The Untold Truth Of Beanie Feldstein

In 2020, Feldstein championed body positivity when she partnered with inclusive lingerie brand Aerie and became an #AerieREAL Role Model. 

"That feels like such a great fit between what I am and what I love to do and what I want to put out into the world, and a brand that has already been doing that for a long time," she told Harper's Bazaar. Feldstein feels content with her body, but she also refuses to take roles that highlight it as a defining feature of a character. "The only thing I ever heard when I was younger, because I was chubby and I love to sing, was 'Have you ever played Tracy Turnblad?'," she said in a Variety interview, explaining that the suggestion actually became a sore spot over time. "What about all these other roles I would love to play, and why am I excluded from them because of my dress size or whatever it might be?"

Just because she likes her body does not mean that Feldstein likes when others notice it, even when they feel like they are offering praise. In November 2017, she wrote a poignant essay for Refinery29 in which she detailed some of her struggles with diet and body image, as well as how she found peace with the way she looks. 

"I stopped trying to eat and look the way everyone else wanted me to. It took time and it happened gradually, but by the time I started college I felt truly comfortable with my body," she said. The essay also focused on the compliments that Feldstein got when she unintentionally lost weight after starring in "Hello, Dolly!" — comments that eroded the comfort she had found in her body image. "After years of pain, I had finally found such a beautiful peace, one that most people, no matter what size they are, don't have," she wrote. "All of those 'compliments' took that away from me. After years of finally not feeling judged by myself or others, all of a sudden I felt so seen."