Challenges with Disordered Eating Faced by Gwyneth Paltrow Body Double in Shallow Hal: My Body Was a Source of Self-Loathing

Shallow Hal • Gwyneth Paltrow • Double • Eating disorders • Jack Black: An actress who once served as Gwyneth Paltrow's body double in a comedy film centered on physical appearance is shedding light on the less glamorous side of her involvement.

Ivy Snitzer, then a 20-year-old aspiring actress, was selected as Paltrow's body double in the 2001 movie "Shallow Hal," co-starring Jack Black and Jason Alexander. Paltrow's character, Rosemary, was portrayed as a 300-pound woman, but she wore a fat suit for facial scenes. Snitzer's role involved close-up shots of Rosemary's arms, torso, and thighs.

In an interview with The Waiting Room newsletter, later republished by The Guardian, Snitzer shared her experience working on the film with a weight-centric premise. Surprisingly, she expressed positivity about her involvement despite the film's theme.

"At that point, if you saw someone obese in a movie, they were a villain," Snitzer conveyed to the British outlet. "Out of all of the fat people in the world that they could have hired for that job, they hired me, because of my personality. Before, I had to fight really hard to be seen as a personality and not just my size."

However, Snitzer admitted that she didn't foresee the intense scrutiny of her appearance that would accompany her role in a major motion picture.

"It didn't occur to me that the film would be seen by millions of people," Snitzer explained. "It was like the worst parts about being fat were magnified. And no one was telling me I was funny."

Snitzer, who struggled with disordered eating during her teenage years, revealed that she continued to battle body image issues and aimed for weight loss after participating in "Shallow Hal." She disclosed, "I hated my body the way I was supposed to. I ate a lot of salads. I had eating disorders that I was very proud of."

Her weight-loss journey took a perilous turn after undergoing gastric band surgery in 2003, a recommendation from a doctor. Gastric band surgery involves placing a silicone band around the stomach to reduce its capacity and slow food passage, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

However, complications arose during Snitzer's surgery, leading to a situation where she was, in her words, "technically starving to death." The band had slipped, rendering her unable to consume solid food for months.

"I was so thin you could see my teeth through my face, and my skin was all grey," Snitzer recalled. "I kind of alienated a lot of my friends. My mother was also dying; it was bleak. Humans shouldn't have to experience how very bleak that particular time in my life was."

Ultimately, Snitzer began her journey to recovery after undergoing a gastric bypass operation to remove a portion of her stomach. This experience prompted a shift in her mindset concerning food. She explained, "Because I couldn't consume anything, my mindset became more about how much I could manage to consume, not how little."

In retrospect, Snitzer has no regrets about her involvement in "Shallow Hal," although she acknowledges the impact it had on her due to the public reception of the role.

"I love that it's a cool thing I did one time," Snitzer commented, adding that it's "a fun story she tells over drinks." However, she admitted that it started to affect her self-esteem when others began suggesting she should have felt differently about it.