From stretch marks to body hair, there are so many different parts of our bodies that women have been told for far too long are something to be ashamed of. These myths and insecurities have been passed down through generations, despite cellulite being a perfectly normal and totally harmless bodily occurrence.
All cellulite actually is is the dimpling of the skin (in fact, it's estimated that between 80 to 90% of women have it). The bumps occur when fat is divided into tiny pockets in the skin, but has nothing to do with your weight – people of all shapes and sizes have it.
Meaning, that celebrities are no exception... despite how easy it can sometimes be to forget that – given that we're used to seeing our favourites at their glossiest, most filtered, red carpet ready best.
Here are some empowering photos shared by women in the limelight who are owning and loving their bodies, cellulite and all.
1) Demi Lovato
In coming clean about having Photoshopped her photos in the past, Demi shared a completely unedited bikini shot and referred to her cellulite as being "celluLIT". We're very much here for her honesty and thinks she looks a straight up ten out of ten in all her natural glory.
2) Jessie J
While sharing a gorgeous beach snap, the singer both acknowledged her cellulite and made it very clear that she has zero time for anyone who wants to call it out in the comments "Took ages to hairspray my hair like that. My shadow is my mood. Oh and for those telling me I have cellulite. I know. I own a mirror," she captioned the image. (Side note: doesn't it truly suck that keyboard warriors are so prominent on social media that celebrities now have to beat their trolls to the punch?).
3) Jameela Jamil
Via her Instagram account, actress and body positivity advocate Jameela shared a picture of herself looking beautiful in the back of a car with the words "Love every inch" across the shot. "Listen, try to just love your body for what it does, not for how it looks," she said in the caption. "Even thin actresses are covered in lumps and bumps and stretch marks. You just forget that because of bullshit airbrushing."
4) Ashley Graham
Hitting the nail on the head, Ashely captioned a shot of non-airbrushed thighs on the beach with, "I workout. I do my best to eat well. I love the skin I'm in. And I'm not ashamed of a few lumps, bumps or cellulite.. and you shouldn't be either." P.S. we're very into the model's gold belly chain and leopard print bikini combo in this snap too, as well as the empowering message, of course.
5) Hilary Duff
Alongside a beach picture, the Lizzie Maguire icon spoke out against body-shaming and encouraged her followers to love themselves, rather than focus on any so-called 'flaws'. "Ladies, lets be proud of what we've got and stop wasting precious time in the day wishing we were different, better, and unflawed."
6) Tess Holliday
Famed for her campaign Eff Your Beauty Standards (and award-nominated Cosmopolitan cover, ahem), model Tess Holliday has always been outspoken about embracing your body. She shared some beautiful photos taken during lockdown and yep, her cellulite was front and centre for all to see. 👏👏👏
7) Iskra Lawrence
The body positive model always has something inspiring to say and her post on loving herself, cellulite and all, was no exception. "#CelluLIT! Don’t be fooled, lighting and angles change everythannnggg! I love my real skin, lumps, bumps, scars, squish, fat, muscle, pigmentation allllll of it 🐯⚡️ You are good enough just the way you are, your body or your life doesn’t need airbrushing."
8) Bella Thorne
The actress and porn director captioned a shot of her rocking Converse and some cute thigh dimples with: "Perfect is that mark of cellulite, perfect to me is being me and not editing me for your perception of me."
9) Olivia Munn
When the X-Men: Apocalypse star shared an unedited photograph of herself, fans were quick to praise her in the comments, with one (using the handle @telavizon) writing, "Omg thank u for not smoothing out your cellulite makes me feel good about mine."
10) Ashley James
Ever the body positivity advocate, DJ, presenter and former Made In Chelsea star Ashley spoke candidly about her relationship between social media and body confidence, posting a photo to her main grid which she said drew in nasty comments from trolls when uploaded to her Stories. Part of her honest caption about navigating the conversation around so-called 'flaws' online, while remaining mindful, included a little cellulite shout-out too, "Nearly every woman has cellulite, regardless of our size or exercise regime. It's sexy. It's not to be shamed."
11) Lizzo
Chatting to Essence when she appeared on their cover last May, the Good as Hell singer said she loves having fun with her body and is passionate about normalising 'imperfections' through her lyrics. “I love creating shapes with my body, and I love normalizing the dimples in my butt or the lumps in my thighs or my back fat or my stretch marks.” She's also appeared on the front of Rolling Stone looking stunning and 100% unairbrushed.
12) Amy Schumer
Speaking to Glamour in 2015, the comedian (known for her honesty and for taking down 'ideal' beauty standards) said, "I have a belly, and I have cellulite, and I still deserve love—and to catch the old D. And to not apologize." She also turned down retouching for her movie I Feel Pretty, saying, "You see my cellulite. You see my rolls, whatever... I feel great." Amen to that, Amy.
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