Kathy Bates had plenty to celebrate as she stepped out for the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards, turning heads on the black carpet while marking another major milestone in her remarkable career.
The 77-year-old actress attended the ceremony on January 4 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, where she is nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her starring role in Matlock. Radiant and confident, Kathy opted for a chic tailored pantsuit paired with jewel-encrusted flats, striking a stylish balance between elegance and comfort. She was also spotted posing arm-in-arm with her Matlock co-star Henry Haber, the pair sharing warm smiles on the star-studded carpet.
Long admired for her powerhouse performances, Kathy also drew attention for her dramatic weight loss transformation, having shed roughly 100 pounds over several years. Her health journey began around 2017, when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes – a turning point she has spoken about candidly.
"[Diabetes] runs in my family, and I'd seen what my father had gone through," she previously told People. "He had had a leg amputation. One of my sisters is dealing with it very seriously, and it terrified me. It scared me straight."
Rather than chasing quick fixes, Kathy said she focused on gradual, sustainable lifestyle changes, including adjustments to her diet and increasing daily movement. She has also been open about using a GLP-1 medication as part of her broader wellness approach. Addressing speculation around her transformation, she told Variety that the medication helped her lose the final 15 to 20 pounds – but only after years of consistent effort.
"It took me years to do this," she explained. "When Ozempic came along, I was able to lose the last bit and keep it off."
More importantly, the Oscar winner says the changes have given her a new lease on life. "Now that I've been able to get really healthy, I can move, I can breathe, I can have fun," she said – a sentiment reflected in her relaxed, joyful presence on the Critics Choice carpet.
With a career spanning decades, two previous Critics Choice wins (in 1999 and 2003), and a celebrated return to television, Kathy Bates continues to prove that reinvention – on screen and off – has no age limit.