Lindsey Vonn Embraces ‘Cellulite & Stretch Marks’ After Body Image Issues: ‘Take It Or Leave It’

Lindsey Vonn opened up about her journey to feel 'comfortable' in her own skin, after struggling with comparing her body to others while maneuvering an incredibly public life.

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April 6, 2021 1:36PM EDT
Lindsey Vonn
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Lindsey Vonn'Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season' film premiere, Arrivals, Writers Guild Theater, Los Angeles, USA - 07 Nov 2019
Lindsey Vonn ESPY Awards, Arrivals, Los Angeles, California, USA - 20 Jul 2022
Lindsey Vonn amfAR Gala, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA - 04 Nov 2021

Lindsey Vonn is so proud of her body and everything that it’s achieved, but the journey to get to this place of newfound confidence was a long and winding hill to ski down. “While it may seem like I’ve always been comfortable with who I am, I definitely have not always felt that,” the former Olympian, 36, shared during the April 5 episode of TB12’s The Keep Going Podcast. “I had a hard time after I won the Olympics because I was taken outside my ski bubble and put in this entertainment and celebrity bubble and around people that were half my size,” she explained, referencing her incredible performance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and newfound celebrity status.

Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during the women’s downhill race, at the alpine ski World Championships in Sweden on February 10, 2019 [Shutterstock].
“I was like, ‘Am I supposed to look like this?'” she recalled to the hosts. “I had never compared myself really to others.” Although Lindsey had “a really hard time” comparing her body to others, she eventually overcame the public pressure. “I am who I am. I feel like I’ve never conformed my personality or my style but for positive body image, I definitely struggled with that.”

Lindsey Vonn wears Haney at the ‘Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season’ film premiere at the Writers Guild Theater in Los Angeles on November 7, 2019 [Shutterstock].
More than anything, Lindsey has gotten to a place where she can embrace every single part of her body. “I have cellulite, I have stretch marks. I work out every single day and I still have all those things and they’re not going away,” she shared. “So it’s like, this is me, take it or leave it.” The former competitive skier often shares her workout routines on her personal Instagram account, highlighting all of the hard work she does to maintain her ideal body shape.

But with such a wide-reaching platform, Lindsey also wants to use her influence to teach the next generation of young women to “believe in themselves and embrace their uniqueness…Sometimes that’s the hardest thing to do in life, be confident in who you are,” she explained.

After Lindsey rose to fame following 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she was immediately thrust into the spotlight. Over the course of the last several years since her rise to fame, Lindsey has maintained an incredibly influential platform, showing different sides of herself on her personal social media accounts and more. We cannot wait to see how the beloved athlete continues to use her influence.