Laurence Boccolini has found her smile again. After leaving France Télévisions, the presenter took control of her career by launching her own channel on YouTube where she offers her podcast called “Sillage”. A fresh start for the mother of little Willow who is also preparing to return to the TV screens as she will soon join the W9 channel. At 62, the presenter is about to embark on a new chapter after facing many challenges throughout her career.
Appearing on Isabelle Morini-Bosc’s YouTube channel, the former wife of Mickaël Fakamelo recounted her journey and discussed the difficulties she encountered at the beginning of her career. She particularly opened up about the discrimination she faced from brands that categorically refused to lend her clothes due to her weight.
Laurence Boccolini snubbed by brands at the start of her TV career
While many female TV presenters are dressed by top brands to appear on screen, Laurence Boccolini faced many rejections due to her weight. “With Marianne James, we can both confirm: we didn’t have ‘L’Oréal’ or top designers approaching us to embody a body positive image,” she revealed. “When I asked for clothes because I didn’t have anything to wear for the shows, I was told no! This came from major clothing brands and even jewelry brands! They said: ‘no, we don’t want our brand associated with a fat person’.” Despite not having outfits for the cameras, she emphasized that TF1 never asked her to lose weight. “When I hosted ‘The Weakest Link’, which was very successful, or when I starred in ‘Miss Joubert’, I was even heavier than today, and no one ever told me to lose weight,” she stated.
Laurence Boccolini: her small dig at singer Yseult
Even when Laurence Boccolini was being snubbed by fashion brands, she always embraced her curves proudly. She refused to feel ashamed of her body. “I had the physique I had, and I always said to myself that I was going to work with this physique. It’s not my physique that has talent, it’s not my love handles presenting the show!” she explained, before taking a small jab at the younger generation trying to break taboos about weight. “I like Yseult’s anger, I respect all those people who say: ‘Look at how I’m opening doors’. No, we opened them before you! And we cried blood! That’s it. So now, it’s also good to remember that old fat women came before,” she declared. A battle she has been fighting for many years.
