The Stunning Transformation Of Rebel Wilson

Rebel Wilson may be best known as Pitch Perfect's scene-stealing Fat Amy to much of the world, but she has been rocking her uniquely infectious Rebeliciousness since way back. She's as confident as she is funny, as daring as she is down to earth, and as raucous as she is earnest. And as she deadpans brilliantly with just the slightest flicker of a smile, she's decidedly won over the hearts of fans worldwide.

But while she may be jet-setting to Ibiza and cherry-picking her projects in Hollywood these days, her road to success hasn't always been a smooth one. There was the cancelled show, there were the doubters, there was that one relationship that didn't last... But as one of the hardest-working triple-threat performers in show business, Rebel Wilson proves that nothing's gonna slow her down. Let's let Wilson set the tone, as we dive into this fierce Aussie's stunning transformation.

That once-timid little girl developed her signature wicked Rebel Wilson confidence early. According to Flare, Wilson was concerned with developing her personality as a kid. "After reading that one's character becomes set in stone at age 15, the formerly shy Wilson decided she'd better 'get a personality' before it was too late, so she pushed herself to join debate clubs, to speak up more," the publication noted in February 2016.

"I was socially awkward... in high school, but [my high school drama teacher] Mrs. Bowmaker encouraged me to enter Tournament of Minds, [an Aussie creative competition] featuring different segments like performing and improvising. I came out of my shell, and if it weren't for her, I don't think I'd be where I am," Wilson told Glamour. According to Rebel Wilson, she had just barely made her "character building deadline," at the age of 14.

In 1997 at age 17, Rebel Wilson spent a year working for Australia's Rotary International Youth Ambassador Program. It would be during one of the organization's trips to South Africa that she would contract malaria, then hallucinate in a fever-dream about winning an Oscar, USA Today reported. That was when the acting bug also bit her.

When she returned home, Wilson attended University of New South Wales as well as the Australian Theater for Young People, where she would find her footing on the stage. But she wasn't aiming for comedy, at first. She shared her initial frustrations with The New York Times. "I thought I was playing a serious [stage] role, but then I came on and people just started laughing," she said. "I got visibly quite angry that people were laughing at me. And then people would laugh more...I thought, fat is funny, in a weird way. Or even in a scientific way. People find it easier to laugh at bigger girls. And I thought, that's going to be my game plan." That game plan would become her lucky calling card in Hollywood.

"Being unique and different was a really good thing," Rebel Wilson shared with Cosmopolitan. "When I walked into my agent's office for the first time, they looked at me and said, 'Wow, we have nobody on our books like you.' And they signed me on my second day [in the U.S.]."

Just after jumping on board with talent house William Morris Endeavor in 2010, the 30-year-old Australian transplant took a turn in her breakout role: Kristen Wiig's roommate Brynn in the 2011 comedy Bridesmaids. Refreshingly atypical of a rising Hollywood star, Wilson told the magazine, "I wouldn't ever want to compete with what I call 'the glamours' — the really gorgeous people. I'm about the brain, the heart and what's on the inside. I feel really lucky to be the body type I am." All of America was just about to discover who she really was.

Admittedly private about her personal life, then-35-year-old Rebel Wilson's fans were abuzz when she posted now-deleted selfies of her main squeeze, filmmaker Mickey Gooch Jr., confirming the two were an item in May of 2015. "Rebel Wilson is off the market, Bella B***hes," Us Weekly declared, reporting that the pair were spotted in LA, NYC, and Ibiza.

But the couple split just four months later, just as Gooch was shooting scenes for Wilson's How To Be Single (2016) — where he would play her date. But Wilson wasn't looking for a rebound. She shared in Cosmopolitan, "I'm very independent and have been single for most of my life. I see people who are very co-dependent and I think they're missing out on life. My mum really sacrificed her life when she started having us kids, and so she always encouraged us to go out there and chase after our dreams and live our lives." She continued, "I'm hoping the right guy will come along. But if it doesn't happen I'm alright. I'm a very independent lady and I've got my own stuff going on." Like, a lot of stuff.

"That's life now," Rebel Wilson says, "You can spend time with family or friends in a very low-key situation, or you can be on a private jet flying somewhere to introduce Miley Cyrus." But she's still the same woman behind that lifestyle upgrade. "Even though, yes, now I am in movies or whatever, I am still that [dorky] girl. People think you're really confident because you're an actress or whatever, but I'm like the worst," she dished to Cosmopolitan. Wilson reminisced about having been working at an Australian movie theater when her first movie, Fat Pizza, opened in 2003, when she was 23 years old. She told Seth Meyers, "When people were leaving the cinema, I'd be there holding the trash bag... And they'd be like 'Hey, like, weren't you in that movie?,' and I'd be like 'yeah'... A week later I had to quit."

But while Wilson may be a mega-star, she hasn't forgotten her roots. She supports a Tanzanian school in Africa where she once lived as a youth ambassador, as well as finances scholarships for the Australian Theater for Young People that gave her that initial start. Having earlier been awarded a Nicole Kidman-funded scholarship to Chicago's Second City, Wilson's making the most out of paying it forward.

On the cusp of the second installment of her successful Pitch Perfect franchise in 2015, the native Aussie revealed just what she does to prep for a decidedly American role. "I want, like, a real, genuine American accent, so I watch shows like Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, I've been watching a lot of Honey Boo Boo. I do, actually, watch them, and just like repeat them when they talk," Rebel Wilson shared on Conan.

But she doesn't stop there, prepping for her busy schedule. "I got a personal trainer," she admitted. "I'm not doing it to look great or whatever but to have the energy to do all that [producing and acting] work. People wouldn't think it looking at me, but I can exercise!" Although she may rock more curves than most of Hollywood's A-list, she's all about keeping her body in top condition. She told Elle UK, "You need to be physically strong for this job. I like to have the stamina to work 16 hours a day. I may eat a lot, but I am very healthy." 

She even did all her own aerial stunts for Pitch Perfect 2, overcoming her acrophobia. In an article in the Los Angeles Times, she said, "I stretched every day to be able to do [the stunts]. I'm afraid of heights, so...I told them, 'I'll do it three times. I'll crush it, so turn all your cameras on.' And I nailed it."

While most of her childhood gal-pals, and even her sister, have gotten married, even a successful actress like Rebel Wilson has to put up with those pesky relationship status questions. But she told Flare in 2016, "Interestingly enough, I caught up with some of my girlfriends from high school when I was back in Australia ... and a lot of them weren't very happy with their situations and were envious of mine. I'm definitely not lonely in any way. I love being by myself."

While she'll happily vacay solo at her every whim, she is a bit wistful about things changing in the future. She shared in the magazine, "I don't think I'll be getting anything this Valentine's Day. But there was a line in this movie The Diary of a Teenage Girl where the main character goes, 'I wonder if anybody loves me who I don't know about,' and I was like, 'That's interesting: you never know.' On Valentine's Day you could get sent something."

Before Pitch Perfect 3 released in 2017, Rebel Wilson was already excited about creating even more female-driven projects in the future. And the powerhouse might even try on some feature-length dramas, telling Glamour, "I've started to get offers for more serious roles and when I trained as an actor you don't just train in comedy, of course. Someone who I really admire is Robin Williams, who is such a genius comedian but when he did dramatic roles they were such good dramatic turns, so yes, I'm sure there's something around the corner."

Whatever acting projects that Rebel Wilson takes on in the future, we bet they're sure to have Wilson's signature stamp all over it. With her genuine confidence, that wicked sense of humor, and a one-of-a-kind, saucy personality, Wilson's bringing all of us along for the ride of a lifetime as she continues to find success in Hollywood.

Dealing with the tabloids and the paparazzi is par for the course for famous celebs in America. But when the German company Bauer Media published articles in Women's Day that accused Rebel Wilson of lying about her name, childhood, and age, the actress decided to fight back.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wilson sued the media company for defamation in 2017, saying that their articles had done damage to her reputation and had caused her to miss out on lucrative roles. She won the lawsuit and was awarded $3.6 million in damages. However, on appeal, her payout was reduced to $436,000, as the ruling said there was insufficient evidence that she lost major roles because of the information in the articles.

At the end of it all, Wilson's takeaway was positive, as her point had been made. "I have been determined to stand up to a bully and I am proud of myself for doing so," she wrote in a tweet, adding, "I am proud of this victory and all of the hard fight!"

If there's one thing about Rebel Wilson that hasn't changed over the years, in spite of her extraordinary success, it's her work ethic. On top of her acting career and producing ventures, she's also released a line of clothing and shoes, and she has the drive to keep doing more. "I think it comes from not having much as a child and seeing other people have stuff and just wanting to be financially secure," she explained in an interview with InStyle. "I always wanted to make something of myself." She's certainly done that in spades!

Even though Wilson wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she always aspired to rise to the top of the food chain. "Weirdly, I always believed I would be rich and successful even as a very young child, and I would say that to people," she added. "If you manifest [what you want], I really do think it comes true."

Over the years, Rebel Wilson has been a fierce advocate for body positivity, especially for plus-size women. She knows she's a role model for large women, too, something she takes very seriously. "There's a lot of pressure on women, especially younger women, to conform to the thin body image," she told the Associated Press. "Not everyone can be that way and no one should be ashamed of how they look or suffer bullying and other forms of abuse because of their size and shape."

That doesn't mean that Wilson is wedded to her specific size, however, as she revealed a slimmer body on social media in 2020, along with a promise to get healthier. "Okay so for me 2020 is going to be called 'The Year of Health,'" she proclaimed on Instagram. "So I put on the athleisure and went out for a walk, deliberately hydrating on the couch right now and trying to avoid the sugar and junk food which is going to be hard after the holidays I've just had but I'm going to do it!"