Renee Zellweger Ate 20 Donuts Every Day To Prepare For This Role

Renee Zellweger always seems to be a hot topic. The public can't get enough of her, whether it be the characters she's portrayed in movies, her fashion choices at award shows, who she's dating, or even where she dines. In fact, as a culture, we do become slightly obsessed with what Hollywood stars eat. We want to know the food rule that Kim Kardashian swears by, what her sister Kylie Jenner eats in a day, and the surprise ingredient Chrissy Teigen adds to her dishes. We cannot help but satiate our appetite for celebrity food gossip, and such is the case when Zellweger was preparing for the iconic role that required her to gain a few pounds, not once, but twice. 

Per Vanity Fair, back in 2000 the "Bridget Jones's Diary" star, who is just 5'5 and only tipped the scale at 106 pounds, was probably one of the few actors actively trying to put on weight. Zellweger revealed, "I think I'm the only actress in Hollywood who has weight-gain powder on her kitchen counter." Well, to reprise this role, she had to do it a second time, and according to The Daily Mail, the star was eating up to 20 donuts a day to accomplish this goal.

Per the Daily Mail, Zellweger had to work to eat more than 4,000 calories a day to pick up her role of Bridget Jones in "Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason." Trying to go from a size six to a size 14 in just three months had the actress eating approximately 20 donuts per day. The Daily Mail points out that 4,000 calories is more than twice the recommended daily intake for a woman, and to give that number even more perspective, USA Olympic decorated gold medalist Michael Phelps ate between 8,000 and 10,000 calories while preparing for the Olympic games (per NBC News). 

Zellweger shared that she was more confident in her weight-gaining strategy this time around, with 20 donuts being the sweet spot for adding on pounds. She told the Daily Mail, "I have to stick to it because I found out last time that one doughnut doesn't do a thing. You've got to eat 20 a day for five weeks before you get results."

Other foods that Zellweger included in her weight-gaining diet for the character of Bridget Jones were Big Macs, pizza, pasta, and milkshakes. While not every actor wants to change their look for a role, the $11 million paycheck may have helped a bit (via Celebrity Net Worth).