Everything you need to know about Jennifer Holliday’s weight loss surgery and diet.
Jennifer Holliday is an American singer and actress well known for her breakthrough song, the Dreamgirls number, and rhythm-and-blues/pop smash, ‘And I am Telling You I am Not Going.’
She received the Grammy Award for the track in 1983 and also earned the Tony Award for ‘Dreamgirls’ in 1982.
Jennifer Holliday suffered from weight problems in the 1980s, around the same period when her popularity was on the rise.
The music world mocked Jennifer for her size and she suffered from psychiatric depression, which contributed to her suicidal attempt at the age of 30.
Afterward, she had gastric bypass surgery and lost weight, however, the music business also did not want her.
Here’s the background of how she started struggling with anxiety, weight concerns, and even multiple sclerosis (M.S.)—a disorder that at one stage left her crippled and unable to move. Learn how she managed to conquer them all.
Jennifer Holliday’s Weight Loss Surgery Brought Massive Changes in Her Life
Jennifer Holliday before and after weight loss surgery.
Source: Orange County Register
Jennifer Holliday’s depression started during her Dreamgirls days early in her career.
“When I was suffering from depression, people weren’t talking about depression,” she told People. “It had a stigma. Nobody asked me about it.”
And this caused her to continue to accumulate weight and to suffer mood swings. The outbursts of emotion made things much worse for her to deal with around men.
Jennifer Holliday tried attempting suicide on her 30th birthday by consuming sleeping pills. Luckily, she was rescued and expended three months of healing in the sanatorium.
During that time, she discovered she needed to undergo weight loss, which she considered to be her main problem.
“I had thought I was really ugly,” she said.
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“I had just been dropped by my record company because they called me too unattractive and not marketable. They were like, ‘We can’t make a music video of you.’ I told the doctor, ‘That’s the reason for my problems. My record company dropped me, I can’t get a boyfriend — that’s the reason! I’m too big.'”
Around that time, Jennifer weighed about 400 pounds and wanted a drastic reduction of weight.
She underwent gastric bypass surgery and was one of the first individuals to do so while the operation was in its early developmental period. Following the operation, she continued to drop 124 pounds.
Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) Diagnosis in 1999
Jennifer’s weight loss failed to benefit her at least at the professional level. The music industry preferred her to be big this time, so they were not able to deal with her fresh look and personality.
She became out of jobs with no friends for three years. Yet she was content in her current body form, she liked the way she appeared.
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Back in 1999, Jennifer Holliday was hospitalized with Multiple Sclerosis at a period when David E. Kelley had put her in an esteemed regular guest role on ‘Ally McBeal.’ But she had been displaying signs of the disorder for six years before the diagnosis.
“For a long time they thought I had lupus, then they thought I had something else,” she said in an interview with People. “Finally, when I couldn’t walk, they did a spinal tap and conclusively diagnosed me with M.S.”
The illness put her in no condition to walk and work, and also made her blind.
While M.S. may not have a cure, Jennifer was determined to overcome the illness despite working unsuccessfully to battle the disease for a long period. She can walk now, and her vision slowly returned seven months after she went blind.
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Jennifer attributes her physical and emotional health to the optimistic thought and mentality that she built in her adult life. Having a glimpse at life really allowed her to understand and be grateful for the stuff she had.
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