# Casting bias against busty actresses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2010, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253 "2010-04-07T07:18:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/1 "2010-04-07T07:18:55Z")
Mrs Macau and I were watching CRIMINAL MINDS when she asked if the dark haired FBI agent (not Hotch) was a lesbian. ‘No you’re thinking of FLASH FORWARD’. Which prompted us to conclude that so many mainsteam actresses are of the same shape - almost impossibly thin and with no bust to speak of - that it must be a casting issue. Not simply that casting would prefer skinny types, but that busty women are being declined for roles because of their figure. This is an outrage! We were appalled to make this giant leap of illogic! Obviously Pam A in Baywatch doesn’t count as her boobs were the point of the show. But mainstream busty actresses? 7 of 9 maybe? Salma Hayek? So while a long thread filled with links to pics of busty mainstream actresses would be a nice side-effect, what I’m wondering is whether any Dopers have thoughts/anecdotes or evidence of this happening? ‘She’s perfect - but her tits are too distracting’ or even more extreme - would some consider breast reduction in order to get roles? Please prove us wrong. Mr and Mrs MiM ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/2 "2010-04-07T08:51:11Z")
Two words; Christina Hendricks. My god when I’m evil overlord I’m having her cloned and making a harem. mmm… oh! and Angelina Jolie. Maybe they can remove a bit of the crazy in the cloning vats. Oooh and Drew Barrymore. I’ve thought of more, but I don’t want to hog them all for myself. More to your OP, I have noticed a lot of drama/cop shows on TV have moved to the ‘let’s use waif-er thin actresses’ model of casting lately. I wonder if they’re trying to convey more of a masculine aura with them, and trying not to distract viewers with boobs. C’mon people! It’s TV! We want distraction! We want boobs! ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/3 "2010-04-07T09:14:24Z")
Maybe we watch different shows, but I’m having a hard time thinking of any non-busty actress, at least on TV. Can you cite a few of those? Even if they’re thin the breast size seems to be generally played up or enhanced somehow. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/4 "2010-04-07T09:21:26Z")
For example, one show I watch is Chuck. Two main female actresses are [Yvonne Strahovski](http://igossip.com/photos/_Just_Online_Movies_35638_yschuck03.jpg) and [Sarah Lancaster](http://www.carnivorous-carnival.com/gallery/nerble%20-%20everwood%20-%20sarah%20lancaster%2001.jpg) I’d say that Yvonne is more toward busty and Sarah is more toward normal (if you know the show, it’s a bit confusing, because Yvonne plays a character named Sarah). Neither is what I’d call waif-ish, but seem normal-athletic build. ETA: I’d guess that those who are extremely busty are generally typecast as bimbos or sexpots, but then it’s also not the most common thing to find extremely busty women everywhere you go. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/5 "2010-04-07T09:23:23Z")
It’s basic logic - women who aren’t thin can get thin; women who don’t have large breasts (which is the vast majority of them), can’t get large breasts, at least without surgery. Hence, in show business (where women are paid to look good), you get a lot more thin women than busty women. That said, here’s a 2007 list of the top-paid actresses in Hollywood: 1. Reese Witherspoon 2. Angelina Jolie 3. Cameron Diaz 4. Nicole Kidman 5. Renee Zellweger 6. Sandra Bullock 7. Julia Roberts 8. Drew Barrymore 9. Jodie Foster 10. Halle Berry Of these, I’d consider three - Jolie, Barrymore and Berry - to be busty. 3 out of 10 isn’t bad; better than the general female population. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/6 "2010-04-07T11:27:09Z")
I’ve recently been bemoaning the fact that the CSI shows seem to cast only young, thin and “enhanced” (boobs and lips) types for all female roles, even if they can’t act very well. I’m not seeing the bias against busts the OP is reporting. Maybe I just need to stop watching CSI. ---
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/7 "2010-04-07T12:35:02Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Two words; Christina Hendricks. My god when I’m evil overlord I’m having her cloned and making a harem. mmm… oh! and Angelina Jolie. Maybe they can remove a bit of the crazy in the cloning vats. Oooh and Drew Barrymore. I’ve thought of more, but I don’t want to hog them all for myself. > > More to your OP, I have noticed a lot of drama/cop shows on TV have moved to the ‘let’s use waif-er thin actresses’ model of casting lately. I wonder if they’re trying to convey more of a masculine aura with them, and trying not to distract viewers with boobs. C’mon people! It’s TV! We want distraction! We want boobs! I think Christina Hendricks proves the OP’s point as much as she disproves it. I’ve seen her relating in interviews, somewhat wrly, that people have told her she must be very ‘grateful’ for Mad Men because where else on tv except a show set in the 1960s could apparently someone of her shape allow her to have a leading role? (\* “All of a sudden everyone says, ‘Oh, it must be so great to be on a show from the sixties, because now you can be on TV.’ It’s strange how astounded people are that I have breasts.”\* - CH, Esquire ) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/8 "2010-04-07T12:58:46Z")
Looking at TV only: The aforementioned Christina Hendricks. [Alison Brie](http://www.seccpics.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/alison-brie.jpg) on **Community** and **Mad Men**. [Julia Benson](http://josephmallozzi.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/nup_133854_0301x.jpg) on **Stargate: Universe**. Amanda Tapping on **Stargate: SG1**. [Lisa Edelstein](http://mystupidrules.com/images/Girls/lisa_edelstein_04.jpg) on **House**. The google image shots of that girl from **The Big Bang Theory** is a marginal case. Julia Louis-Dreyfus on **New Adventures of Old Christine**. Courtney Cox-Whatsherface, Christa Miller, and Busy Phillips on **Cougar Town**. [Cobie Smulders](http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/j/Cobie%20Smulders.jpg) on **How I Met Your Mother**. And the poster child of being cast for your bust: Jennifer Love Hewitt on **The Ghost Whisperer**. (And I didn’t even get to [nbc.com](http://nbc.com) or the CW/WB/whatever.) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/9 "2010-04-07T13:07:06Z")
Hilary Swank Jennifer Love Hewitt Jessica Alba Catherine Bell Alyssa Milano All of them C- or D-cup. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/10 "2010-04-07T13:08:59Z")
> [@Made\_in\_Macau](#): > > Which prompted us to conclude that so many mainsteam actresses are of the same shape - almost impossibly thin and with no bust to speak of - that it must be a casting issue. Not simply that casting would prefer skinny types, but that busty women are being declined for roles because of their figure. Ugh. I know that I read some article complaining about that recently, but I can’t find it again. IIRC, the general rule is that women with large breasts tend to be turned down for more serious roles. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/11 "2010-04-07T13:11:52Z")
[Holly Hunter](http://images.askmen.com/galleries/actress/holly-hunter/pictures/holly-hunter-picture-4.jpg) from _Saving Grace_. [Toni Collette](http://www.webwombat.com.au/entertainment/movies/images/toni-collette-1.JPG) from _The United States of Tara_. [Edie Falco](http://www.nysocialdiary.com/i/partypictures/09_13_07/savechildren/Edie-Falco.jpg) from _Nurse Jackie_. [Mary-Louise Parker](http://www.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/celebrities/5423-mary-louise-parker/1251211145_mary-louise_parker_290x402.jpg) from Weeds. All Emmy nominees; none “busty.” ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/12 "2010-04-07T13:14:16Z")
Jennifer Connelly Scarlett Johansson Mary McCormack ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/13 "2010-04-07T13:47:15Z")
On some shows there will be a definite bias based on costuming problems. I remember this was an issue with ST:TOS. They had to design “alien” outfits for guest stars and really hated having to figure out how to get support into an outfit without looking like they did it. Bill Theiss mentions this in Gerrold’s “The World of Star Trek.” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/14 "2010-04-07T13:51:49Z")
> [@Made\_in\_Macau](#): > > Mrs Macau and I were watching CRIMINAL MINDS when she asked if the dark haired FBI agent (not Hotch) was a lesbian. ‘No you’re thinking of FLASH FORWARD’. Which prompted us to conclude that so many mainsteam actresses are of the same shape - almost impossibly thin and with no bust to speak of - that it must be a casting issue. While I can’t speak for Paget Brewster of Criminal Minds, an episode of FlashForward a few weeks ago had the dark haired FBI agent Janis wake up from a dream. Wearing bedclothes, it’s very clear she’s pretty busty and the only reason you’d think she wasn’t is because of the unflattering FBI suits both characters wear. So maybe Paget Brewster is secretly busty too. On the trend as a whole, I think all of the listed actresses prove it’s just a bunch of hooey. There are plenty of busty and non-busty actresses working in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/15 "2010-04-07T14:13:48Z")
I’ve just looked at two lists of celebrity breast sizes and I don’t see any obvious bias one way or the other. More women, and more actresses have B size breasts than any other, followed by C. Not as many women have A or D breasts, and the same goes for actresses. It is true that more actresses from the 50s and 60s had larger breasts, and singers seem to do better if they can hit a C or D note. But the notion that Jolie, Winslet and Johannson are locked out of serious roles is just silly. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/16 "2010-04-07T14:35:37Z")
Does Patricia Arquette count? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/17 "2010-04-07T14:56:52Z")
I miss actresses with curves. Linda Carter was all natural and stunning. Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch will always have a warm place in my heart. Pam Anderson is the typical silicon faker that’s on tv these days. I get so tired of the plastic boobies. So many women ruin their looks with that fake crap. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/18 "2010-04-07T15:04:39Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Ugh. I know that I read some article complaining about that recently, but I can’t find it again. IIRC, the general rule is that women with large breasts tend to be turned down for more serious roles. Was it the one about the casting call for _Pirates of the Caribbean_ specifying that no enhanced actresses need apply? I’d better not search; I’m at work. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/19 "2010-04-07T15:06:18Z")
> [@Made\_in\_Macau](#): > > Obviously Pam A in Baywatch doesn’t count as her boobs were the point of the show. But mainstream busty actresses? 7 of 9 maybe? 7 of 9 was no different than Pan Anderson from Baywatch. Jeri Ryan was specifically added to the show to be a big pair of boobs in a tight outfit. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253/20 "2010-04-07T15:06:27Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Does Patricia Arquette count? As an actress or as busty? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-bias-against-busty-actresses/535253.md?page=2)