Curvy starlets of the '80s
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Film and Television Discussion
notaarebe — 15 years ago(July 25, 2010 02:16 AM)
What ever happened to Hollywood? It used to cast girls who were actually feminine and beautiful, with soft features and curvy figures. Nowadays every actress seems to be size 0, with harsh, mannish facial features, grotesquely ropy-muscled bodies, and radioactive tans.
It wasn't always like this. I remember numerous young starlets in '80s television who exhibited actual curves:
-Blair in
Facts of Life
(Lisa Welchel) the most beautiful of them all
-Gina in
Otherworld
(Jonna Lee)
-Heather in
Mr. Belvedere
(Tracy Wells)
-D.J. in
Full House
(Candace Cameron)
-Cindy in
Just the Ten of Us
(Jamie Luner)
From the movies, I would add:
-Ali in
The Karate Kid
(Elisabeth Shue)
-Jennifer in
Blame It on Rio
(Michelle Johnson)
And as a late example of the type:
-Brenda in
Beverly Hills 90210
(Shannen Doherty)
These girls all had skinny best friends, but they were the starlets of their respective shows either the main daughters or love interests and they all had curvy figures.
Nowadays they would probably all be considered "chubby" (which is ridiculous), yet they were all way more beautiful than the anorexic waifs who star in most TV shows today.
What ever happened to make Hollywood so militantly insistent on gym-tortured bodies rather than soft, natural figures?
Are there any modern exceptions that I'm not thinking of?
Does anyone remember other '80s starlets that would fit into this youthfully curvy (
not
frumpy/matronly not Roseanne!) category? -
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notaarebe — 15 years ago(July 25, 2010 02:53 PM)
I don't remember Heather in Mr. Belvadere being considered that
Oh, she was
very
attractive, especially in the later seasons of the show. Far more beautiful than, say, DJ on
Full House
ever was (although DJ was cute enough that I would include her in this list).
I remember the Lubbock Babes, I want a reunion film.
I know. Between the young Jamie Luner and Heather Langenkamp, there was a lot of beauty in that household.
Sadly, Luner starved herself into typically Hollywood skinniness right after the show ended (as did all of the rest the girls on the list). But each girl had a brief, shining period of youthful, curvy beauty that was way preferable to what Hollywood gives us today. -
notaarebe — 15 years ago(July 25, 2010 09:31 PM)
"Too Close for Comfort" (1980) Lydia Cornell (Sara Rush)
- Loni Anderson in WKRP in Cincinnati.
- Jennilee Harrison as Cindy in Three's Company
- Marilu Henner as Elaine in Taxi.
Hmmm. Well, I understand why people would mention these girls, but they were all pretty skinny, except with implants. They weren't that different from what you'd see today. Plus they were adult 20somethings, not really in the high-school category that I noted in my original post.
What strikes me about the girls that I originally mentioned is that they were ever so slightly on the plump side (at least by today's standards), and that is something that, sadly, you would never see these days, as far as I know.
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Eponymous-too — 15 years ago(August 16, 2010 07:11 PM)
I don't know about the other two, but not only did Loni Anderson not have implants, she actually had breast reduction surgery.
"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider." -
CatelynTullyDidNothingWrong — 15 years ago(August 25, 2010 10:02 PM)
Are you insane? Or just another deluded person whose into fat girls or butterfaces? There are far more skinny curvy gurls than "big" curvy girls. The 50s sucked, btw, including at determining ideal body shapes/types. And everyone has curves- the curve in your waist is what CURVES are, not a butt so big it needs its own zipcode or sagging DD/E cups. I'm a size zero and I am curvy. People like this need to go back to Kindergarten to learn the difference between SHAPES and SIZES or whenever they teach such common sense things, and maybe learn to appreciate all women's bodies, not whatever attention whore is willing to flash you her perky implants and breeder hips.
"yet they were all way more beautiful than the anorexic waifs who star in most TV shows today."
Care to name some, or how they've all got eating disorders?
Being slender is not being anorexic. It's disgusting how warped America is about women's bodies, all because fat is the average size.
I try to be like Grace Kelly, but all her looks were too -
Dark_Sithlord — 14 years ago(August 01, 2011 01:14 AM)
How about Tracey Gold from
Growing Pains
? For a couple of seasons she was a bit on the plump side. She looked okay to me but apparently the producers of the show pressured her into shedding some pounds. Her struggles with her weight and anorexia are well publicized. -
puredieselbc — 14 years ago(September 10, 2011 06:56 PM)
ExoticMadchen, there is no such size as zero. That's just the fashion industry playing inside your head. And newsflash honey,
being slim doesn't mean NOT having hips, tits and an ass!
Which last time I checked, most men, by the way, still enjoy viewing.
Between the late 70's and first half of the 80's there were so many more babes & hunks on tv. Now it's all
androgynous
people in lab coats, flashing badges and holding smartphones, portrayed by bobble-head actresses with no curves and metrosexual-geek actors with no chins.
Luke Perry and Lara Flyn Boyle have a lot to answer for.
"Evil spelled backwards is live"
: Mok -
ellery-6 — 14 years ago(October 30, 2011 04:24 AM)
ShanDo started to lose a ton of weight starting around the second season - or actually the first summer episodes when they all had to wear bikinis. And they always have the same excuse: "I lost my baby fat!" Yeah, that, and the cocaine.:)
When life gives you lemons, make Limoncello. -
ellery-6 — 14 years ago(October 30, 2011 04:26 AM)
Cybill Shepherd - big boned woman; never made any apologies for it.
Edit: just re-read your post and ITA with your face comments too. Roundish faces, apple cheeks, and cute noses are much prettier than these mannish jaws, prominent but unnaturally narrow noses and cheekbones that are so scary they could cut glass. Lake Bell would never have gotten a job in the 80s, let alone as a babe.
When life gives you lemons, make Limoncello. -
Brian_and_the_Revolution — 14 years ago(November 22, 2011 11:20 AM)
Totally agree that Lisa Whelchel was the hottest curvy starlet of them all. Kim Fields was a close second.
Now, the majority of actress on T.V look like 13 year old under developed boys(Blake Lively, deemed the hot one on that rich girl show).
I'm straightapplaud me for my bravery!