Celebrities are no strangers to talking about their bodies—or dealing with other people talking about their bodies. When you’re professionally pretty, it can be hard to separate your appearance from your work. As you age, or change, or gain weight, or lose weight, it inevitably becomes part of the cultural conversation. And 2026 was chock full of celebrity body moments for the rest of us to dissect.
This year, stars have done a little of everything—they’ve freed the nipple, gone makeup-free, opened up about overcoming insecurities, and begged people to stop using the term “body positivity.” Some spoke out against GLP-1s and the rise of thinness that’s accompanied them. Others started taking GLP-1s, saying they felt better and healthier when they did.
Naturally, each of these choices spawned heated internet debate. When a star does something we’d do—or that we’d never, ever do—it tells us something about who we are, and we want to share that piece of ourselves with the world. We might promote, protest, or mourn their decision. But one thing’s for sure: It gets us talking.
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Sydney Sweeney
Image Credit: Tommaso Boddi/Variety Sydney Sweeney’s had a big year. On the heels of her 2025 “Good Jeans” controversy, she’s freed the nipple no fewer than three times, dressed as a sexy baby on Euphoria, and posed naked for a sports betting ad campaign. She’s also opened up about body confidence and creating her own lingerie line.
“In sixth grade, I was a 32 DD, and I remember going to the store to get my first wire bra. It was silk and the only bra I felt good in,” she told Cosmopolitan. “People will say, ‘Oh, she’s doing this for guys’ or ‘Oh, she’s a guy’s girl.’ But I’m like, ‘What is more girl’s girl than owning your body and doing it for yourself?’”
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Da’Vine Joy Randolph
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety Da’Vine Joy Randolph turned heads at the 2026 Academy Museum Gala in a custom Louis Vuitton gown (pictured). Her goal? To “give drama, elegance—and body.”
The actress has shared that she sees style as a form of self-love, and she refuses to be boxed in by her gender, size, or skin color. “When I meet with these studio execs and they ask, ‘What is it you would like to do next?’” she told Variety. “I straight up say, ‘I would like to tell the same stories as a white straight male in this body. I’m challenging you. Figure it out.’”
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Megan Fox
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/PMC Megan Fox made waves in July when she posted photos of herself clad in sheer black lingerie and a matching veil on Instagram. The caption: “Men would have them believe disobedience was Eve’s vice, when it was her greatest virtue.”
When a commenter called the post “unbelievingly embarrassing for a 40-year-old mom to be posting,” Megan quickly responded, “Which one of my exes is this?” The exchange went viral—with many defending her decision to express herself and redefine what motherhood looks like in 2026.
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Ashley Graham
Image Credit: John Nacion/Variety Earlier this year, plus-size model—and longtime body diversity advocate—Ashley Graham spoke out against GLP-1s and the way they’ve changed the body positivity landscape. “There was a pendulum that swung that was so body acceptance, positivity, everybody be who they want to be,” she told Marie Claire. “And now it’s going back this whole opposite way that feels like a smack in the face to the women who have felt like they’ve had a voice.”
In the midst of this thinness renaissance, Ashley continues to push for more diversity in what we find beautiful. “There’s so many [plus-size influencers and creators] … they’re all over the place with their sizes and their proportions,” she said. “And they have a platform to say to the younger generation, ‘Be yourself, be who you want to be. If you have cellulite, who cares?’”
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Barbara Palvin
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/WWD Model Barbara Palvin walked the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (pictured) just six weeks after giving birth, celebrating the strength and beauty of the postpartum body. While returning to work so soon after childbirth isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time, Barbara was excited—and proud—to do it.
“A huge thank you to Victoria’s Secret for embracing me exactly where I am in my postpartum journey and making me feel so beautiful and confident,” she wrote on Instagram, adding that they “literally” sewed nursing pads into her bra backstage. “What you saw on that runway was me all dolled up … Some days, just finding time to take a shower or sit down and eat a meal in peace feels like a huge accomplishment.”
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Jameela Jamil
Image Credit: Earl Gibson III/Deadline In September, actress Jameela Jamil took a passionate stand against the pressure to get botox. “I miss the faces that move,” she wrote on Instagram. “I miss women frowning and laughing without it looking painful. I am in my forties. My peers are injecting all the *wild* out of themselves and I miss it. I miss it terribly.”
Jameela added that her goal wasn’t to judge or offend—just to remind everyone that it’s natural for faces to move and change and emote. “Women should be ROARING,” she wrote. “Emotion is POWER.”
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Chrissy Metz
Image Credit: Stephanie Augello/Variety After years of being skeptical of GLP-1s, actress Chrissy Metz shared in August that she’s started taking one. “I’m in perimenopause, and there were obesity issues within my family,” she told People. “I felt like I’ve tried so many modalities, whether it was diets or therapy, and none of it really worked for me.”
She added that the change has helped her spend less time obsessing about what she’s eating and more time enjoying her life. “I just vilified food for so long,” she said. “But when I realized food noise was really a thing that consumed a lot of my head space, I was like, ‘Oh.’”
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Nicola Coughlan
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety Actress Nicola Coughlan has a simple message for people who want to talk about her body: Don’t. “I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, ‘I loved [Bridgerton] because of your body,’” she told Elle UK. “It’s really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life, you don’t see your family, you really dedicate yourself—and then it comes down to what you look like.”
Though well-meaning, these comments reduce Nicola to her apperance—when she’d rather talk about anything else. “When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that,” she shared. “I didn’t look at actors and think about their bodies.”
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Selena Gomez
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety When Selena Gomez attended the 2026 Emmy Awards, fans circulated side-by-side photos comparing her in 2016 to her now—and said they missed her old face. “I think people want to freeze me in time to that period of my life,” she told People. “I think people always want me to look the way I did, and that’s just not going to happen.”
Instead, the actress and entrepreneur said she’s happy to age and evolve. “I love getting older,” she said. “Yeah, things are going to change and things are going to sag, but you’re alive.”
