Melissa McCarthy Reveals She Thought She'd Make a Living as a Designer... Not an Actress

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ETONLINE

Melissa McCarthy became an overnight sensation in 2011 thanks to her scene-stealing role in Bridesmaids, but did you know that she almost had another calling?

The 44-year-old mother of two has a slew of box office hits to her name (including The Heat and Identity Thief) and scored an Emmy in 2011 for her work in Mike & Molly, but now she tells Women’s Wear Daily that she once thought she’d be a clothing designer. Promoting her new fashion line, McCarthy said that the new collection takes her “back to how I thought I’d make my living.”


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The Oscar-nominated star will be releasing a new collection in partnership with Gerard Guez’s Sunrise Brands. The designs will reportedly be a reinterpretation of the company’s already existing Seven7 line.

Even with an incredibly busy schedule, Melissa says she’ll be involved in the process every step of the way.

"I told them I'd be at every fitting and on my hands and knees checking the hems,” she told WWD. “Now they're probably thinking, 'Why doesn't she go away?' But I can only do this if I really believe in it and want to wear it."


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Not to mention, designing is something that Melissa’s been doing for quite some time. “I lived on a farm in Illinois and we didn’t have a lot of money. But I lived vicariously through magazines,” she said, describing her love of fashion as a youngster. “I was obsessed with Jean Paul Gaultier. I still have the scrapbooks and I’ve kept all my designs and sketches. I loved the playfulness of fashion.”

In July, Melissa opened up to Redbook magazine about her struggle to find a designer gown for the 2012 Academy Awards. “When I go shopping, most of the time I’m disappointed,” she said. “Two Oscars ago, I couldn’t find anybody to do a dress for me. I asked five or six designers – very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people – and they all said no.”

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Earlier this month, Melissa made headlines with her noticeably slimmed-down red carpet appearance at the P.S. ARTS Express Yourself event in Santa Monica, Calif. Reports suggested that the star could have dropped between 45 and 50 pounds.

Now Melissa tells WWD that she’s been “every size on the planet. I have experience dressing me as a 6, a 12 and more. And when you go above a size 12, you don’t lose your love of fashion.”

We can’t wait to see what Melissa has in store with her new collection! See the video above for more on Melissa’s designs.