You may recognize actress, writer, and producer Holly Fulger from some of the shows she's been on. She played Ellen DeGeneres' friend, Holly Jamison on Ellen's sitcom way back when before Ellen was THE Ellen. She's also been on an impressive number of shows, including Thirtysomething, 7th Heaven, CSI, The Practice, John Larroquette Show, Dweebs, Anything but Love, Sable and more. As of the past few years, Holly has been running the company True Beauty Detective. It s a media company and movement all about inclusivity, diversity and creating broad views of beauty. Having been an actress, who are often judged on their looks, she sees a need to change the beauty standard.
Holly's Mission
"Make beauty limitless and empower women and girls to be limitless, understanding that beauty comes from something so much deeper than looks."
Why This is Important Now
"True Beauty Detective promotes empowerment and acceptance through conversations about beauty on our burgeoning multi-media platforms via our website, social channels and my web series. With all that’s happening in the world of media, entertainment, business and politics, now is the right time to engage and have meaningful conversations with emphasis on intellect, the spirit, character and confidence as a part of the discussion of beauty, rethinking society’s often “exclusive” definition of beauty and changing what we have historically been conditioned to believe.
Throwing out the Old Standards of Beauty
for a New Generation
"For decades, the media, Hollywood, advertisers and executives in the fashion and beauty industry have dictated the standards of beauty. The ever-present and growing popularity of social media has perpetuated these standards and amped up the pressure among women and girls to meet them. Through my brand I want girls and women to celebrate diverse appearances, ages, races, shapes, sizes, personalities, strengths, ambitions and socioeconomic status, and the individual and collective beauty that results from these differences. I want women to share their stories with the young girls and teens who are asking the questions and seeking guidance. Sharing these stories on our True Beauty Detective platforms will give voice, power and confidence to a generation of tweens and teens and will be their driving force, with adult women acting as mentors and inspiration."
What Young Girls Should Be Telling Themselves
"I would love for young girls to look in a mirror and say, "I'm strong, and I'm intelligent, and I am enough." It's hard though, because we look in the mirror and tend to judge our physical self. I have always tried to encourage my daughter to see ALL the things that make her beautiful; her intelligence, her sense of humor, her courage, her smile, her curly hair, her dimples. Beauty is about the person and a person is so much more than that mirrored image. It's interesting...I've been asking women I know what they would say to their younger self and their answers are always something like; "Keep being you," "Trust your instincts," "You are enough just the way you are."
Why Selfies are a No-No
"With a selfie, we tend to edit them, showing only our 'best' version. It's like the advertisements that use photoshop, and we are photoshopping ourselves. I also think that selfies and social media lead to comparison, which is always a no win situation."
On Not Getting Acting Jobs for Not Being "Pretty Enough"
"As an actress, you put yourself right in the mix of being judged for how you look. And that acceptable standard is pretty narrow."
An Impossible Standard
"I believe that we are so inured to thinking that beauty equals that impossible standard, we are not even aware of the extent to which we are enabling it. It's like a white noise that we have become so accustomed to, we don't hear it anymore."
And lastly because I am sure the readers will want to know...
Can you tell me something about what it was like to be on the Ellen show? She is also another women who believes beauty is only skin deep. What was it like on that show and do you have any memorable or funny stories you can share?
"When I was on Ellen, one afternoon, before we went into production, all of us went to lunch. That was the original cast: me, Arye Gross, Maggie Wheeler, and Ellen. I remember Ellen telling us she was gay. She was really nervous and we talked about how we couldn't really talk about it. That first season, the producers were always putting Ellen in a dress and sending her on dates with guys. Watching the transformation of the character of Ellen (as well as the human being), was truly moving. And her beauty was allowed to come through, as she became more of herself."
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