Melanie Lynskey Transformation Pictures: Then-and-Now Photos

She’s killing it! Melanie Lynskey is a total star with tons of TV and movie roles under her belt. Most notably, the actress appeared as Rose on Two and a Half Men and made headlines for playing the role of Shauna in the Showtime series Yellowjackets.

However, in February 2023, the New Zealand native was quick to clap back at haters who slammed her role as Kathleen in HBO’s The Last of Us. In a since-deleted Twitter post, model Adrianne Curry shared her apparent frustration with Melanie’s casting of the role.

“Her body says life of luxury … not post apocalyptic warlord. Where is Linda Hamilton when you need her?” the America’s Next Top Model alum wrote, referring to the Terminator actress. Melanie, for her part, hit back, noting that the photo Adrianne used was from a past cover shoot and not from the fan-favorite HBO series.

“I’m playing a person who meticulously planned & executed an overthrow of FEDRA,” the actress added. “I am supposed to be SMART, ma’am. I don’t need to be muscly. That’s what henchmen are for.”

In a series of tweets following the interaction, Melanie continued to speak highly about her The Last of Us casting, noting that it “suggested the possibility of a future in which people start listening to the person with the best ideas not the coolest or the toughest person.”

The Don’t Look Up alum added, “I was excited at the idea of playing a woman who had, in a desperate and tragic time, jumped into a role she had never planned on having and nobody else had planned on her having, and then she actually got s–t done.”

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Throughout her time in the spotlight, Melanie has constantly clapped back at critics who’ve spoken publicly about her weight and opened up about the “very long journey” it’s taken her to reach body acceptance. “I fought against it for a very long time, the shape that my body is supposed to be, It’s hard to be a size 10 next to a size 0,” she told TheSkimm in June 2022.

She also reflected on a past role in the 2000 cult classic Coyote Ugly, during an interview with the Hollywood Reporter from August 2022 recalling that she was told by a costume designer, “Nobody told me there would be girls like you,” referring to her body type. During the early days of her career, Melanie went on to say there was “really intense feedback about my physicality, my body.”

Now, she’s talking about it, and has no problems clapping back. Scroll through the gallery to see Melanie’s transformation over the years.