Nikki Blonsky's Queen Sized Year

It's been a fairy tale of a year for 19-year-old Nikki Blonsky. After a failed Broadway audition for Hairspray, Blonsky ended up nabbing the lead role of Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 film version, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. At 9 pm/ETtonight, Blonsky earns a different crown, literally, in Lifetime's original movie Queen Sized, the true story of Maggie, an overweight teen who competes for homecoming queen.

TV Guide: Is Maggie anything like Tracy Turnblad?
Nikki Blonsky: Tracy's a character who can really lift people's spirits and make them feel good about themselves, but Maggie's a character who people can [better] relate to. Not everybody's as positive as Tracy.

TV Guide: Is it hard to be a plus-size actress?
Blonsky: No, I don't find it hard. I look at it this way: There are plenty of roles for skinny girls, and there are plenty of skinny girls. There aren't many plus-size actresses. So chances are, [that means] more parts for me.

TV Guide: Now plus-size girls can look to you for inspiration.
Blonsky: I really appreciate [that] because growing up, for me, there were really no plus-size role models. And then as I got older, I was fortunate enough to find the wonderfully strong and beautiful Queen Latifah as a role model.

TV Guide: And you got to act with her in Hairspray, too. Do you keep in touch?
Blonsky: Absolutely. I speak to Queen all the time. She was the first one to call meto wish me a happy 19th birthday.

TV Guide: We understand there's an ice-cream flavor named after your character — at the shop where you used to work in Long Island.
Blonsky: It's called "Tracy TurnbladTwist." I think it's cotton-candy ice cream with rainbow sprinkles, marshmallowsand gummy bears. The most colorful creation you could ask for!

Preview Queen Sized in our Online Video Guide.

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