Top One Fat Girls In Television History
In the aftermath of America Fererra’s Glamour cover being airbrushed all to hell, it occurred to me that while the character of Ugly Betty is not thin, I suspect that she’s supposed to be normal rather than the extreme version of thin that exists in the fashion industry. Which is weird, because I always felt like Ugly Betty was one of my home girls (and apparently, somewhere along the way, I have started to use the phrase “home girls”).
So then I was going to write a post about the top ten fat girl characters in the history of television (avoiding reality shows) because I was interested in checking to see if there were any writers who were able to treat being fat as just another facet of the character rather than an opportunity for automatic jokes. And then I realized that while I could think of scores of fat guys on television (each with his own hot wife) and lots of older, fat ethnic women who are somehow allowed to be fat by their cultures, I could only think of one fat white chick under the age of 40, which was Natalie Green from The Facts of Life. I suppose you can count Roseanne Barr, but that role was specifically written for the actor and not some fanciful fat girl created during a late night session around the writer’s room.
So, BFDivas, I’m going to leave this to you. Tell me about your favorite fat girl characters from television, both from current shows or the golden age of television.
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I’d still vote for Roseanne. There have been very few comediennes who’ve gotten their own sitcoms and she definitely portrayed a more realistic picture of how an American family lives. Plus, it’s one of my favorite shoes ever.
Vote #2 goes to Camryn Manheim on the Practice.
Sookie from Gilmore Girls, maybe? I’m not sure how old her character is supposed to be, but I would guess 30-something.
Of course, she’s a cook, so there’s that whole “she’s fat ’cause she eats all the time!” thing. But at least in the part of the show I’ve watched so far, there’s never a big thing made about her weight, which is refreshing.
Oh! Apparently I am obsessing about this, because as soon as I hit “submit” I thought about the burlesque dancing family from Carnivale, which had a fat mother and daughter. The mother, at least, is portrayed as sexy and smart and generally awesome, except for that occasional “pimping out her daughters” thing which is just part of the general weirdness of that show.
Kathy Najimy from Veronica’s Closet. Well, she has been in scads of things … I love her in Hocus Pocus and Sister Act.
Natalie is a good one! I forgot all about her. I’ll never understand why America has become the plus-size woman’s poster girl when she is only a size six. Of course, everyone looks bigger on TV, so I’ll give her a size ten out of the generosity of my heart.
There is the curly-haired girl that has been cast in several short-lived comedy series, most recently being Stacked with Pamela Anderson. She also got stuck under a garage door in Scary Movie. There is the girl who starred in Less Than Perfect, who did actually become perfect. There is the housekeeper on Two and a Half Men, and similarly, Mimi from The Drew Carey Show. Nell Carter. Ricky Lake and Oprah before they lost weight, if we’re counting talk shows. Star Jones.
But, I think Natalie has been the only one who wasn’t cast as the “chubby sidekick” or who was on a showed focused on weight/appearance issues like the Less Than Perfect girl and America. So really, she’s the only one that counts to me. I never watched that show much, though, so what do I know?
Oh! There is a chubby girl on one of the soap operas who parades around like one of the typical soap girls; the show is NOT about her being fat, and she is NOT an obligatory sidekick. She even gets a hot lover! With whom she, uh, LOVES! I don’t watch soap operas, though.
What about Dawn French on “The Vicar of Dibley”? Very hot fat woman/girl. While I’m almost certain the role was written for her (like Roseanne’s was), she’s a pretty awesome TV fat chick. (Also love her on the old “French & Saunders” and “Clatterford”/”Jam & Jerusalem.”)
I love America Ferrera, but she is only plus sized in Hollywood. In real life, she is a size 6/8. Really.
Camryn Manheim was pretty great on the Practice and Delta Burke on Designing Women.
Mo’nique on that show “The Parkers”, “Mo’nique’s Fat Chance”. I think she’s utterly fabulous.
O! I loves me some Vicar of Dibley! :)
Camryn Manheim, Queen Latifah, Dawn French and british actors Vicky Hall (seen here) and Jennie McAlpine (seen here).
I loved Roseanne too :D
Dawn French is also cool. I haven’t seen the entire series but in all the episodes I saw of the Vicar one she was always so self confident and knew she was sexy :D
No one’s mentioned her yet so I’ll say I fell in love with Queen Latifah in Living Single. I still think she’s one of the sexiest women out there.
Well, there was that one- wait, no. But then there was- oh shit, she was black. Or what about the girls from- oh, right, the media hates fat women, so they don’t exist.
I liked Mimi, and I was glad she got a happy ending and married her cross-dressing boyfriend, but her weight was very much a joke and she certainly never got to be sexual like Kate on the same show.
To be clear, I don’t want to give the impression that I am excluding non-white fat girls from the list, but rather that it’s an underrepresented segment. Actually, I think Queen Latifah’s character is the strongest “role model” if you will for a plus size character on a show, although I suspect the role wasn’t written as a fat character but she rocks so hard that they cast her regardless.
Ah, thanks. I haven’t seen vicar of Dibley in years so I looked up an episode online. Laughing so hard my chest hurts, LOL! (and in this episode she’s wearing a sexy black shirt with see through black sleeves and rhinestones as she awaits the arrival of Sting :D )
My list would be:
Camryn Manheim- she really had to fight for that role, it wasn’t written for a fat chick, but she convinced David E Kelly
Roseanne- queen of television for years. I like that she addressed both fat and class issues.
Conchata Ferrell- before she was on Two and a Half Men (which I despise) she was also nominated for an emmy on as Susan Bloom on LA Law. And she’s done it as a very fat actress.
Melissa McCarthy- Sookie on Gilmore Girls. She had a boyfriend, then got married and had kids, while also being a successful business owner. Not many fat girls get that good of a shake on TV
Dawn French- Vicar of Dibley. Hilarious.
Mo’nique- The Parkers. She consistently promotes a message of size acceptance, and I don’t really understand why many activists poo-poo her.
Tyne Daly- kicked it as a cop, and then was a hard ass social worker on Judging Amy
Lesley Boone- from the show ED. She had some interesting plots involving her character.
Delta Burke- Suzanne Sugarbaker (eventually) explored the concept fat and beautiful were not mutually exclusive
Queen Latifah- Living Single
I will always always vote for Queen Latifah because I hope, in my secret heart, that it will increase the chances of her deciding to marry me. Even though I never have seen her show, which fact I hope she will choose to graciously ignore.
I am obsessed with this one show here in New Zealand called Outrageous Fortune that has stunningly…average-looking, weight-wize actresses on it. It goes to show that I have been really conditioned because the first couple of times I saw the fantastically evil Loretta I thought she was quite the cute chubster…now I see that she’s like America Ferrara in that she’s like a size eight or ten and therefore not really fat (but still awesome!). I also just realized that Kiwi models (for things like newspaper ads for clothes) tend to be a bit bigger in general, like a size four American, and when I first got here I was all WOOP WOOP FOR THE FAT CHICKS IN THE MEDIA, which…says a lot more about my cultural conditioning than anything else, I think.
I’ll never understand why America has become the plus-size woman’s poster girl when she is only a size six
Because sadly, her size 6 self is the biggest woman in a leading role on a major show.
I’m going to say Phyllis Smith, she plays Phyllis on The Office and they don’t make much of an issue of her weight.
does anyone remember delia from my so called life? [i think she went out with ricky briefly while he was attempting straightness] i don’t remember much, but i remember liking her.
pictures to jog your memory:
http://www.mscl.com/gallery/v/mysocalledlife/other/cap0039.jpg.html
http://www.mscl.com/gallery/v/mysocalledlife/other/cap0065.jpg.html
http://www.mscl.com/gallery/v/mysocalledlife/other/cap0082.jpg.html
I’d have to second (or third) Melissa McCarthy/Sookie from “Gilmore Girls.” Yes, she was a chef and was around food all the time. But everybody on that show, regardless of weight, ate all the time, and it never seemed as though Sookie was eating a lot or more than others. And her weight was (to the best of my knowledge) never made an issue on the show. Plus, she was as complex a character as any of the non-title characters on the show, with a lot going on as cited above, and also got cute clothes/hair/etc.
“Camryn Manheim- she really had to fight for that role, it wasn’t written for a fat chick, but she convinced David E Kelly”
Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be, “not written for a fat chick”? Did you know that Ripley in Alien wasn’t supposed to be a woman? Same thing. The screenwriters did state they wanted two women among the crew (of six), but it was director Ridley Scott’s idea to turn the hero into a heroin. Because being a hero is not defined by one’s sex. One of the best choices in film history ever, IMHO.
Anyway, if you leave out the idea of a fat chick being defined by her fatness, (because being a person is not defined by one’s size) you can get a real character, not just a stereotype – if only television/filmmakers would understand that. That’s why Camryn is so great in The Practice, that’s why Tyne Daly is so great in Judging Amy. Yes, Tyne is my favourite, she kicks ass as a [1] fat, [2] older, [3] strong and [4] independent woman. She’s alive, she’s real, and she’s one fine actress! And, but that’s not really important in this discussion, I think she’s very beautiful.
Sorry, Ripley was a heroine, of course.
I always loved Nell Carter back in the day. Sherri Shepherd had some great roles in different shows before joining the View.
Never saw Queen Latifa on TV but LOVED the movie Last Holiday!!!
Just another shout out for Sookie on Gilmour Girls. If anyone eats a lot (and a lot of junk food) on that show, it’s Lorelai and Rory, not Sookie! Plus, she married a produce guy, so I’m sure she’s eating healthily!! (Ok, I know, I’m way to obsessed with such a silly show….)
I have to also vote for Natalie on Facts of Life. Not only was she chubby, she was cool, funny and smart!!
Most of the ones I would have said have been mentioned, but what’s a little redundancy?
Melissa McCarthy/Sookie was also my first thought — and let’s not forget Miss Patty and Babette (Liz Torres and Sally Struthers); over 40, yes, but the fact that there were THREE WHOLE FAT WOMEN on that show, and all of them were well-loved characters with actual personalities that had nothing to do with “fat chick” is pretty impressive.
I was also gonna mention Lesley Boone on Ed. Michael Genadry was also a pretty unusual representation of a fat guy on that show; really fat, for starters, and yes, a geeky outcast, but since everyone on that show was a lovable geeky outcast, and his character was smart and funny as hell, it was really refreshing. Or at least it was until the actor got WLS and they wrote it in for the character, too.
I forgot about Tyne Daly on Judging Amy. Also breaks the over-40 rule, and of course that character eventually had a heart attack and went on a diet, but man, she was one of my favorite TV characters ever.
I never liked Sherri Shepard that much on Less Than Perfect, and now that I know she thinks the earth is flat, I feel vindicated in that dislike. But at least the character was supposed to be likable.
Yeah, I’m all out of ideas now.
There have always been dowdy (read: fat) ladies on shows for years, like Ethel Mertz, Mrs. Garrett on “Facts of Life” or Doris, on “Everybody Loves Raymond”, the lovely, late Darlene Conley as Sally Spectra on “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
Do you remember “Angie!” (Donna Pescow) in the 70s?
I love that you all remembered the gal from “Ed” she was amazing.
Does Rosie O’Donnell count?
How about Caroline Rhea on “Sabrina?”
Tony Soprano’s sister, Janice (Aida Turturro),
Now, here’s the thing…these people, in my mind are not FAT, they are all normal or chubby. I still loved Natalie the best!!
There’s a woman in British soap Coronation Street who I think counts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eileen_Grimshaw
She’s excellent :)
No-one else mentioned (or remembered?) but for a while on the Drew Carey Show, he was dating a cool fat woman who was a plumber? Or something? I remember a tool belt. But not het name. I remember blonde hair.
My top picks (to echo many of the sentiments here):
1. Nell Carter. She was the first big girl I saw on TV and it made me feel better about myself.
2. Conchata Ferrell in her LA Law days looked really good NOT dressed up in a suit like all the other lawyers
3. Camryn Manheim. I have always loved her attitude and her book was great. She still looks fab on Ghost Whisperer.
4. Dawn French is my idol! I cried when I found out that they weren’t going to allow her to adopt a child because of her weight. She won tho! Her clothing line is great too!
5. Delta Burke. She was always well dressed and looked awesome, even when she was going through all those horrible times on the show.
5. Mindy Cohn (Natalie Green). She was chubby, and funny and cute.
6. Wendie Jo Sperber from the short-lived Fox TV show “Babes” (about three plus sized sisters) and Bosom Buddies too.
Holls et. al.:
The character’s name was Nicki Fifer and she was played by Kate Walsh–Dr. Addison Montgomery Shepherd from Grey’s Anatomy (and now Private Practice).
I was FLOORED when I watched an interview with her just before Grey’s started and she talked about wearing the fat suit for Drew Carey. I really through she was a large actress!
Wow, there have been quite a few. Too bad they’ve been smothered by obscurity. They’re the people about whom you say, “Oh yeah! She DID exist!” Never a Jennifer Anniston or–hey, why can’t a Desperate Housewife be fat? That is the perfect show for an integrated fat woman!
Something I always admired about “The Facts of Life”, as fluffy a sitcom as it was: It NEVER made a joke of Natalie’s weight. As far as I know, the subject was never even mentioned. Natalie was just a normal character like all the rest of the girls – she was even the first to lose her virginity (who can forget that episode?).
I have to believe it was a conscious decision on the writers’ part – why cast a fat girl at all, if not for the purpose of making fat jokes? They must have agreed early on not to stoop to that level (about race and sexual orientation as well, I’ll bet).
Even in the later seasons when most of the stars took flak from the media for gaining weight, the show always treated it as a non-issue. I can’t think of any other show before or since that has set that kind of positive example. Maybe it wasn’t so fluffy after all.
YES! Glad to see someone remembered to put Wendie Jo Sperber on this list. Definitely a presence on TV in my teen and young adult years, and came across as a great example of a successful young working actress despite of and because of her size.
We lost her far too young.
And Conchata Ferrell has been a personal hero of mine since the mid-70’s, because she rocks every part she’s ever played.
A lot of people seem to create a separate category for “sassy black women” of size, but to this big white girl from Iowa?
Nell Carter, Queen Latifah, Shirley Hemphill and Mabel King from “What’s Happening”, Esther Rolle, and Isabel Sanford were simply actresses, working and creating a presence on television, and earning my admiration and respect in the process.
Hmm…how sad that I can’t honestly think of a show I watch with any regularity that features a positive big gal! Although I have to say, I really think there’s no way in hell America Ferrara is a size six. 10-12, maybe, but no way she’s a six. She’s always been a full-figured girl, and even though she’s lost weight since being on UB, I don’t believe for a second she’s anything under a 10. And she looks fabulous!
michele and heatherbelly–I too was going to mention Kathy Najimy as Olive on Veronica’s Closet (I don’t think they ever made an issue of her weight; of course Kirstie Alley was on that show too and it wasn’t in one of her skinny periods, but I find it hard to list her as a champion of the fat girls on TV for obvious reasons); and Darlene Conley as Sally Spectra.
Talking of Desperate Housewives, this was more of a cameo, but how about Harriet Sansom Harris as Felicia? That character was awesome.
Jezebel from “Meadowlands” on Showtime (it’s been cancelled but you can still catch it On Demand, I think).
Okay, Meadowlands was kind of a weird, unpleasant show, but Jezebel was a GODDESS and had the most fabulous costumes ever. She was like the Miss America of Meadowlands. I used to wish they could transplant her character to a good show, like “Lost” or something.
Yes to everyone’s choices, especially Tyne Daly (a fave of us over-40 folk) & Camryn Manheim. Back in the mists of time (early 1950’s) there was a show called “Topper”, a talking-ghost sitcom. The lead character’s wife was plump & chic (tho ditzy). Don’t forget the curvaceous Ann Sothern, who had 2 series of her own 50 years ago. We’ve always BEEN there – it’s just taken all this time to make people see us in a positive light.
I forgot! Margo Martindale is AWESOME on “The Riches.”
Google Clothes Off Our Back and you will see America Ferrera donated her size 6 dress to the charity earlier this year. Meryl Streeps was an 8! America has also said in interviews that she is a size 8.
By Hollywood’s normal size 0s, that is plus sized and refreshing. But I also think this is part of the way our images of what is normal, thin and plus-sized gets skewed.
I just saw Wendie Jo Sperber on an old Designing Women! I always loved her!
I LOVED Sara Rue when she was on Popular. Not so much when she was on Less than Perfect, because it harped on her weight constantly, plus she lost weight for the show and was MAYBE an 8 or 10. It breaks my heart that she bought into the whole hollywood thing and now she’s so skinny she’s unrecognizable. I thought she was so pretty before, but now she looks like every other blonde Skeletor chick in Hollywood. Sigh.
Oh! I wanted to add that the fat-girl-as-a-joke thing isn’t relegated to just American TV. Spanish Soaps and comedy shows are really guilty of turning the fat girl into a big joke.
One of the most recent offenders was a soap that my husband and I both LOVED called La Fea Mas Bella (a Mexican remake of the show that Ugly Betty was modeled after). They had a slightly-overweight supporting character that I swear every time was on camera was eating something. Her eating became this huge joke and they finally ended up sending her to OA in the last few episodes (gag!).
However, the main character, Angelica Vale, has given interviews about all of the hell she caught for not being a size two. She said in interviews that it really killed her self esteem that the producers were always telling her she needed to lose weight. She finally got fed up and told them to leave her alone because she was NORMAL, not fat! It made me adore her immensely, because she’s somewhere between a 10 and a 14. YAY Angelica!
Just echoing support for Camryn Manheim, Isabel Sanford (OMG I loved me some Jeffersons when I was a kid!), Nell Carter, Wendy Jo Sperber, Dawn French, Kathy Najimy, Queen Latifah. Can’t think of a single actress on network tv right now, but kudos for Jorge Garcia on LOST.
Addendum for all you Dawn French fans: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yt6OjnazjZs
Awesome, AWESOME parody of “America’s Next Top Model.” LOVE THEM.
Mindy Cohn is a great choice; I loved her when I was a kid (and we went to the same college). Margo Martindale on The Riches is awesome too! Nice call. And who doesn’t adore Dawn French? Nobody, that’s who.
The 3 actresses who played sisters on ‘Babes’. They were hot, loved their clothes, and their attitudes. Damn, it’s been a long time since I’ve even thought about them, but I was madder than a wet hen when they canceled the show.
Did I miss it or has no one mentioned Sara Ramirez??
It’s been a while since I kept up with Grey’s Anatomy, but I love how that show has had a variety of body types and hasn’t said anything about them. I saw in an interview that Shonda Rhimes wanted to include a variety of women’s shapes in the show, in part because she herself is not a thin woman. Between Sara Ramirez as Callie, Chandra Wilson as Dr. Bailey, and Loretta Devine as Dr. Webber’s wife, I think she’s doing a pretty good job.
I do note that all three are women of color, and since my viewing of Grey’s has been sporadic, I have no idea what they’ve done with any of those characters recently, so I can’t say for certain how much a standard-bearer Grey’s deserves to be here. And I think there’s plenty of conversation to be had as to why all of the women of size are also women of color, though I’m not sure this is the place for it.
I will say, though – the scene of Sara Ramirez dancing around in her underwear in Season 2 did my heart some good. :)
Would Martine McCutcheon count, since she was on East Enders and guested on some Brit TV shows? Not that I would consider her fat AT ALL, but that was one of the running jokes in “Love Actually,” how everyone saw her as chubby except for Hugh Grant’s character.
Thorn-I agree that Grey’s has different sizes and shapes of women, but I took issue with a scene where Callie is mad at Meredith and Callie goes after her physically, as if “big” girls have to use their size against the “little” girls. Plus, Izzie said something to the effect of “Callie stop it, she’s little and you’re hurting her”! I found this insulting as a “big” girl!
Don’t forget Kirsten Vangsness who plays Penelope the conputer geek on Criminal Minds.
Sara Ramirez is HAWT. I’ve never watched the show but I have a total crush on her.
Mandy mentioned “a chubby girl on a soap” – my guess is that you’re thinking of Marcie, played by Kathy Brier, on ‘One Life To Live.’ She’s short and round and redheaded and has just as many storylines as the other girls, and I don’t remember them ever making her weight an issue. I love her. (My mom is addicted to the ABC soaps. I still watch GH and OLTL with her when I’m visiting.)
And I think America is the poster girl because her breakthrough role was in “Real Women Have Curves.” Fairly self-explanatory, I think.