7 Hollywood Actresses Who Were Told They Weren’t Pretty Enough to Make It

It’s no secret to anyone at this point that Hollywood only cares about the first 70 kilograms or so of every female actor. The focus on the superficial and the physical attractiveness of the people working in showbizz keeps reaching greater and greater heights and even though society seems ready to let these preconceptions go, Hollywood isn’t quite. 

Even among the actresses where no one would doubt their quality as an actor or their looks, stories have emerged where they were told in the past that they weren’t pretty enough. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Selena Gomez

Selena has always been pretty outspoken about how society and the business she is in constantly tries telling her she isn’t cute enough, sexy enough, cool enough or whatever excuse you want to think of to ignore Selena Gomez’s exceptional talent. She’s created an fantastic career for herself and firmly believes that everyone is beautiful just the way they are.

Winona Ryder

Thanks to “Stranger Things,” everyone once again knows who this amazing actress is. Her career didn’t start off swimmingly though, as she was constantly told that her look wasn’t pretty enough to make it as an actress. Meanwhile, she’s won a Golden Globe and has been nominated for an Academy Award twice.

Reese Witherspoon

The hate Reese got about her looks was something that turned her into the stubborn person she is today and led to her creating her own production company that supports women trying to make it in Hollywood. Could you believe someone told Reese Witherspoon she wasn’t pretty enough? The woman hasn’t aged a day in two decades. We’re glad Reese didn’t let all those people hold her down, because where would we be without “Legally Blonde” and “Big Little Lies”?

Kat Dennings

Before everyone knew Kat as one of the funniest actresses in Hollywood, she was constantly being turned down for not being funny or attractive enough to play certain parts. In fact, before starring on “2 Broke Girls,” Dennings once auditioned as herself in a sketch show and was said she wasn’t attractive or funny enough. To be herself. Let that sink in for a while. That whole situation is so absurd that you probably couldn’t make this up.

Jessica Chastain

Nobody will argue that Jessica Chastain is an attractive woman right now, but according to the actress this is a very recent phenomenon. In fact, it wasn’t until she had already built a decent career for herself that people started to see her as attractive, where before she was constantly told that she wasn’t pretty enough. I guess that makes it even worse in a way, doesn’t it?

Meryl Streep

One of the great actresses of her generation, and still someone somewhere thought he’s being clever by saying she’s not pretty enough. In fact, when she was a young actress trying to audition for a role in “King Kong” the Italian producer and his son called her ugly. They probably didn’t expect her to understand Italian. That must have been one awkward atmosphere in the room!

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet has never hidden the fact that she has been bodyshamed for as long as she can remember. Before she became one of the biggest stars in the world by starring in “Titanic,” she was told that she might make it as an actress if she was happy sticking to the “fat girl” parts. All that just made her stronger though, and she’s a very popular and loved actress now.