Kelly Marie Tran is an actress of Vietnamese-American descent. She was born with the name Loan Tran. Marie embarked on her acting journey back in 2011, beginning with roles in short films and TV series.
But it was a pivotal moment in Tran’s career when she portrayed the character Rose Tico in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. This role catapulted her to fame and recognition in the world of cinema.
Kelly’s talent also extends to voice acting, as she has lent her voice to various animated characters, such as Dawn Betterman in the animated movie “The Croods: A New Age.”
Facing Online Harassment and Abuse
Being cast for a major role in a Star Wars movie was a very big achievement given the fact that she was the first woman of color to play a major role in the franchise. However, it came with challenges and problems. There is no doubt that Tran did an exceptional job at playing Rose Tico.
But as fans weren’t satisfied with the Star Wars Sequal Trilogy, some of them pointed their fingers at Kelly while passing hateful comments. They bullied her online and mocked her color, size, and weight. It was a very big challenge for Tran as playing Rose Tico was only the start of her career.
She was bullied on almost every social media platform. The white American nationalist, Paul Ray Ramsey, started mocking her appearance, and then it became an internet trend.
Kelly was so disheartened by all the hateful comments that she deleted all of her Instagram posts in June 2018 and updated her bio stating, “Afraid, but doing it anyway”.
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Tran’s Response to The Hatred
All of the abuse had a terrible impact on Marie’s mental health. She sought professional help and underwent therapy. After coming from treatment, Kelly wrote an article for The New York Times entitled, Kelly Marie Tran: I Won’t Be Marginalized by Online Harassment.
Describing the effects of the online hatred on her health, Trans wrote, “The hateful comments send me down a spiral of self-hate, into the darkest recesses of my mind, places where I tore myself apart, where I put their words above my own self-worth.”
Marie said that writing that article was a very hard job to do but it was also the proudest moment of her life. Tran concluded the article by stating, “You might know me as Kelly. I am the first woman of color to have a leading role in a Star Wars movie. I am the first Asian woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair. My real name is Loan. And I am just getting started.”
Tran’s Weight Loss
After receiving hateful comments about her weight as she appeared in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Tran embarked on a weight loss journey. As she appeared in the final movie, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, it was impossible to not notice the slim figure of Tran.
It was apparent that she had undergone a weight loss journey. When asked, Kelly said, “I am making some positive changes in my life. My goal is to become better with each passing day.” Marie said that she made some changes to her diet plan.
She cut down the processed food from her dining table. Besides that, Kelly also stayed away from booze for one whole month.
Along with that, Marie also worked out a lot in the gym. Losing weight had a tremendous effect on her overall health. After getting lighter, Tran not only felt great physically but mentally as well.
Before & After Weight Loss
Kelly Marie Tran accomplished an impressive feat by making changes to her lifestyle and shedding 20 pounds. Now, after her successful weight loss journey, she weighs approximately 120 pounds. Before her transformation, her weight was at 140 pounds.
Celebrities Coming Out in Defence of Tran
After Tran was abused and bullied for being a minority and for her appearance, a lot of celebrities came out and spoke in favor of her. The writer-director of Star Wars Sequal Trilogy,
Rian Johnson called the attackers “manbabies”.
Her co-actors, Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Hamill, and John Boyega also came out in support of Marie. And when the cast members of the movie spoke out, so did the fans. In less than one day, 20,000 people wrote “drown out the manbabies” on Twitter.
In addition to that, at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con, many fans appeared dressing as Tran’s Star Wars character, Rose Tico. This not only made Marie emotional but also gave her strength and confidence. Talking about the haters, Johnson said, “They represent a few unhealthy people and not the vast majority of Star Wars fans.”
What is Tran Upto?
It is only the beginning of Kelly Marie Tran’s career. Currently, she is working on multiple projects. Marie will star in the upcoming films, The Young Wife and Me, Myself, & The Void. She is also working on a biopic about the civil rights activist and social entrepreneur, Amanda Nguyen.
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Final Words
As the Greek philosopher, Aristotle once said, “There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”
No matter what you do, there will always be people who wouldn’t agree with you, and who would criticize you. Then why bother thinking about them? Tran has learned this and now only focuses on what matters to her.
