There’s a lot more ass, more belly & thighs..i’m a Jamaican
TV STAR NADINE REID ON HER FIGURE & MAKE-UP ARTIST ROLE
In my family if you are thin, you’d be praying for a bigger bum
NADINE REID ON GROWING UP IN A JAMAICAN HOUSEHOLD
FORMER Xpose star Nadine Reid told how she’s proud of being size 22, flying the flag for body positivity, admitting she loves wearing racy outfits.
The 41-year-old Birmingham TV star landed a lead role in the Olympia Panto Cinderella as the Ugly Sister opposite Erin Mcgregor, her first big performance role since the Virgin Media show was axed.
Starring on the July cover of Stellar magazine flaunting her voluptuous figure was a proud moment for plussized Nadine, who says in her native Jamaica being too thin is not considered attractive.
Nadine told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “The Stellar cover showed a different side of me, yes I’m Jamaican born in Birmingham, yes I’m black, but I also happen to be a good size 22.
“There’s a lot more ass here, a lot more belly, more thighs, I enjoy dressing up, regardless of what size I am.
“I have to remind people, I was never a fat kid, so when people talk to me about body positivity I have to explain, as a teen I was a regular size.
“I never had many issues with my confidence physically, so as an adult my body shape and size is not an issue.
“I’ve grown up Jamaican, it’s very different than growing up in Ireland and the way they view body shapes.
“In my family if you are thin, you’d be praying for a bigger bum, praying for a bit more flesh on you.”
Growing up in the UK, Nadine felt pressure to be thinner, adding: “My white English friends would tell me they’d rather be thinner, I’d be like, ‘Oh no, I’d feel like a boy’. I love being voluptuous and curvy and feminine.”
The former make-up artist admits the weight piled on easily as an adult. She said: “I only put on weight in the last six years, working in MAC [cosmetics] as a trainer.
“I was staying in hotels, eating hotel food, not having a healthy work-life balance.
“Every year I put on a stone, it was really a lifestyle thing.”
Despite loving her fuller figure, health concerns are always on her mind. Nadine said: “Just before the panto I went for a check-up, I hadn’t had one since I moved here in 2016.
“One of the joys of doing the panto, I’ve been more active than I’ve ever been. I started exercising and it would take me days to recover, I’d go to sleep for 12 hours.
“The doctor gave me a shocker when he told me I’m anaemic. So I’ve upped my iron and I have so much more energy. I’ve got the Fitbit going and I walk everywhere. I am not looking to dramatically transform myself, I just want a healthier heart and body and to live longer. “I don’t care about being big aesthetically but being from a Caribbean background we are more likely to get diabetes or a stroke, high blood pressure, so I can’t ignore that it could come my way. “Hopefully to avoid this, I’ve made some big health changes in my life, eating three meals a day, eating more spinach and moving more.
“Nothing dramatic, I’ve no big weight loss plans.
“I lost half a stone already just by making small changes. I used to be the head of the sports team in school too, so your body remembers.
“I’m not worried that I will fade away, as long as I’m healthy and I’ll go back to the doctor in the new year and see how my iron is going.
“Some people say to me it’s really nice to see you so happy in your body and I wonder is that a compliment? But I guess it is.
“Maybe some of the outfits I wear, someone else who’s big would shy away from but I’m just like, ‘Oh go on you could be dead tomorrow’.”
Landing the panto role has been a dream come true.
Nadine said: “It’s me and Erin [Mcgregor] as the Ugly
Sisters, she’s got the most Dub accent you could ever get, me as her sister, my character is Jamaican, so it’s gas.
“It’s my first ever panto and my first ever acting job, it’s a brand new experience, it’s a bit scary but I see the power in jumping out of your comfort zone.
“It’s a huge jump for me, people don’t realise how much work the panto is.
“I studied performing arts in Trinity, I loved singing at home and messing around but I was never that driven to perform for a living. The star admits she’s “missing” Xpose but is hopeful for more roles next year with a documentary on her life in the pipeline.
She said: “I was asked to do something about my story and I always think that sounds a bit dramatic but people are always asking me why I moved to Ireland and why I landed my dream job and so I’m creating a ‘year in the life’ documentary.”
The outgoing performer was discovered by Virgin Media One bosses with her work as a top make-up artist leading to a career in Ireland.
She said: “In my MAC years, I met Kanye before Kim, I feel like he’s a genius but I think he’s on the spectrum, Missy Elliot was so focused and driven, Shakira was a really kind, gentle, sweet kind of person.
“I loved working on Beyonce, her skin is just incredible. I did the make-up for Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday in Hyde Park and worked on Annie Lennox and Amy Winehouse.
“When I moved to Ireland, I spent a lot of time in fashion doing make-up, I was always chatting away to clients and just by connecting with people, I was asked to come on Blind Date.
“So it all spiralled from there, it was my year of saying yes to things. I then went to the Xpose awards, the year Erin was on Dancing With The Stars, I was there for my hairdresser who was nominated.
“I was just there for the craic and the free Moet and I started a dance-off with some of the Dancing With The Stars crew and then some of the producers from Xpose got chatting
It’s my first ever panto role and my first ever acting job... it’s a bit scary...
NADINE REID ON TAKING TO THE STAGE FOR ROLE IN CINDERELLA
to me.
“I thought they were hiring me as a make-up artist but they wanted to me to present, it’s all about being open and having fun.”