Here are 6 times our favourte icons got real about body positivity:

1. Sonam Kapoor

The Neerja actress recently broke the internet with her boujee AF pregnancy announcement. In an interview with Vogue India, the actress got real about her journey to a healthy body image. She revealed that growing up she experienced a growth spurt that left her feeling gagly and awkward about her body: “I didn’t have the refinement that other young girls had – that posture, that elegance. I was a bit of a mess.” Cherry on top, the actor entered the industry at a time when the size-zero frenzy was at its peak. Reminiscing the overwhelming pressure to conform to idealised and stringent body standards, Kapoor exclaimed, “I was a big girl at 5’10,” but thankfully directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra did not pressure her to look a certain way.

2. Sonakshi Sinha

In an interview, Sonakshi revealed: “It’s absolutely shameful. Today if anybody has been targeted for being a certain way, it’s me. But I don’t let it get to me. I know what is more important is that I project a healthy body image for girls who look up to me. Tomorrow if I become skinny, what’s the point? I won’t be able to work well. I’ll fall sick all the time. I know that’s not my body structure, not my body type. I’ve worked very hard to look the way I look today. I used to weigh 95 kilos. What more do you want from me?”

3. Pareeniti Chopra.

In 2018, the Ishaqzaade debutante had lost kilos and shared a happy picture of her stretch marks, for which she was hailed a hero by the internet. She said, “I have struggled with my weight. I was big and unhealthy, not chubby. I took it upon myself to work towards this. There was the pressure of Bollywood to bring me on the right part. I am fit now. People need to be fit no matter what size they are. I was big and unfit. It took me a year and a half to reach here.”

4. Huma Qureshi. 

While in talks with browngirlmagazine.com, Qureshi exclaimed: “Girls are not commodities. We are not for other people’s viewing. We are not objects or animals. We have our own individuality. Who wants to blend in when you can stand out? It is not about being skinny, tan, fair, or curvy. It is important to be unique individuals and to be ourselves. Let women choose who they want to be. It is really sad when body-shaming leads to people putting themselves in danger because of airbrushed notions. That is a very slavish mentality. We talk about equality at work all the time. It is very important to teach young girls to be comfortable in their own skin. I am a feminist and I want to emphasize that you don’t need to be a woman to be one. I salute all the men who also stand up for women’s rights.”

5. Shradhdha Kapoor. 

The Aashiqui 2 actress has always been vocal about her stance on body positivity, sharing insightful posts on social media. In 2017, she posted this empowering message on Twitter and was thoroughly trolled by the internet since she is the ambassador for a popular weight loss product, but was also lauded by many including Qureshi.

6. Illeana D’Cruz. 

In an awe-inspiring Instagram post, the actress who has a history of body dismorphia shared the following note on how it is “so easy to get sucked into apps that get you to alter your body so effortlessly to make you look ‘slimmer’, ‘more toned’, etc etc etc… Proud of the fact that I’ve deleted all those apps and chosen this instead”. She concluded by stating, “This is me and I’m embracing every inch, every curve, all of me.”