MovieChat Forums > Classic TV: The 80s > Curvy starlets of the '80s

Curvy starlets of the '80s

posted 14 years ago by notaarebe
8 replies | jump to latest

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?

[–] TheSnappySneezer 14 years ago

I don't remember Heather in Mr. Belvadere being considered that, she seemed a frumpy nerd. Maybe I need to rewatch some to refresh my mind.

I remember the Lubbock Babes, I want a reunion film.

[–] notaarebe 14 years ago

I don't remember Heather in Mr. Belvadere being considered thatOh, 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.

[–] Spider360 14 years ago

I think Tracy Gold also fits this catagory.She was another one that fell victim to Hollywood's desire for thin actresses.

Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental

[–] Dark_Sithlord 14 years ago

- Loni Anderson in WKRP in Cincinnati.
- Jennilee Harrison as Cindy in Three's Company
- Marilu Henner as Elaine in Taxi.

[–] notaarebe 14 years ago

"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.

[–] Dark_Sithlord 14 years ago

You mentioned Michelle Johnson from Blame it on Rio, and I wouldn't really categorize her as plump either. She was actually pretty thin.

[–] Eponymous-too 14 years ago

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 14 years ago

Desire for thin, curvy actresses, you mean

I try to be like Grace Kelly, but all her looks were too