Celebrities Who Aren't Scared To Show Off Their Cellulite
Even though a full 90% of women have cellulite, we still exist with this fictionalized idea that celebrities don't have it. As if having a beautiful face, iconic style, and a team of people in charge of nutrition and exercise can prevent women's bodies from taking the shape they are naturally inclined to take. More and more of our favorite leading women are speaking out about their body insecurities as a way to empower the more average-looking among us and destroy the rhetoric that women should be "flawless."
We love dimples on children's cheeks, so we might as well learn to love the natural skin dimples that are so prevalent on our bad*ss, baby-making bodies. Though the true cause of cellulite hasn't been fully nailed down, it is thought that the natural fat cells in our bodies begin to force their way through our vertical connective tissues, which can lead to the appearance of cellulite (per Medical News Today). In men, of course, the connective tissues are stitched together in a more formal cross-hatch structure, which prevents the fat cells from poking through. Regardless, cottage cheese is for eating, not criticizing, and we are so thankful for this ever-growing collection of A-listers who aren't afraid to shake, shake, shake what their dimply-thighed mamas gave them.
Demi Lovato
One person with a whole lot of 'tude toward body-shaming haters and who has been outspoken about their struggles with body image is none other than Demi Lovato. In the summer of 2019, Lovato posted a photo and accompanying caption on their personal Instagram account exclaiming that, while an unedited photo of their body on social media is Lovato's "biggest fear," that the image is actually "celluLIT." The poignant caption drips with gratitude for their body and its capabilities while also expressing shame around showing off so many "imperfections." Lovato has expressed regret about editing previous photos, but says they are proud to turn the page on a new, more confident chapter in life. Because after all, what's wrong with being, what's wrong with being, what's wrong with being confident?
Lovato has also been emotional and candid about her struggles with bulimia across multiple platforms, but most notably on Instagram (via Self). They continue to remind fans that while the road to recovering from an eating disorder is complex and often convoluted, it is worth it.
If you are struggling with an eating disorder or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson was the first-ever winner of American Idol (via Biography). Back when times were simpler, social media didn't exist, and chunky blonde highlights made Clarkson an icon of the early aughts. None of that is particularly relevant when it comes to Clarkson's fearlessness regarding rocking her cellulite. However, we love a nostalgia moment, and From Justin to Kelly still hits right in the preteen feels.
Clarkson has often been under scrutiny because of the shape and size of her body, but has learned to tune out the noise to preserve her self-image. In a 2009 interview with People, she discussed how her then-debuting album cover was photoshopped. She boldly stated, "Of course celebrities have cellulite," before the body positivity movement was even in full swing. Clarkson spoke to groups of preteen girls about how body image struggles are normal, but that even the shiniest photos of celebrities have been retouched to achieve so-called perfection.
Because of her self-esteem and confident attitude, Clarkson has become an icon for women everywhere. She proudly states that she is happy with her fluctuating weight, cellulite, and all (via Today). If you've got it, flaunt it, and oh how she does.
Lena Dunham
Scrolling through the comments on Lena Dunham's Instagram post where she thanks Glamour for publishing a cover in which they left her cellulite unretouched is not for the faint of heart. Yet, it is also why celebrities who are unafraid to show their authentic bodies publicly should be doing so. Dunham refuses to hide her body to benefit the "faceless basement dwellers" who troll her, and her encouraging tone may prompt other women to find their confidence as well.
In 2017, Glamour released a cover that included the main characters of Girls, Dunham's epic six-season HBO show (via BBC). On display was Dunham's left thigh, cellulite dimples and all. Though if you watched Girls, you know that Dunham has been known to show more than just her upper thighs. Despite her self-proclaimed complicated history with retouched photos, she took to Instagram to praise Glamour for allowing her leg to look as it naturally does. She goes on to take issue with a culture that calls her "brave" for exposing a body viewed as "imperfect," and asserts that people's bodies aren't fair game for critique, full stop. We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
Tess Holliday
"Our relationships with ourselves and our bodies are the most important ones we will ever have," says Tess Holliday. And, girrrrrl, if you don't know Tess Holliday, get to know her because she is in the midst of changing the world of modeling while putting her cellulite on full display. Holliday is pansexual and a size 22, according to Pop Sugar. She earned a modeling contract shortly before creating her hashtag, #effyourbeautystandards, which is currently included in over five million posts. She and 2.3 million followers agree — there is nothing this woman cannot do (via Independent).
A self-described body-positivity activist, Holliday can often be seen sporting sexy lingerie, in addition to her signature red hair and rockabilly tattoos, across her own Instagram page. Many of her photos include captions where she advocates for body positivity or expresses how confident she is in her own skin. Holliday is seemingly on a mission to normalize plus-sized women with cellulite by wearing the same trending clothes as smaller-sized women while proving that cellulite does not detract from a woman's beauty or femininity. Much like many other cellulite-flaunting celebs, Holliday thanks her body on the reg for giving her its greatest gift: her son.
Kaitlyn Bristowe
Kaitlyn Bristowe is a Bachelor and Bachelorette alumni who has been publicly ridiculed as of late for the amount of alleged plastic surgery she has received (via Life & Style). Who cares? Her career is unfolding beautifully, and despite her very Instagram-friendly appearance, even she has cellulite that she isn't afraid to show.
Way back in 2018, before her Dancing with the Stars tenure or stint as the co-host of The Bachelorette (via IMDb), Bristowe spoke at an event where a photo of her seated on a couch with her legs crossed was snapped. In an uncharacteristic post on her Instagram, Bristowe posted the photo with an open caption about her initial reaction — expletives and all — when she first saw the picture of herself. She concluded her statement by writing, "I am not sorry for my cellulite in this photo, therefore I refuse to edit it out. #Realstagram." Though she hasn't used this hashtag a ton since then, it has made a few further appearances on her feed and on other women's' pages worldwide. Bristowe's journey to finding peace with her cellulite resonates with many women struggling with their own insecurities and "cute leg dimples."
Amy Schumer
Amy Schumer is another hot topic in Hollywood, whether it be about her jokes, Netflix specials, or her body. She has been outspoken about her body confidence since her career began, and based on her ability to post unedited photos without seemingly being tormented by internet trolls, she will continue to be so (via Glamour).
Beyond just posting photos to her own Instagram page that showcases her cellulite and the other "imperfections" on her body, she posted a photo that many celebrities wouldn't dare to just five weeks after giving birth to her son in 2019. Schumer posted two side-by-side photos of herself in hospital-issued, postpartum underwear (if you've given birth, you know the ones) with her infant son. Neither photo is edited, and both call attention to the fact that the female body doesn't look like a magazine cover immediately after giving birth. Not only does Schumer's attitude and public confidence about baring her skin speak to her fearlessness, but it proves that your merit as a woman is not in your outward appearance.
Danielle Brooks
Our favorite Orange Is the New Black star, Danielle Brooks, is another powerful female celebrity who doesn't shy away from being photographed in a bathing suit while rocking a few cellulite dimples here and there. Beyond just that, she famously rocks crop tops and sports bras for workouts when the weather is hot. Back in 2016, she announced on her Instagram page that she "Might not be small, but I'm hot!! Literally and figuratively" (via Today). So naturally, to keep cool, she wears clothes that don't stifle her, of course!
Though she posts sports bra-clad workout pictures regularly, Brooks has expressed in the captions that she doesn't always like what she sees when it comes to her body. However, at the end of the day, she knows she is a confident woman, so she just goes for it. She states that she is the only one who controls her relationship to her body, so she gets to decide how she views herself and relates to the skin she is in every day, according to People. Not only is she unafraid to show her cellulite and curves to the world, but she adds in a kick to get the confidence juices flowing.
Ashley Graham
Ashley Graham is an incredibly gorgeous, incredibly talented, and currently incredibly pregnant (with twins) plus-sized supermodel who knows a thing or two about embracing and loving her body. She was the first size 16 model to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, and her fame and positivity skyrocketed from there (per Vogue). Her Instagram feed is filled with photos of her raw, unfiltered skin, which she is absolutely, irrevocably unapologetic for showing off.
While it seems like everything Graham does is in pursuit of helping women feel more comfortable and positive about their bodies, one of her Instagram posts takes the cake for being the most fearless when it comes to flaunting her cellulite (via Glamour). In January of 2017, Graham posted a photo of her outer thigh, her belly chain, and bits her leopard print bikini with the ocean and a smattering of tropical-looking cocktails in the background. Her caption read, "I workout. I do my best to eat well. I love the skin I'm in. And I'm not ashamed of a few lumps, bumps or cellulite ... and you shouldn't be either," which is profound in its simplicity, cutting, and also so, so true. Mic drop for Ashely, thank you.
Lady Gaga
What? Lady Gaga? How could she be on this list? She is so ... thin?! That is the point! Around 90% of all women have cellulite, even thin women, even celebrities. And even women like Lady Gaga are under the patriarchal gaze constant public scrutiny when it comes to the perfectly natural attributes of their bodies.
In February of 2017, Lady Gaga put on an incredible performance at the Super Bowl in which she wore a mid-drift (are people still saying that?) outfit that looked, in our opinions, iconic (per Mercury News). Because even her thin, fit body wiggled a bit in the stomach area, some people began to believe that it was their business to publicly discuss her "potbelly." Lady Gaga clapped right back on Instagram, explicitly stating that she is proud of her body, and that the rest of us should be proud of our own bodies, too. She reminds us all that we do not need to cater to anyone else's whims to be successful, and that we should all be proud of the skin we are in. She rounds out her caption with a sharp, "Be you and be relentlessly you. That's the stuff of champions." And why shouldn't we believe her? After all, we were all born this way....
Hilary Duff
In a seemingly spontaneous Instagram post in 2017, Hilary Duff shouted from the proverbial rooftops to remind women everywhere that cellulite is not only normal, but maybe even something to be desired. Her post ignited discussion about what a mother's body "should" look like, and instead of allowing the tabloids to drag her thighs, she got out ahead of it. The photo is a snapshot of her holding her then five-year-old son in her arms while wearing a bathing suit and looking out at the ocean. And yes, there is cellulite on the backs of her thighs!
She writes, "Ladies, let's be proud of what we've got and stop wasting precious time in the day wishing we were different, better, and unflawed." She expresses that her body does what she needs it to do, and that it also gave her the greatest gift of her life, her son. As the unofficial spokesperson for young women, girls, and mothers everywhere, she told any and all body shamers off by closing her post with a concise #kissmyass.
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen is known as a celebrity who loves to keep it real. While she is stunningly beautiful and has what appears to be a glossy, enviable life, she really knows how to get down on our level when the time is right. She has been known to post all-too-relatable content on her Instagram about her cellulite, stretch marks, postpartum life, and more. In an interview with People, she says that she doesn't understand why people are still pretending that stretch marks and all of these other so-called flaws don't exist.
Her most relatable Instagram post is a photo she took while sitting cross-legged on her couch and looking down at her legs. On her legs, she dons bruises, stretch marks that are incredibly common on the inner thigh, and even a glimpse of outer thigh cellulite. She captioned her photo, "Stretchies say hi." Much like Kaitlyn Bristowe, who opted to reframe her view on cellulite and think of them as adorable leg dimples, Teigen gave her "imperfection," a cutesy nickname as a term of endearment. Her 36+ million followers, including the President of the United States, got to say hi to her stretchies in return, hopefully noting that women's bodies should be celebrated, not a source of shame.
Tyra Banks
Looking beyond Tyra Banks's occasionally problematic commentary throughout her stint on America's Next Top Model, she has long been an advocate for diversity and body positivity (via People). But Banks, a serious supermodel and former Victoria's Secret runway model (via Biography), couldn't have possibly dealt with cellulite, right? Wrong! Back when she was walking runways, she actually had to hide her cellulite by wearing outfits with long trains. Multiple publications have gone so far as to list headlines to the effect of "Tyra shares her tips to getting rid of cellulite," only for readers to discover that she actually "got rid of it" by covering it up (via Glamour).
Since then, she has outwardly posted unfiltered and "flawed" photos on her Instagram page in hopes of helping other women find beauty in what they perceive as flaws. She even tweeted a selfie in which you can see her stomach and "muffin top." She instructs her followers to check out her "juicy muffin top" in hopes of continuing to normalize bodies that have the common lumps and bumps ... just like everyone else.
Lizzo
Lizzo is one of the queen bees of the celebrity body positivity movement. From her handle, @lizzobeeating, to her iconic and empowering posts that exude confidence, Lizzo is one lady who is paving the way for future generations to celebrate all shapes and sizes. In the fall of 2020, Lizzo was quoted saying that she wanted to change the landscape of the body positivity movement by normalizing her body (via Billboard). Namely, she wants women who have been left out of the mainstream body positivity movement to feel beautiful and empowered themselves. She desires to include bodies that don't fit into the mainstream narrative, as she puts it "the 18-plus club," to feel comfortable in their own skin too and to perpetuate the notion that body positivity is for everybody, not just for bodies that are a remix of what we have all been shown across magazine covers since the beginning of time.
In addition to her lyrics that promote body positivity and confidence in oneself, Lizzo has never been shy about knowing her body is sexy — cellulite and all.