It’s a known fact that young actresses have to be skinny to get the roles they so desperately want in their career.
However there is one young woman who is breaking all the rules and proving that being big can sometimes lead you down a road that most people don’t get to travel down.
The 26-year-old unknown actress Gabourey Sidibe is becoming the new buzzword around Hollywood.
The actress narrowly missed out on a Golden Globe to Sandra Bullock this weekend for Best Performance by an actress in a Motion Picture, and is being tipped for an Oscar nod when released next month.
It's refreshing to see a 21 stone actress parade the red carpet and feel conformable in her own skin going against the grain of what is socially acceptable in society.
Gabourey Sidibe has appeared out of nowhere, growing up in Harlem. She had no desire to act and it was only by chance that she auditioned for the role in Precious.
Three years ago Gabourey was an ordinary physiology student who was working part time as a receptionist to pay her college fees.
One day she got a call from a friend saying that Precious was looking for a lead and was holding open auditions in the Bronx.
After having read the book and becoming a fan she decided to skip class. Taking a chance on a role that would ultimate change her life forever, beating 500 hopefuls.
With no acting experience apart from a few college plays Sidibe had to draw on her own experiences to portray the role so convincingly.
She felt a kinship with the character after having been exposed to similar situations to her character.
After all she was born in Brooklyn, and grew up in Harlem, which would never have been easy for any teenager especially an over weight one.
Recently the actress has come forward and admits that like Precious she has struggled with her size.
Revealing to Interview Magazine: "We both had to grow up with people staring at us and people judging us based on what we looked like. I’m a grown-up now.
"I don’t fixate on other people’s opinions of my body. But she’s 16. It still hurts her. So I brought 16-year-old Gabby to Precious.
The future looks promising yet unpredictable. It will be interesting to see if Gabby becomes a one hit wonder and fades away.
There is no doubt she has true talent but will Hollywood accept her size and realize that big is beautiful.
Precious is released nationwide January 29th
Female First Natalie Broxton
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