Highlights
- Chrissy Metz’s role as Kate Pearson on This Is Us brought attention to her weight loss journey.
- Metz has been open about the challenges of navigating weight loss.
- Despite experiencing periods of depression, Metz has found healing through therapy.
When This Is Us was on the air, there was no TV drama that made people cry as much as the NBC series. Fans cared so much about the Pearson family that these characters felt like real people. Even now, several years after the show has gone off the air, it’s hard to think of a show that packs the same emotional punch.
While other actors came close to starring in This Is Us, many agree that Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia were perfect as Rebecca and Jack Pearson. Chrissy Metz was also a strong member of the cast as Kate Pearson, a kind-hearted person who felt guilty about her father’s death.
As Metz has become more famous, fans have found out more about the actress’s personal life, including Metz’s divorce from Martyn Eaden. She has also talked a lot about her weight loss and the path that she has been on.
When Did Chrissy Metz Lose Weight?
Although Chrissy Metz acted before This Is Us, Kate Pearson is definitely the role that people know her best for. A few years earlier, in 2014 and 2015, she played the characters Barbara and Ima Wiggles in American Horror Story: Freak Show. She then played Kate for six seasons from 2016 to 2022.
Some of Metz’s other roles include voicing Mei Mei in the animated TV series Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny and Michelle in the drama Stay Awake. She also played Faith in the 2023 horror movie A Creature Was Stirring.
Since Kate Pearson’s weight loss has been a focal point of This Is Us, Chrissy Metz has also talked about this subject. Fans love This Is Us because the plotlines are so real and several episodes explore the complicated dynamic of being part of a family that cares about each other but doesn’t always understand each other.
Metz is 43 years old, and when she was 30, she decided to focus on weight loss. In an interview with People in 2017, she shared that when she turned 30, she ended up going to the hospital because of a panic attack. This made her want to lose weight.
Metz said, “I was so gung ho, I lost 100 lbs. in less than five months. All I did was eat a 2,000-calorie diet and walk 20 minutes a day.”
Did Chrissy Metz’s Weight Loss Affect Her Mental Health?
Weight loss is a tricky subject, and it can be tough to be an actor and know that everyone is watching at all times. While Chrissy Metz has never said that she became depressed while losing weight, she has been open about the subject. She has also talked a lot about self-love and confidence over the years, which suggests that she has gone through a lot.
In 2016, Chrissy Metz talked about her This Is Us contract and shared in an interview with TV Line that it said she should drop pounds because Kate Pearson would as well.
Metz said it was a “different kind of motivation, so I was excited about it.”
She also explained, “In our contract, it did state that that would be a part of it, to lose the weight in the trajectory of the character as she comes to find herself. That was a win-win for me. Because it’s one thing to try to do it on your own. But as human beings, it’s an ego thing: We’re more likely to do something for someone else.”
However, a little while later, the actress told People that she didn’t technically sign a contract that said she had to be a smaller size at one point while filming. She explained that it was more of a conversation about Kate’s main character arc. She said, “It wasn’t mandated in the contract, and I probably — if I ever said the word contract, I didn’t mean it in that way. I was pitched that the trajectory of Kate is that she’s going to lose weight. That is who and what’s going on.”
According to The Daily Mail, Chrissy Metz was depressed for a period of time when she was trying to find her way in Hollywood. Morgana, who is Chrissy Metz’s sibling, told the publication that in 2003, the two attended a casting call. When the people there wanted to work with Metz, that led to a time in her life when she felt terrible.
After dropping 50 pounds, Metz was depressed for a decade. That led to her decision to lose 100 pounds 13 years ago.
Now that Chrissy Metz is feeling better, the actress has talked about therapy and the tools that she used.
According to Self, Metz said in an interview with VeryWellMind, “I needed to understand why I’ve been hurting my body with food and all the things that come with that, which means all the past trauma, all my parents’ unresolved issues, all of that came bubbling to the surface at 30 years old. Because for sure, it’s not about the food. Ever. The food is the symptom. If you take the food away, all the feelings you’ve suppressed come up, and then you have to contend with them because you’ve never dealt with them.”
It also sounds like starring in This Is Us and portraying a character who goes through some tough experiences has been a positive experience. In 2021, the actress was interviewed by Garden and Gun magazine and she talked about working on an EP of five songs. She said that after starring in the emotional TV drama, she knew that she could continue to talk about emotions and hard topics.
Metz said, “I think through playing Kate on ‘This Is Us,’ exposing myself in that way, I realized the more vulnerable we are, the more people will relate to us. It’s not about having to be fill-in-the-blank of whomever you aspire to be. I don’t have to compare myself to anybody else.”
While Chrissy Metz has shared that she has had plenty of low moments in her life, she seems to be content now, and she has found ways to show herself compassion when times do get tough.
Source: NewsFinale
