The Most Drastic Hollywood Weight Loss Transformations Of 2024

Celebrity bodies have always been a topic of conversation, but perhaps never more so than 2024, when so many Hollywood stars unveiled drastic weight loss transformations. It's no secret that celebrities are human and, like the rest of, experience fluctuations in weight. Sometimes the weight loss is in preparation for a role; other times, it's simply a matter of trying to stay healthy and look and feel camera-ready. But whether it's a significant reduction, like the one Kathy Bates revealed, or a more subtle shift like the one Lizzo is rocking, any celebrity weight loss quickly becomes the talk of Tinseltown with plenty of speculation over how it happened. 

Was it the result of hard work in the gym? Was it the latest celebrity diet craze like caveman or keto? Only they know for sure, but most are happy to talk about it, and some have admitted to turning to GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy to assist. And while we know that these famous folks often have the best trainers, dietitians, and doctors on speed dial, it's important to remember that they still have to put in the work to get and keep the results. Yes, even when using medications. 

"You have to look at weight loss as a multidisciplinary approach to an overarching lifestyle change," Dr. Steve Batash, leading physician at the Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center, told Healthline. "Taking medications like Wegovy ... enhance the impact of diet and exercise. These weight loss drugs are designed to work best when combined with regular physical activity."

Blonde bombshell Christina Aguilera was just 18-years-old when she skyrocketed to the top of the world of pop with the hit song "Genie in a Bottle" and her star continued to rise. Baring her toned body at awards shows and in videos, the tiny girl with the big voice drew almost as much attention for her looks as her lyrics. As the "Beautiful" singer found out, that attention can wreak havoc on a young girl's self-esteem. "When you're a teenager, you have a very different body than when you're in your 20s," she told Glamour. "I started to fill out, and then that was unacceptable because it was like, 'Oh, she's getting thicker.' Then I had industry people: 'They liked your body and how you were as a skinny teenager.'"

Over the years, the pop princess' weight has fluctuated with pregnancies, and a painful divorce, and critics weren't kind. "I've been criticized for being on both sides of the scale," Aguilera told Marie Claire. 

After her latest weight loss, fans expressed concern over her small frame, accusing her of taking Ozempic. Older and wiser, Aguilera, who has neither confirmed nor denied taking a GLP-1 medication, isn't letting words bring her down. "I have a maturity now where I just don't give a f*** about your opinion," she told Glamour. "I'm not going to take it on."

Kathy Bates has very little to be unhappy about these days as far as her weight is concerned. The Oscar-winning actor has undergone one of the most drastic transformations in Hollywood, as she lost a whopping 100 pounds slowly and safely over the past few years. The star told Variety, "I don't think I've been this slim since I was in college." Bates has been a familiar face on both the big and small screens for the past 50 years, and ironically, she said she doesn't think she would have been as successful if she had been considered more attractive by industry standards. "I don't think I would have gotten the role in 'Misery' if I had been a beauty queen," she said.

Bates, who stars in the reboot of television's "Matlock," said that it wasn't that long ago that she was considering taking a break from the industry, but her plans have since changed thanks in no small part to her smaller size. "I'm ashamed I let myself get so out of shape, but now I have a tremendous amount of energy," she said. Although Bates hasn't been specific about how she lost the weight, she told Extra that it was due primarily to lifestyle changes. Bates had ovarian cancer and underwent a double mastectomy for breast cancer, leaving her with lymphedema. When she learned she was facing diabetes she decided enough was enough."I really didn't want to live with that," she said. "This is the best health I've been in in years and I'm so grateful — it's a miracle."

Fans said holy moly when "Unholy" singer Kim Petras revealed a sleek look with shiny brown hair and a slimmed down figure on Instagram. Most of her followers praised the makeover, calling Petris "beautiful" and "perfect." But there were also those who criticized the pop star and called her "too skinny" or accused her of taking Ozempic. One user even posted "eat something." Maybe the concern stemmed from the fact that Petras had just cancelled her scheduled summer festival performances weeks before debuting her new look, citing "health issues" (via Daily Mail).

Since the wild success of "Unholy," her huge hit with Sam Smith, all eyes were suddenly on Petras, who became the first transgender woman to win a Grammy for Best Pop Duo. It was a lot of attention all at once, and the singer began seeing a therapist to cope. "Therapy was also necessary for me after having a huge song, to learn how to shut everything off,'" she told Cosmopolitan U.K. adding that she was unprepared for the level of attention. "It felt exposing and scary," she said.

Although Petras has not shared how she lost the weight, she has shared her insecurities over her body in the past, telling Entertainment Tonight that she once had a nervous breakdown prior to shooting a "Sports Illustrated" Swimsuit Edition cover because she's never thought of herself as "all that."

Award-winning artist Ice Spice swapped her trademark curves for a leaner look, and fans had something to say about it. An Instagram post featuring the hip-hop hottie in her underwear drew body shaming comments from some of her followers who questioned her health status and told her to "get thick again." It wasn't long before the Ozempic accusations began to surface. Rather than ignore the allegations, Ice Spice clapped back loudly, denying anything but good old-fashioned hard work for her drastic weight loss transformation.

In a conversation on X Spaces, formerly Twitter Spaces, the singer said, "It's called the gym, it's called eating healthy, it's called being on tour." She continued, saying, "Like, what the hell? Maybe if I was sitting at home all f***ing day, it'd be easier to stay big." As if to prove her point, the "Barbie World" singer posted a workout video to her Instagram feed with the caption, "We beatin them allegations bae," but not everyone was convinced. One user wrote, "This girl went to the gym for a day just to film this." 

When someone so young achieves so much success in a short period of time, backlash is almost sure to follow. But with a her summer Y2K! World Tour under her noticeably smaller belt, Ice Spice has remained relatively unbothered. As her meteoric rise to fame continues, she has remained focused on the music. "I think people try to put that pressure on me just because I have been so successful," she told Billboard. "I don't really put too much weight into it."

Women aren't the only ones making headlines in Hollywood for their drastic weight loss transformations. Actor and former WWE star Dave Bautista drew plenty of attention when he dropped a staggering 75 pounds from his formerly 315-pound frame.

In an interview with YouTube personality Chris Van Vliet, the actor said he packed on the pounds for his role in the movie "Knock at the Cabin" by consuming calorie-dense foods like french fries; however, he admitted that he may have taken things too far. "Now looking back at it, I probably overdid it. ... But at the time, I was just thinking, 'I gotta get big, I gotta get big!'" he explained.

The actor revealed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that it took him a long time to lose the weight. He restricted his caloric intake to 2,500 calories per day, practiced intermittent fasting, and focused on working out, he told Van Vliet. Although he admitted to losing some muscle mass along with the weight, the former wrestler is pleased with the results. "The more I trimmed down, the better I felt," he said. "And I also noticed the more I trimmed down, the better I looked on camera, the better I looked next to other actors." He acknowledged that some fans have expressed concern over his weight loss, but "The Killer's Game" star assured Van Vliet that he is fine: "Because people have seen me so much bigger over the years, they think I'm like anorexic, but I'm still just a large human being."

Name a more significant champion of body acceptance for women than Lizzo. Go ahead, we'll wait. Ever since she burst on the scene with her self-affirming songs like "Good as Hell" and "Juice," Lizzo has proudly preached her "love yourself' message while baring her bod in revealing costumes. Her Instagram feed is filled with sexy shots of the singer flaunting her curves in swimwear, underwear, and sometimes even less. However, in 2024, there's been a definite uptick of shots of Lizzo in activewear at the gym working on her fitness. Her once ample curves are still there, just smaller. The "Boys" singer has been quick to point out that she isn't "trying to escape fatness." She explained in one TikTok video, "I've always loved moving my body. I've always loved working out. I'm not trying to be thin. I don't ever want to be thin."

For those who would argue that the singer's weight loss is a far cry from her body positivity position, she clarified her stance to The New York Times. "The idea of body positivity, it's moved away from the antiquated mainstream conception. It's evolved into body neutrality." While she admitted that she may not love her body all the time, she does take good care of it. "I'm taking the time every day to put some love into my body," she said. "There is never a day when I regret taking a walk or doing some Pilates." And as for anyone else's opinion on her wellness journey? "My body is nobody's business," she said. 

He may go by Fat Joe but with a drastic weight loss of more than 200 pounds, the name no longer applies to Joseph Cartagena. The "Lean Back" rapper is a shadow of his 470-pound former self. Unlike some celebrities, Joe takes no offense to anyone assuming he's on weight loss medication. In fact, he openly acknowledged that a GLP-1 drug, which he began taking for diabetes, has been an integral part of his weight loss journey. "Ozempic says you may only have two pieces of your favorite stuff," he joked with Us Weekly. He said he also learned to limit carbs and manage portions."We just try to eat everything with the least carbs as possible," he said. "So we try to stay away from the bread, the pasta, the rice. That's the smartest way to eat."

The singer explained to Men's Health that his weight loss wake up call came after the death of his pal and fellow rapper Big Pun who suffered a heart attack before he was even 30 years old. "I went to his funeral and I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge," he said. "And I'm looking at his little daughter. She was the same age as my daughter. I said, 'You gotta lose weight; otherwise you outta here.'"

As for changing his name to reflect his new look, Fat Joe says that isn't going to happen. "My wife would kill me," he said. "She hallucinates like I'm still that big boy. She loves that."

Hannah Jiles didn't win any fans for the way she treated her fiance Nick Dorka during Season 7 of the Netflix series "Love Is Blind." So if she thought the public would sing her praises over her drastic weight loss transformation, she was mistaken. As she strutted her stuff, showing off her slimmed down size on Instagram, followers were quick to remind Hannah that it was her behavior they found unattractive, not her heavier body. As one commented on a post, "Losing weight doesn't make you a better person," while others accused her of taking Ozempic to achieve her results. 

Hannah, who broke things off with Nick prior to the wedding, told Us Weekly in an exclusive interview, "I've always struggled with my weight my entire life." At her heaviest, the reality star said she weighed 200 pounds, and she has confessed to having tried liposuction prior to appearing on "Love Is Blind." "I like to eat. I like to binge eat. I don't like working out," she confessed. She went on to reveal that she tried "a generic" version of Ozempic, but it made her sick. "I couldn't do it," she said. "It made me nauseous and made me want to vomit." Instead, Hannah claimed that she started eating cleaner and watching portion sizes to achieve her 75-pound weight loss. Additionally, she went on medication to address her anxiety, which she feels has also helped. "It's nothing crazy that I've done," she said, adding that she attends the occasional Pilates class.

Carnie Wilson had tried nearly everything to lose weight including gastric bypass surgery and a Lap-Band procedure. Then, as she told ET, something inside her suddenly changed. "It was like a voice that said, 'You're done. You're done eating the food that makes you feel like crap.'" Wilson, who has been sober since 2004, began to apply the same approach to food that she did to her sobriety, and take it day by day. "Just for today, I'm not gonna eat this dessert or even a taste of it. I mean, I'm really being strict," she explained.

That mindset worked for Wilson, who was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. She began not only to shed the weight, but also to feel good for the first time in many years. In a before and after photo she shared on Instagram, the "Hold On" singer who was once "fat-shamed" on the air by Howard Stern said, "I feel really different. I need to start exercising more to make the scale start to move again, but I'm so proud and pumped." She also noted that she achieved her results "purely through diet," eliminating gluten sugar, and butter and watching her fat intake, rather than risk the side effects of weight-loss injections. Her approach has proved sustainable for the singer who told ET, "I want this to be forever." 

Like many celebrities who undergo a drastic weight loss transformation, Jesse Plemons was often accused of taking Ozempic to achieve his 50-pound drop. The truth is the actor spent nearly 18 months practicing intermittent fasting to get the scale to move. "It's really unfortunate that I decided to get healthy when everyone decided to take Ozempic," the actor joked in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "Several people talked to me about intermittent fasting and I just gave it a shot and [was] surprised at how quickly it was effective." 

Intermittent fasting usually involves consuming all of your daily calories within a certain window of time, typically eight hours, and then fasting for the remaining hours. While it may not be suitable for everyone, it has been shown to have a number of benefits in addition to weight loss including lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, reducing inflammation, and improving brain health. While Plemons said it was a movie role that first inspired him to shed some pounds, he also acknowledged that it was his wife, "Spiderman" star Kirsten Dunst, and their two sons who served as inspiration for him to start paying more attention to his overall health. In an interview with ET, the "Kinds of Kindness" star said, "I have much more energy [now] and, like I've said, I've got young kids, so I got to keep up with them." 

Teamwork makes the dream work, or at least it did for Ricki Lake who decided to make losing weight a joint endeavor with her husband, Ross Burningham. Lake told "Good Morning America" that she was feeling happier than ever, and that the only thing wrong with her otherwise great marriage was the extra weight both she and Burningham had gained. The couple committed to intermittent fasting, a Keto diet, and exercise and lost a total of 75 pounds between them.

Lake's individual weight loss totaled 35 pounds, and her success was sweeter to her because she did without the help of medication, despite her doctor telling her that she would not be able to do it on her own. "He was saying you weren't going to be successful without it, is what he said to me," Lake recalled to GMA. "And I like a challenge. And I like proving people wrong. And so, it pissed me off." Her proud husband told "GMA," "When she decides that she's gonna do something, she's all in and just goes after it. And it's inspiring."

Lake tracked her journey on Instagram and proudly posted a photo wearing a dress that she hadn't worn in 17 years. In an interview with People, the "Hairspray" star said, "I feel the healthiest I've ever felt, the fittest and I have a beautiful partner that I share my life with. I pinch myself every day."