Samira Wiley has opened up about body gratitude, as well as looking back at a time in her career where she was shamed for her looks.
Speaking with People, Wiley, 34, discussed an incident where she was was body-shamed during a photoshoot and how it “really affected” her.
“I remember this one so vividly because feel like I have a healthy body image, and I was on the shoot and one of the outfits they put me in, was something that showed a bit of midriff,” she said.
“And honestly, I thought it was fine. But someone on the set was like, ‘Oh, don’t worry. We can fix that in post.”
The Orange Is the New Black star recalled that this situation at the time didn’t “really put [her] in a horrible mood” and that she felt good about her body image. However, she still noted: “but this is what I have to deal with?”
"I can’t imagine what all of these young girls who are just looking at these magazines, and their perception is that this is reality and it’s not,” the actress explained.
In regards to Wiley’s journey towards being grateful for her body, it started when she came to terms with her diabetes diagnosis.
However, it took her 10 years to do so, after being first diagnosed when she was 12. More specifically, as she was at a point in her life when she weighed less than 100 pounds, she decided to seek medical attention.
“I was in denial and I didn’t really take care of myself,” the Handmaid’s Tale star said. “And then I just got the idea that I now only got one [body]. and I feel like it’s done so much for me, and I want to be able to take care of it as well.”
She acknowledged that when she did take the “leap of faith to go see a doctor”, it “changed [her] life”.
“I was able to really come to terms with the damage that I was doing to my body,” she explained. “I decided to make a change then. Sometimes I go back to the doctor and I’ll see the picture that they took the first day that I walked in there, versus how I look now. It just looks like a completely different person.”
To People, Wiley also discussed her collaboration with One A Day to produce a documentary short, The Gratitude Project, where people explain how being grateful for their bodies has helped them in the long run.
With this documentary and her own personal journey, Wiley wants to “lead by example and model really healthy behaviour” for her daughter, George Elizabeth, 10 months, whom she shares with her wife, Lauren Morelli.
“When I think about the documentary that we are going to make, that One A Day is spearheading,” she said. “I think about her [George] being able to see something like that one day and her knowing that I was involved in it, and her knowing that it’s something that is important to me.”
This isn’t the only time Wiley has addressed body positivity. In honour of her partnership with One A Day, Wiley emphasised that being grateful for her body is a major of her life.
“Practicing body gratitude has always been a part of my day-to-day,” she said in a press release, announcing the partnership.
“I have always felt strongly about using my platform to empower and encourage people of all backgrounds to better themselves and show thanks for all the amazing things they can do.”
“Showing yourself and your body gratitude can be something that feels big, like taking time to meditate each day or something small, like taking a daily multivitamin to give your body the key nutrients it needs,” she continued.
