Slim & Trim: These Black Celebs Dropped Some Serious Weight and Transformed Their Looks
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Losing weight and keeping it off is hard enough. But the pressure can be even more intense when you’re in the public eye, and everyone is counting the pounds and keeping track of your routine.
Oprah Winfrey, Al Roker and Shonda Rhimes are just a few celebrities who have had their weight loss journeys play out in public. Whether by diet, exercise, surgery or all of the above, these Black stars have stunned us by losing lots of weight.
Read more
It’s time for ESPN to put an end to Pat McAfee’s Aaron Rodgers disaster
Google Just Disabled Cookies for 30 Million Chrome Users. Here’s How to Tell If You’re One of Them.
No One Knows What Happened To The Mercedes-Benz Truck Trapped In Chernobyl
Oprah Winfrey’s weight loss journey has played out in public for over 25 years. These days, The Color Purple producer says she maintains her newly-snatched shape with regular exercise and a healthy diet. She also uses weight loss medication as a “maintenance tool.”
“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for. I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself,” she told PEOPLE.
Lizzo
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 25: (Editorial Use Only) (Exclusive Coverage) Lizzo attends the World Premiere of “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé” at Samuel Goldwyn Theater on November 25, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California.
Lizzo is stepping into 2024 with a new slimmed-down figure. Fans noticed her new, slimmed-down figure in a Jan. 2 Instagram video showing off pieces from her YITTY shapewear line. “We see u shedding pounds love. Even tho u were beautiful before,” wrote one fan in the comments.
Al Roker
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 14: Al Roker is seen walking in midtown on December 14, 2023 in New York City.
Fans everywhere couldn’t help but cheer on TODAY weatherman Al Roker after he shed over 100 pounds after a 2002 gastric bypass surgery. Roker, who once weighed in at 340 pounds, says a healthy diet and regular exercise have helped him keep the pounds off.
“It’s still a struggle but I’m never going back,” he said. “I have setbacks and struggle every day, but I never forget how far I’ve come.”
Jennifer Hudson
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 03: Jennifer Hudson attends the 2023 AAFCA TV Honors Awards Luncheon at Hotel Casa del Mar on December 03, 2023 in Santa Monica, California.
Actress, singer and talk show host Jennifer Hudson shed a stunning 80 pounds, dropping from size 16 to size 6. But the Oscar winner credit changes in her diet and not hours in the gym for maintaining her weight loss over the years.
“I don’t really have time to do much [working out], so I really just watch what I eat,” she said in a 2017 interview with British talk show Lorraine. “I’m very careful and cautious of what I’m eating, so I just try to pace those meals throughout the day.
Mo’Nique
STOCKBRIDGE, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 14: Comedian Mo’Nique performs onstage during The Bridge Comedy Show at Stockbridge Amphitheater on October 14, 2023 in Stockbridge, Georgia.
Oscar-winning actress Mo’Nique lost over 80 pounds in 2013. She credits diet, exercise and the support of her family with helping her along the way. These days, she tries to pay it forward, inspiring her fans along their weight loss journeys with videos and inspirational messages on social media.
Anthony Anderson
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 13: Anthony Anderson attends the 2023 FOX Winter Junket at Fox Studio Lot on December 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Anthony Anderson says he’s always been husky. But the actor, who was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic over 20 years ago, says the news made him realize he needed to lose weight for the sake of his health. Anderson says exercise and a diet, which he describes as “vegan-ish,” have helped him on his journey.
Star Jones
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 23: Star Jones attends Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation’s 2023 Angel Ball at Cipriani Wall Street on October 23, 2023 in New York City.
Lawyer and television personality Star Jones says her 2003 gastric bypass surgery likely saved her life. Jones, who at one time weighed over 300 pounds, described herself as morbidly obese.
“I couldn’t walk the stairs,” she told TODAY in 2012. “I couldn’t walk the airport length without having to stop and catch my breath. My greatest fear was that I would die in my apartment alone from a stroke or a heart attack – too big to get to the phone. And I made up my mind that whatever it took, I was gonna lose that weight.”
EJ Johnson
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 21: EJ Johnson attends the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS at The Beverly Hills Hotel on September 21, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California.
EJ Johnson lost an astonishing 180 pounds after undergoing gastric sleeve surgery in 2014. These days, the reality star credits diet and exercise with helping maintain a healthy weight.
“Find a workout that’s something you love to do,” Johnson told E!. “For me it’s not even working out it’s just having fun.”
Sherri Shepherd
Sherri Shepherd at the 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel on December 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Talk show queen Sherri Shepherd credits a high-fat, low-carb diet and intermittent fasting with helping her shed 20 pounds in 2021. She also says she cut sugar, dairy, beef, pork and alcohol from her diet, choosing to drink water and tea only.
Al Sharpton
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 03: Al Sharpton attends the “X: The Life and Times Of Malcolm X” opening night at The Metropolitan Opera on November 03, 2023 in New York City.
Al Sharpton left us stunned after losing 176-pounds. The MSNBC host says his youngest daughter inspired his journey back in 2006, and he hasn’t looked back. Sharpton says he’s relied on a healthy diet and consistent exercise rather than surgery.
“I actually lost more weight than I am!” he told PEOPLE in 2022.
Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson at the Christian Siriano Spring 2024 Ready To Wear Fashion Show at the Pierre Hotel on September 8, 2023 in New York, New York.
Singer and actress Janet Jackson lost 70 pounds in 2017 after giving birth to her son Eissa. According to her trainer, Paulette Sybliss, Miss Jackson underwent a “vigorous training schedule,” which you may be surprised to learn didn’t include hours of cardio.
“We were doing three or four exercises with weights back to back. When you’re working with weights and you’re working the muscle that way, it elevates the heart rate, but also it’s creating that fat burning affect both during the session and also when she left me, and that was key,” Sybliss told E!.
Shonda Rhimes
SAN MARINO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 11: Shonda Rhimes attends the Allure Bridals Bridgerton Wedding Collection launch event at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens on December 11, 2023 in San Marino, California.
Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes says losing 150 pounds was no fun, but she did it because her health depended on it. But Rhimes says even worse than the weight loss process was the weird way everyone treated the thinner version of herself. She wrote about her weight loss journey in her Shondaland newsletter in 2017.
“When I was fat, I wasn’t a PERSON to these people,” she said. “Like I had been an Invisible Woman who suddenly materialized in front of them. Poof! There I am. Thin and ready for a chat.”
Chaka Khan
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 02: Chaka Khan, one of the biggest stars of the 1970s and beyond, performs at Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace x adidas Originals ‘Evening Dedicated to the Spectacular 70s’, a one-night only immersive roller skating experience and the release of exclusive customized products in limited quantities on December 2, 2023 in London, England.
Legendary R&B singer Chaka Khan has battled with her weight off and on for years. But she says it was a liquid and vegan diet that helped kickstart her 60-pound weight loss back in 2012.
Missy Elliot
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 19: Missy Elliott speaks onstage at 2023 Black Music Honors at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on May 19, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Get Ur Freak On” rapper Missy Elliot was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder Graves’ disease in 2008. Weight loss is one of the symptoms of the disease, which causes an overproduction of thyroid hormones. Since her diagnosis, Missy has tried to make healthy lifestyle choices, like eating better and exercising more.
Sheryl Underwood
LOS ANGELES - OCTOBER 24: Trick or Treat - It’s THE TALK’s Halloween Palooza! The hosts transform into today’s hottest music superstars Tuesday, October 31, 2023, on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+.Pictured: Beyonce (Sheryl Underwood) as Beyonce.
The Talk host Sheryl Underwood said her doctor gave her the wake-up call she needed to get her weight under control.
“My lab work: diabetic, pre-diabetic, hypertension, all the things that you hear, especially with women,” she told PEOPLE in 2022. “I really wanted to get ahead of it.”
With the help of popular weight loss medication Wegovy, Underwood was able to drop 90 pounds. She says getting more sleep, drinking more water and adding more fruits and veggies to her diet also helped.
More from The Root
Horror Game Studio Shuts Down Due To Cyberattacks, Poor Sales
Mandy Patinkin gets his Poirot on in the trailer for Hulu's Death And Other Details
Sign up for The Root's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
