‘I Was Paid To Stay Bigger'

Actress Rebel Wilson has decided to ditch the weight that helped make her famous – and get healthy

- Nici De Wet

She's made a fortune playing characters such as Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect, larger-than-life, laugh-a-minute people who poke fun at themselves so others don’t do it first.

Her size and attitude helped cement her status as one of Hollywood’s brightest comedy stars – and no one was more aware of this than Tinseltown’s profit-obsessed bosses.

Rebel Wilson recently revealed she was actually paid to keep her curves because being plus-size in a sea of skinny stars helped her movies become box-office gold. People wanted to see someone who not only seemed comfortable in their skin but revelled in being bigger.

Her gags, often at her own expense, stole the show in movies such as Bridesmaids (2011) and How to Be Single (2016). In Pitch Perfect (2012) she was the one who stuffed her face and let it all hang out in tiny shorts and tight tops.

“I was paid a lot of money to be bigger,” she told Britain’s The Sun newspaper.

Not that she’s complaining, really. “I saw it as an advantage whereas so many people see it as a disadvantage.”

But being told to stay a certain size by studio executives did come at an emotional price. “It kind of can mess with your head a bit,” she says. “It’s like you aren’t really your own person.”

And she’s ready to take back control of her life. Rebel, who turned 40 in March, is closing that chapter of her life and welcoming a new, healthier one.