Matt Jones for Redbook
Melissa McCarthy has always been vocal about her inability to find red carpet-ready dresses, going so far as to design her own Emmys gown when she hated everything off on the rack. And she shares that not much has changed, despite her A-list status.
“When I go shopping, most of the time I’m disappointed. Two Oscars ago, I couldn’t find anybody to do a dress for me. I asked five or six designers — very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people — and they all said no,” she says in the July issue of Redbook. That’s why she teamed with couturier Daniella Pearl (her Emmys dress co-designer) to create a line of plus-size clothing for women who might not have access to a seamstress-slash-friend at their disposal.
RELATED: Get the latest on plus size style with our blogger Allison Teng!
She hasn’t always been an arbiter for style at any size, though; McCarthy also shares her college yearbook photos are more embarrassing than most. ““I wore white kabuki makeup, had blue-black hair. At one point I shaved an inch and a half around my hairline and continued the white makeup up so it made my head look slightly deformed,” she says. “I thought it was hilarious. I was in a little town and I just got a kick out of it. I was never sullen. I was a terrible punk — I was still so chatty.”
These days that sense of humor is paying off, especially in her marriage with fellow comedian Ben Falcone. “We have a great marriage, and outside forces can’t really change that,” she says. “Success doesn’t define us, even though we love what we do. The important thing is our family and kids.” For more from McCarthy, including how she teaches her kids about fame, check out the new issue (on stands June 10) and tell us: Are you excited to see McCarthy’s designs? How much would you love to see those college photos?
–Alex Apatoff
