Missy Elliott made headlines when she looked considerably slimmer at the Grammy’s in 2023. Here’s everything we know about Missy Elliott’s weight loss. 

Missy Elliott, also known as Misdemeanor, is a famous American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is revered as one of the pioneers of black female rap worldwide. 

Who Is Missy Elliott?

Melissa Arnette Elliott was born to Patricia and Ronnie Elliott on July 1, 1971, in Portsmouth, Virginia. Her mother was a power company dispatcher, while her father was a U.S. Marine.

She is the only child of her parents and grew up in an active church choir family. Due to this background, Elliot was introduced to music quite early and was already pining to be a performer by the age of four. 

Elliott grew up in a domestically abusive home, with her father being mean to her and her mother, Patricia. Her mother had enough at a point, took Elliott, and fled from home, seeking refuge in a close relative’s house. She graduated from Manor High School in 1990. 

Just a year after, she formed an all-female R&B group called Fayze (later renamed Sista) with her friends La’Shawn Shellman, Chonita Coleman, and Radiah Scott. She recruited her neighborhood friend Timothy Mosley (later known as Timbaland) as the group’s producer and began making demo tracks. She made a couple of demos with this band and later became a member of Swing Mob, still with Timbaland as their producer. 

Elliott worked on projects with several big acts, such as Aaliyah and 702, and later launched her solo career in 1997 with her debut album, “Supa Dupa Fly.” The album was highly successful and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, the highest charting debut for a female rapper then.

Elliott had a successful rap career with six solo albums, which is no easy feat. She is among the industry’s most-awarded female rappers, with four Grammys and eight MTV Video Music Awards. 

Missy Elliott’s Weight Loss

Elliot shocked the world when she was spotted at the 65th annual Grammy Awards in 2023 to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop/rap with her fellow 90s and 2000 stars, looking barely recognizable. The rapper, known to be plus-sized, debuted a new body, looking like she was suddenly a size 12. This raised a lot of speculation among fans worldwide, and many have wondered what caused a massive drop in her weight. 

However, her massive weight loss was due to health reasons. Elliot was diagnosed with Graves, also called Basedow’s disease, an autoimmune system disorder of the thyroid gland in the throat that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones.

She revealed this in an interview: “I was on medication for a short while but have been off it for quite some time now. I manage the condition through diet and exercise.”

Missy Elliott’s Weight Loss Plan 

A significant symptom of Graves disease is extreme weight loss, which can be seen evidently in Elliot’s case. Some other symptoms include dizzy spells, mood swings, hair loss, lumps in the throat, and a fast heart rate. Graves’ disease also causes serious health problems, including heart failure or stroke.

The condition is incurable, but the disease can be managed with medication and a change in diet and exercise.  

The “Get Your Freak On” rapper had to follow a strict regimen to lose weight. Her medical team informed her of the health risks and decided to do something about it. She followed a strict diet and exercise regimen, which enabled her to lose about 30kg in four months.

She avoided bread, juice, and soda and increased her water intake, which rewarded her with glowing and youthful skin. In an Instagram post, she wrote:

“See, I’ve NEVER been a water drinker, but this has helped my skin…it really restored my glow & I don’t feel sluggish…NOW the other thing, if I can only cut out JUNK FOOD…sh*t, that’s my weakness…Facts But if I can give up those other things, I’ll fight that to [sic]! Maybe two cupcakes a month.”

Elliott also followed the T25 workout routine designed by renowned celebrity trainer Shaun T. Missy Elliott’s weight loss has caused a lot of changes to her facial characteristics, making her appear slimmer, younger, and quite beautiful.

Missy Elliot is not the only celebrity to have recently lost significant weight. Rebel Wilson and Jessica Simpson have also made headlines for losing weight.