Natalie Portman, Emily Blunt, and Other Actresses Who Practically Starved for a Role

The Internet is abuzz over the alleged 500-calorie-per-day deprivation diet Anne Hathaway is on as she prepares for her portrayal of Fantine in the film adaptation of Les Miserables. While initial reports say Hathaway was ordered to drop 16 lbs. in just three weeks, her publicist says "the numbers are exaggerated," but that the actress is losing weight for the role. The actress, 29, also dropped weight for her roles in The Devil Wears Prada and the yet-to-be-released The Dark Knight Rises.

Hathaway certainly isn't the first — or the last — actress asked to shed pounds for a movie. Keep reading to see which Hollywood starlets have taken extreme measures to slim down for a movie role.

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Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis: Black Swan

Kunis, 28, and Portman, 30, each lost 20 pounds for their respective roles as professional dancers in the Oscar-nominated flick. The much-discussed regimen consisted of five-hour dance workouts, six days per week. During filming, Kunis says she always felt hungry and director Darren Aronofsky was so concerned at how thin Portman was getting, he made sure to have her trailer stocked with food.

Beyonce: Dreamgirls

By her own self-motivation, Beyonce, 30, dropped 20 pounds for her role in the 2006 musical drama, largely in part to a 14-day fast. She told Oprah, "I wanted to lose weight and make a physical transformation. And it was difficult because I love food. I love to eat. I did a fast — a master cleanser for 14 days. Everybody was eating Krispy Kremes around me. I was grouchy, but I did it and I lost the weight."

Emily Blunt: The Devil Wears Prada, The Adjustment Bureau

The 29-year-old actress has dropped weight not once, but twice for movie roles. Like Portman and Kunis in Black Swan, Blunt followed a rigorous fitness routine to get her body in professional-dancer shape for The Adjustment Bureau, training for almost four hours each day in the month that led up to filming.

Playing the role of Emily in The Devil Wears Prada was a bit different because the character is "on the edge of anorexia." The star told LA Times Magazine she was encouraged by those involved in the film to lose weight since her character "literally did not eat."

Renee Zellweger: Chicago

After gaining 30 pounds for the title role in Bridget Jones's Diary, the 42-year-old actress went into extreme diet and exercise mode to drop it all (and then some) for Chicago, leaving many worried over what appeared to be yo-yo dieting. "I had a panic attack with all the specialists talking about how bad this is for you long-term, putting on that much weight in short periods of time," Renee says.

Head over to FitSugar to check out more starlets who have lost weight for a role.