Margot Robbie recalls rare gift from male actor

Early in her career, actress Margot Robbie revealed that a male co-star once gave her a book about “eating less.”

The 35-year-old actress has spent the past few months promoting Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel, Wuthering Heights. In the film, Robbie portrays Catherine “Cathy” Earnshaw, the original inhabitant of the estate before it is overtaken by Heathcliff—the brooding antihero taken in as a child by Cathy’s parents. In this 2026 adaptation, Jacob Elordi, 28, takes on the role of Heathcliff, following in the footsteps of actors like Ralph Fiennes, James Howson, and Tom Hardy.

While Robbie and Elordi have handled most of the film’s press together, the Barbie star recently discussed the “diet book” incident during a conversation with singer Charli XCX. Fennell enlisted the singer (whose real name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison) to compose the musical score for the film.

During an interview with Complex, Robbie and the singer responded to a series of “best and worst” prompts. When asked to name the worst gift she had ever received, Robbie shared:

“Very, very early in my career, a male actor I worked with gave me a book called French Women Don’t Get Fat. It was essentially a book telling you to eat less. I was like, ‘Whoa, f*** you, dude.'”

Robbie declined to “name and shame” the individual but noted that the gesture was clearly intended to suggest she should lose weight. When the “House” hitmaker asked if the man was still in show business, Robbie replied: “I have no idea where he would even be now; this was really back in the day.”

“Yeah, your career’s over, babe,” Charli XCX laughed in response.

The book in question, French Women Don’t Get Fat, was written by Mireille Guiliano and originally published in 2004 (with a popular 2006 edition).