Melissa Ann McCarthy was born on August 26, 1970, and is an American actress, screenwriter, and producer.
She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
McCarthy was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, and she has been featured multiple times in the annual rankings of the highest-paid actresses in the world.
In 2020, The New York Times ranked her number 22 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.
She played Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? (2007–2009) before starring as Molly Flynn on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly (2010–2016), for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011.
McCarthy’s appearances as a host on Saturday Night Live led to a win for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2017.
McCarthy gained critical acclaim for her performance in the comedy film Bridesmaids (2011), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2018, McCarthy received critical acclaim for her portrayal of writer Lee Israel in the biographical film Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
She has since starred in the drama miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers (2021) and played Ursula in the musical fantasy film The Little Mermaid (2023).
In 2015, she launched her own clothing line for plus-sized women, named Melissa McCarthy Seven7, and she received a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Why did Melissa McCarthy gain so much weight?
Though she was not overly chubby as a kid, she started to gain weight when she made unhealthy food choices later in life. In an interview with The Rolling Stones, Melissa McCarthy said, “I do think I worried about weight too soon when it was only little-kid weight.
What was Melissa McCarthy eating?
“The raw chicken is actually really thinly sliced pears treated with citric acid and food coloring,” according to “Thunder Force” director (and McCarthy’s husband), Ben Falcone. “It was so believable that we all got completely grossed out every time we saw it, as did everybody who had to eat it.