Is Ugly Betty Getting Less “Ugly?”

On last night’s new episode of Ugly Betty on abc, Betty dressed in a tea-length ruffled black dinner dress in order to entice her boyfriend, Matt, to spend the night. Other than the obvious shock, “Is Betty really doing this?” I wondered, “Doesn’t she seem a lot thinner?

(Photo at left from an episode which aired Nov. 20, 2008 doesn't really show how thin “Betty” has become under her bulky layers.)

When actress America Ferrera filmed the pilot as “Ugly Betty Suarez,” she was a normal looking twenty-one year old. The camera added the necessary twenty pounds to make her look pleasantly plump on film. I assume she also must be wearing some padding. (Doesn’t she?) I mean, it doesn’t jiggle like natural cushioning (I should know). Of course, her bizarrely tacky wardrobe adds a great deal of bulk: thick sweaters and oversized quilted polyester coats, part of Betty’s normal work attire.

(Photo at left from an episode which aired May 10, 2007.)

However, it’s not the padding that’s getting thinner. Before filming this season of Ugly Betty, Ferrera reported in an April 27, 2008 article in USA Today that she found herself losing weight due to much needed rest and relaxation during the writer’s strike. “I maybe attempted to exercise twice,” she says in the article.

USA Today Interviewer, William Keck added:

She acknowledges her appearance has changed since shooting Betty's pilot at age 21. "My face looks different. My body looks different. I definitely feel like I'm growing up, which … means Betty will have to grow up, too."

This season has Betty looking especially “un-ugly” in solid blacks and elegant whites. The addition of the wide belts on Betty look especially slimming.

What, am I a terrible person because I think “Betty” looks better thin than plump? Sometimes, Betty’s padding doesn’t move, looks bulky and hot as if two or three thick wool sweaters are trapped under her five inch belt, and is thickly undefined in all the wrong places. After all, “Real Women Have Curves,” just like the movie title says; the fabulous 2002 movie where Ferrera made her movie debut and won me over — natural and without padding.

Sadly, new episodes of Ugly Betty will not air until May 7, 2009 according to sitcomsonline.com.