The message boards at Women.com generated much discussion over how skinny Flockhart became, says Moffatt.

Flockhart’s appearance in a size 2 dress at the 1998 Emmy Awards intensified the media debate. She immediately became late-night talk show fodder and People magazine ran a spread on the question of whether she had an eating disorder. This lead Flockhart to rebut the allegations herself.

"I guess I don’t know the exact definition of anorexia," said Flockhart in "Arguing Her Case," an article by Karen S. Schneider in the November 9, 1998, issue of People magazine. "I think the societal obsession about my physical appearance is interpreting my weight as a sickness, and in the end all I can say is: They’re making a big mistake."

photo: abc

Mainheim (above) is "a breakthrough character for larger women," says Terry Poulton.

At the other end of the spectrum, Camryn Manheim, star of the TV show "The Practice," is hailed as "a breakthrough character for larger women," according to Terry Poulton, who profiled the actress for Mode, a glossy fashion magazine for larger women, and wrote "No Fat Chicks: How Big Business Profits by Making Women Hate Their Bodies -- and How to Fight Back (1997)."

In September 1998, Manheim, 37, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of attorney Ellenor Frutt on the drama. During her acceptance speech at the Emmy Awards, she proclaimed, "This is for all the fat girls!"