Leading Ladies Dress Down for Awards Season?

This award season’s unexpected hit, “Precious,” stormed into theaters last weekend. The critically acclaimed film tells the story of an obese illiterate teenager in 1980s Harlem. But it also features the usually glamorous Mariah Carey, known for her sometimes elegant and often daring red carpet ensembles, as a pale-faced plain-Jane social worker, a role which has been critically praised. (Could this possibly make up for the slamming she received after "Glitter?") Carey is not the first red carpet bombshell to dress down to impress, in what CNN calls the “take-me-seriously” effect.

Elizabeth Taylor can be credited with starting this trend in the ’60s, when she gained thirty pounds for the film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The role ended up earning the actress her second Best Actress Oscar. But Ms. Taylor is not the only one to walk home with a little golden man after piling on the pounds, taking off the makeup, and flattening the hair.

Charlize Theron, the former supermodel, also gained nearly thirty pounds for her role as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the 2004 film “Monster,” winning her the Best Actress Oscar as well. Hilary Swank cut her hair short and adopted male mannerisms for “Boys Don’t Cry” and Nicole Kidman donned a prosthetic nose in “The Hours.” Both earned Best Actress Oscars.

The list goes on: Cameron Diaz in “Being John Malkovich,” Demi Moore in “GI Jane,” Renee Zellweger in “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” Halle Berry in “Losing Isaiah,” and Toni Collette in “Muriel’s Wedding.” These leading ladies aren’t the only ones, though. Just take a look at Tom Cruise in “Born on the 4th of July,” Brad Pitt in “12 Monkeys,” or George Clooney in “Syriana.”

Can you think of other sexy stars who got a make-under for an awards season role? And does it work? Leave your comments below to share your thoughts.

-Alexa Trummer