, the Texas-born star attracted criticism for donning a 'fat suit' to play murderer Pam Happ in the 2022 TV series The Thing About Pam. However, she took this measure after previously vowing to avoid the dangerous yo-yo dieting she put herself through in her early career, following a stern warning from doctors. Renée, now 55, put on weight and then lost it again for Bridget Jones' Diary (2001) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), with the process leaving her feeling “mentally whacked” and “all over the place”. She previously told Closer: “I had a panic attack with all the specialists talking about how bad this is for you, long term, putting on that much weight in short periods of time. They’re all saying, ‘You must stop this now, or you’re going to die’.”.
For the third Bridget instalment, Bridget Jones' Baby (2016), Renée didn't embark on the same risky transformation. That same year, in an interview with Vogue, Renée remarked that she didn't understand the fascination with her weight gain and loss in relation to the character. She reflected: "Bridget is a perfectly normal weight and I've never understood why it matters so much. No male actor would get such scrutiny if he did the same thing for a role.".
When it came to transforming into killer Pam, Renée decided to forgo the yo-yo dieting route altogether, instead wearing a padded suit, which gave the impression that she was bigger. Delving into why this was potentially offensive to plus-sized individuals after stills emerged, writer Sarah Alexander told Metro.co.uk: "There are plenty of incredibly talented plus-size actresses that could have been hired for the role instead of Zellweger. Why were they overlooked, and a fat suit considered a viable option?.
"For Zellweger to masquerade as a plus-size person is damaging, fatphobic and potentially triggering to other plus-size people. It seems like she has not considered the effects this will have on fat people and is unaware and/or naive that she is adding to the stigma fat people already face on a daily basis.". Reflecting on the criticism she attracted for this decision at the time, Renée told The Sunday Times magazine: "Look, you want to be respectful and responsible. There’s always a limit to how much you can establish an authentic approximation without being distracting.".
As beloved as Renée's most famous character undoubtedly is, her obsession with weight has made many modern viewers feel uncomfortable and reportedly won't be a focus in the upcoming fourth movie. Back in 2017, during an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Renée admitted she was often "saddened" by the one question she was always asked in relation to Bridget - “How did you lose that weight?”. Renée shared: “It saddens me so much because it seems to imply that one way of being is acceptable and the other isn’t valuable, and that’s just not true." She then explained that this weight loss question was the one she “doesn’t want to answer”, as it will inevitably result in applause from those impressed by how she'd shredded the pounds again so quickly.
Remarking upon Bridget's "sexy personality", Renée continued: “And did you know, I was told this while we were filming, did you know that Bridget Jones was voted the most sexy personality, on-screen, whatever personality in England? I thought wow, that right there completely nullifies the notion that you’re supposed to be a size zero in order to be considered attractive, don’t you think?”. You can catch Renée Zellweger on The Graham Norton Show at 10:40pm this evening (January 31) on BBC One.
