Comedian says … fat isn't funny: Kim Coles loses 50 pounds, finds husband and new fans

Ebony, April, 1991 by Michel'le Renise Barber

Comedian says... Fat Isn't Funny

WHEN people hear the name Kim Coles, they naturally think of the bubbly comedian they've seen on popular television shows like It's Showtime At The Apollo or In Living Color. Indeed, the witty glamor girl who wears sequined designer dresses during her outrageous stage routines is one of the freshest (and most attractive) acts on the comedy circuit. But few of her adoring fans know that this sexy, sassy and slim starlet has struggled most of her life with a problem that was no laughing matter to her--her weight.

By telling jokes about the trials and tribulations of being the fattest girl in class and having to ask a young man for a date only to be rejected because she was much too plump, the now slender 130-pound star has tried to let her fans know about the hardships she experienced before becoming the trim person she is today. But every time Coles begins her amazing story, the crow reacts like it's just another one of her routines. "When I tell jokes about how I used to be overweight, people start looking at me like they are saying to themselves, 'Yeah, right,'" says Coles, altering her voice to imitate her sometimes skeptical audiences. "They just don't believe me."

But it's true.

Coles, raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., has battled the bulge since puberty. But her weapon of choice was not the latest starvation diet or trendiest exercise machine. Early in life, she learned to compensate for her weight problem by persuading others (and even herself) to ignore here large figure and instead focus on her zany personality. "When people saw me coming in high school, they would say, 'Oh, here comes Crazy Kim Coles,' but they would never say, 'Here comes Fat Kim Coles,'" recalls the "ex-class clown" who was so popular at Brooklyn Technical High School that she was elected student body president four years in a row.

After Coles graduated from high school, her five-foot-eight-inch frame grew to more than 200 pounds but her self-esteem remained intact. In fact, Coles' image of herself was, like her appetite, so healthy that in 1984 she entered a BBW (Big Beautiful Woman) beauty pageant and won first runner-up with a unique comedy skit about how she learned to accept herself--and her extra pounds. "When a woman gets on the scale and it goes past 199 pounds, you stop getting on the scale," jokes the "twenty something" comedian who now wears a size eight and enjoys laughing at the awkward moments she had as an oversized woman. "I was so large that I wore a size 16 to 18. On my bad days, I was an 18."

After Coles' BBW beauty pageant debut, her career as a comedian and full-figured fashion model took off. With these victories under her rather large belt, she convinced herself that she should not lose weight because her hefty appearance seemed linked to her growing popularity. "I would justify my weight by telling myself that I had big bones or that I was supposed to be fat," says the West Hollywood-based comedian. "But inside, I knew I was only fooling myself."

As Coles honed her comedy skills at night clubs around the country, she was dubbed "matronly" by one night club manager and lumped into a "hysterical fat lady" category by many others. Feeling uncomfortable with this stereotype but powerless to do anything about it, she accepted her plight until July 1985 when her best friend, Aton Edwards, offered to help her shed the unwanted pounds. "One day Aton told me, 'I love you the way you are, but you really aren't supposed to be this heavy,'" she recalls.

Soon the pair were inseparable. Coles and Edwards began working out, lifting weights and jogging together almost every day. Coles also stopped snacking on chocolates, french fries and potato chips and started eating more nutritious foods, such as salads, fish, chicken and vegetables. Five months later, by November 1985, she had lost 50 pounds. One month before she reached her 50-pound weight loss goal, Coles married Edwards--adding even more icing to her cake.

More than five years later, the comedian is still glad to be rid of her matronly image. Her revamped appearance is so striking that patrons who have never seen her perform comedy expect the slender entertainer to sing.

A much sought-after comedian, Coles is now being considered by a major television network to star in a new situation comedy series about a Manhattan woman who is trying to get a break in comedy. Contrary to her initial fears, her slimmer frame hasn't thinned out her large crowd of fans and admirers. "Today, I finally feel good about life," says Coles, who vows to maintain her improved figure. "After finally becoming the person I've always wanted to be, I feel I can do almost anything."