Natasha Rothwell is reminding us that ‘healthy’ doesn’t have a size

“You can be plus-size and very healthy, as I am,” actress Natasha Rothwell said, reflecting her mindset shift about health and wellness.

Natasha Rothwell is done trying to fit into a version of wellness that was never made for her.

“The White Lotus” actress recently opened up about her journey toward redefining what health means without the waist trainers, juice cleanses, or toxic obsession with “clean eating.”

“There was a point in my life where I would be very embarrassed, where I didn’t feel like I had the right to participate in health and wellness because of the way I looked,” she told People magazine in a recent interview. A sentiment that far too many women, Black women, and especially Black plus-size women, know intimately. For years, wellness has always been about shrinking to smaller waists, smaller bodies and smaller appetites. 

But Rothwell’s not subscribing to that anymore. At 44, she’s claiming space in the wellness world as a plus-size, healthy, thriving Black woman — and she’s inviting others to do the same.

Through her new ASICS partnership for the “Everyday Escape” campaign, Rothwell is helping people reimagine what self-care looks like. The campaign encourages folks to take short, intentional breaks, like a 15-minute walk, to nurture both body and mind.

“Mental health is hugely important to me. I talk very openly about anxiety, depression, and ADHD. And what I love about this campaign is that it’s not asking you to pay money to sign up for a program or go on a retreat and chant your way to health and wellness,” Rothwell explained. “It’s just talking about how walking outside for 15 minutes can change your life.”

For Rothwell, that message hits close to home. She admits that for years, wellness felt out of reach because the industry has long sold one image of health: white, thin, and wealthy. Especially in places like L.A., where “fit” often doubles as “skinny,” Rothwell had to dismantle the shame that came with existing outside that narrow standard.

Now, she’s fully embracing what it means to be thick and healthy at the same time. 

“As someone who is a plus-size woman of color, you don’t really see someone who looks like me fronting a health and wellness campaign,” she shared. “But now I’m so proud of it. I’m just like, yeah, I’m here.”

That pride is the product of intentional self-work. Through the years, she learned that true wellness isn’t about calories or cardio; it’s about mind-to-body connection. Now, Rothwell makes time for meditation, long walks with her dogs, whom she calls her “movement coaches,” and what she calls “the pause,” a daily practice of checking in with herself, especially when life gets loud.

“I used to deprioritize myself all the time. I’m a recovering people pleaser, as many boss bitches are,” she joked. “We’re always running things, putting our work life ahead of ourselves. So that’s what my health and wellness journey has been. It’s reprioritizing and balancing the energy I’m putting out into the world and making sure that in my to-do list, I’m on that list as well.”

No longer chasing perfection, Rothwell encourages everyone to give themselves grace. 

“You have to be able to love whatever version of yourself is able to show up on any given day and not put this idea of perfection and happiness as a baseline. That’s just untenable,” she concluded. “You know, some days I wake up and my best may be 50%… It’s still the best. And I have to celebrate that.”