Performer Chrissy Metz, who played Kate Pearson on the TV series This Is Us, has never shied away from expressing her feelings about her body image and weight issues. Series creator Dan Fogelman modeled the role on her sister’s weight loss journey, and the authenticity shone through upon first reading the script.

She spent her childhood in Gainesville, Florida, with her mother, stepfather, and four siblings. ” Last year, she revealed in an interview with Glamour, ” I had nights when my mom wouldn’t eat dinner. ” She would turn down food so we could eat, but when you’re 9 or 10 years old, you can’t help it. It was a terrible thing. Thinking back, I think that’s why food equals love in my family.” 

According to Metz, she began waking up in the middle of the night and sneaking snacks in the bathroom. By the time she turned 14, she said, her stepfather was conducting forced weigh-ins: “He would bring the scale out of the bathroom and bang it hard against the kitchen floor. “‘Okay, get up on the damn thing!'”.

About wearing a fat suit for American Horror Story:

Moving to Los Angeles, Metz landed her first serious role as Barbara “Ima” Wiggles on the TV series American Horror Story: Freak Show. The actress had to wear a fat suit on set for this role. ” That sobered me up,” she said in an interview with People. ” I was like, ‘What if I get so heavy and can’t walk or get stuck in a door frame?’ I felt like, ‘I don’t want that for myself.'”

Since then, we’ve seen Kate tackle new challenges and storylines. ” Actress revealed to Glamour, “People who have never been overweight don’t understand what it’s about. ” To them, it seems like you just sit in a corner, and all you do is eat,” she says. ” So, my position is, let’s deal with the real issues because eating is a symptom, not a problem. Everyone fills the void with something.”

While the show was airing, Metz revealed that she signed a contract that had a clause requiring her to lose weight with her character. 

“If the waiter picks up a food tray and the glass falls and the drink spills, he doesn’t just throw the whole tray on the floor. They pour another glass of whatever you spilled, and you carry on. So often, if something doesn’t work out, we say, “I dropped it!”. And this doesn’t help to move forward, and it’s really about progress, not perfection. We wouldn’t have anything to strive for if we were perfect.”

On weight loss surgery:

“‘The question I wish people would stop asking me is, “Are you going to have weight loss surgery? Are you going to do gastric bypass?”‘” – she said in a September 2017 interview with TODAY. No question for her: “I’m fine, boo.”

On her next big project:

After starring in the 2019 faith-based movie “Breakthrough,” Metz is set to release her own movie and debut album in 2020. ” I don’t want to compromise on one sound, one note, one word,” she says of the album in an interview with Good Housekeeping. ” Let it be on my terms, which is new to me.”