Melanie Lynskey is winning the hearts of millions of people today thanks to the 45-year-old actress’ career-defining appearances and phenomenal performance in hit series like Yellowjackets and The Last of Us.
However, success wasn’t a cakewalk for the actress, especially due to the cultures of body positivity and body shaming pervading the industry. It is common for celebrities who fail to meet the necessary criteria for physical attractiveness (that particularly includes height and weight) to face severe challenges on their journey to stardom.
And the scene is even worse for female celebrities who are almost always on the receiving end of harsh scrutiny. Amid this raging sexism, the Yellowjackets star has come up with her own history of struggles, as well as extended her advocacy and support to those with similar stories. For Lynskey, her weight posed serious obstructions to her career and she was, on occasion, put down by her industry cohorts as a result. Here’s all we need to know about Lynskey and the hardships she faced.
Lynskey opens up about the challenges she faced because of her weight
Characters like Shauna and Kathleen have undoubtedly solidified Lynskey’s status as a recognizable face of survival dramas. But the fans have known and loved her for quite a while. Kudos to her marked appearances in popular shows like Two and a Half Men, Castle Rock, and House, to name a few.
Saying so, the impact of the industry’s body image obsession on an immensely talented actor like Melanie Lynskey would come across as a shock and tragedy for millions of her fans. The actress confessed how exhausted she became at one point due to the constant attention she received due to her weight — which also includes body shaming.
“It’s been a very long journey. I fought against it for a very long time — the shape that my body’s supposed to be. I spent many years not really eating, and being very worried about what I look like.”
Adding to her comment, the actress explicitly mentioned how difficult it was for her to “be a size 10 next to a size 0.” She also expressed her annoyance at the questions that exclusively revolve around her weight.
“I’m tired of it. I wish I could just talk about my acting. Or even, I dunno, my husband or what cereal I like. It’s a bit exhausting to have to keep saying, ‘Yes, it’s my body…'”
Undoubtedly, her reception after appearing in some of her most popular roles was quite challenging. In a now-deleted tweet, Lynskey spoke about how, after Yellowjackets, she was forced to encounter unwanted suggestions about losing weight.
The story of my life since Yellowjackets premiered. Most egregious are the “I care about her health!!” people…bitch you don’t see me on my Peleton! You don’t see me running through the park with my child. Skinny does not always equal healthy https://t.co/W2poMmsv1p
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) January 29, 2022
Certain comments went as far as questioning her role in The Last of Us. Lynskey delivered a groundbreaking performance as Kathleen, the leader of a ruthless resistance group in the cordyceps-infected post-apocalyptic world. This wasn’t enough for everyone as according to some fault finders, her body type was unsuitable to pull off a Kathleen.
Firstly- this is a photo from my cover shoot for InStyle magazine, not a still from HBO’s The Last Of Us. And I’m playing a person who meticulously planned & executed an overthrow of FEDRA. I am supposed to be SMART, ma’am. I don’t need to be muscly. That’s what henchmen are for pic.twitter.com/YwkmkwUdOm
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) February 8, 2023
The former model and reality TV star Adrianne Curry fell under this category of “critics” when she said Linda Hamilton (and not Lynskey) would have been the right choice for the role. In response, Lynskey tweeted how the character’s strength and essence are associated with her expertise in strategies and not her physicality. She also continued to revisit the struggles of female actors who were victimized by the pervading culture of body shaming.
One of them includes her friend, the late actress Brittany Murphy, who is popularly known for her role as the troubled Daisy Randone in the 1999 film, Girl, Interrupted. Lynskey spoke in detail about how Murphy’s mental health was jeopardized because of her inability to live up to an acceptable body image. The actress suffered from low self-worth as a result.
“I was friends with Brittany Murphy, and the way she viewed herself was always really heartbreaking to me — the things she felt she had to change to be a successful actor. She was perfect just as she was, but people were trying to cast her as, like, ‘the fat one,’ because when she was a very young teenager, her cheeks were a little bit round. People tell you that you’re a particular thing, and it’s very hard to fight back against.”
Despite the unending struggles and challenges, Lynskey remains a beacon of hope for countless female celebrities undergoing the same issues — as well as a powerful force against the normalized fat shaming culture in the industry.
