Fans Praise Melissa McCarthy’s Remarkable Transformation During SNL Return

Melissa McCarthy in 2005

After the 55-year-old delivered her opening monologue, viewers flooded social media with comments about her apparent weight-loss transformation. 

Melissa McCarthy in 2011

Many praised her look. One fan commented on SNL’s Instagram post, writing, “She looks so great 🔥.” Another wrote, “Holy smokes she’s unbelievably thin. And very beautiful as well. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥.” A third added, “She has always been beautiful and extremely funny ❤️.”

Melissa McCarthy in 2015

McCarthy has been open about her long journey with body image. She previously shared with PEOPLE in 2011 that early in her career, a manager told her she would “never work in Hollywood” unless she lost weight, a comment that ultimately pushed her to work even harder.

Melissa McCarthy in 2018

“It really hurt my feelings,” she said at the time. “I understand that the odds are not as high as if I was skinny, but I still have talent. I thought, ‘I’ll show you!’ “

Melissa McCarthy in 2023

In a May 2018 appearance on Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club, McCarthy revealed that she had lost “a lot” of weight over a five-year period, explaining that the change came from easing up on strict diets and taking a slower, more sustainable approach.

“I think everybody’s always kind of working on something,” she said. “And I was like, ‘If I can de-stress and just do it slower and stop constantly trying to be on something.’ And then it actually worked better instead of being like, ‘I’m gonna not do this and do this and only drink this.’” She continued, “I was like, ‘I’m just gonna mellow out, give myself a break.’ ”

Melissa McCarthy in 2025

McCarthy also discussed her early struggles with body image during a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, reflecting on the pressure she felt as a teen.

“I do think I worried about weight too soon, when it was only little-kid weight,” she said. “I thought I battled weight throughout high school, but I look back at pictures of me as a cheerleader, doing sprints, lifting weights, doing gymnastics, playing tennis, while I wasn’t reed-thin like some girls … I was a size six the entire time. So what on Earth was I freaking out about?”

 She added, “We’re so f—– up in this country that somehow equates that with better.”