Renee Zellweger always gets asked about her weight when she’s out in public.
The 47-year-old actress has revealed that she regularly gets stopped on the street by fans asking for top tips to shift the pounds due to her role as Bridget Jones – a character she is portraying for a third time in ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ – for which she has to bulk up.
When asked whether she thinks people’s obsession with female celebrities’ weight has diminished or increased in recent years, she said: "I’m not sure whether I could speak to whether or not that’s changed. I get the question pretty regularly in the street about losing weight, or how I lost weight, or opinions about whether or not I should keep that 25lbs. I guess it’s interesting."
One situation Renee definitely finds less interesting is the ongoing fixation with whether or not she has had cosmetic surgery.
The screen star recently responded to the rumours in an open letter published on The Huffington Post, blasting the trend to dissect women over their appearance.
She wrote: "It’s no secret a woman’s worth has historically been measured by her appearance. Too skinny, too fat, showing age, better as a brunette, cellulite thighs, facelift scandal, going bald, fat belly or bump? Ugly shoes, ugly feet, ugly smile, ugly hands, ugly dress, ugly laugh … The resulting message is problematic for younger generations and impressionable minds, and undoubtedly triggers myriad subsequent issues regarding conformity, prejudice, equality, self-acceptance, bullying and health (sic)"
She went on to deny that she had had any work and said: "Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I did not make a decision to alter my face and have surgery on my eyes."
On film, Renee has explored some very different looks, from putting on weight for ‘Bridget Jones’ to going makeup free for the part of Ruby Thewes in ‘Cold Mountain’ or glamming it up in ‘Chicago’, and she concede that playing with her appearance on film is something she finds very interesting.
Speaking to Total Film magazine, Renee said the reason for her diverse roles was: "Not for any other reason other than it was interesting to try something different."
‘Bridget Jones Baby’ will be released on 19 September.
Renee Zellweger constantly quizzed on her weight
