Kelly Clarkson has been outspoken about body empowerment over the years and has used her experience to inspire others.
Clarkson previously spoke out about being publicly criticized for her weight when she skyrocketed to fame during season 1 of American Idol in 2002. “I was the biggest girl in the [Idol cast] too,” she said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2015. “And I wasn’t big, but people would call me big … I’ve kind of always gotten that.”
The Grammy winner showed off a slimmer figure in 2018, which she said came from changing her diet to “non-GMO, no pesticides, eating really organic.” One year prior, Clarkson told Redbook that she doesn’t equate looking skinny with being healthy.
“It’s when I’m fat that I’m happy. People think, ‘Oh, there’s something wrong with her. She’s putting on weight,'” she said in November 2017. “I’m like, ‘Oh, no! I’m sorry, but that represents happiness in my emotional world.’ For me, when I’m skinny is usually when I’m not doing well.”
In June 2020, Clarkson told Glamour U.K. that she was at her “heaviest point” when she joined The Voice in 2018. (She and her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, welcomed their daughter, River, in 2014, and son, Remington in 2016.)
“There are always things that happen that come up that bum you out, but at the same time, you’ve got to recognize it’s made you who you are,” she told the outlet. “I’m a very strong individual. I’m very confident, and I’ve been forced to find that in myself.”
Scroll down to see Kelly Clarkson’s body evolution through the years.