Chrissy Metz Opens Up About Weight Struggles & Early Hollywood Memories

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Chrissy Metz is no stranger to criticism. Since moving to Hollywood, the star says she’s been dealt high and low blows about her weight, so she’s built a thick skin.

Now she’s the cover story of People, and has opened up about her struggle with weight, but more importantly, the acceptance of her own self.

“I’d be getting maybe two auditions a year, and I’d always see the same small group of girls,” she recalled about her young Hollywood days. After taking a job as a junior casting agent, she had to put her dreams on hold, which says is like “watching your boyfriend take another woman out every day.”

Chrissy gained over 100 lbs before a panic attack on her 30th birthday sent her to the hospital. That was a major wake up call. “I was so hung ho, I lost 100 lbs. in less than five months. All I did was eat a 2,000-calorie diet and walk 20 minutes a day.”

Then in an ironic turn of events, she was cast as the “fat lady” in American Horror Story: Freak Show, which she had to wear a fat suit — “It was sobering. I thought ‘What if I become that heavy and can’t walk around or get stuck in the doorframe? I was like, ‘I don’t want this for me.’”

After getting cast in This is Us, her character “Kate” became an instant fan favorite. Every week, viewers watch her struggle and try to find acceptance, a journey that mirrors our own lives in a way.

“You don’t realize that somebody who’s average or even very fit could relate to someone who’s overweight,” she said, “but it’s not about our size — it’s how we look at ourselves and how we feel about ourselves. You have to use what you have, and I wouldn’t have this role if I had already lost weight. Now it’s about telling a story of a woman struggling with her weight, just as I have and still am.”