Melissa McCarthy's latest comedy, "Spy," hits theaters Friday. And while fans are eager to see her reunite with director Paul Feig — the pair previously collaborated on "Bridesmaids" and "The Heat" —we're even more excited that it's meant McCarthy has been in the spotlight all week, making red-carpet appearances and giving late-night TV interviews.
Ever since her "Gilmore Girls" days, we haven't been able to get enough of the 44-year-old actress. Here are seven reasons why.
1. She stands up for herself — and women
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly last month, McCarthy revealed that she confronted a critic who made nasty comments about her looks in a review of the film "Tammy," which was directed by her husband, Ben Falcone. "Are you the one who wrote I was only a good actor when I looked more attractive and that my husband should never be allowed to direct me because he allowed me to look so homely?" she recalled telling the reviewer at the Toronto Film Festival last September. She also asked whether he had a daughter and advised, "Watch what you say to her. Do you tell her she's only worthwhile or valid when she's pretty?"
2. She won't stand for body-shaming
"People don't stop at size 12," McCarthy said in the June issue of More. "I feel like there's a big thing missing where you can't dress to your mood above a certain number. [Malls] segregate plus-size [women]. It's an odd thing that you can't go shopping with your friends because your store is upstairs hidden by the tire section. We'll put you gals over there because we don't want to see you and you probably don't want to be seen."
3. She's launching a fashion line to show size doesn't matter
"I have experience dressing me as a 6, a 12 and more. And when you go above a size 12, you don't lose your love of fashion," McCarthy told Women's Wear Daily of her new label, which launches in August. "I always said, "Why can't I find great stuff?" She added, "I'm doing all sizes. It's a strange thing to stop at a certain size. Women don't, so why should clothes?"
4. She's seriously stylish
Just three years after designers refused to dress her for the Oscars, McCarthy hit Monday's "Spy" premiere in a long, flowing dress of her own design — and looked gorgeous.
5. She's full of surprises
McCarthy showed up on "The Daily Show" Wednesday wearing a dress printed with pictures of Jon Stewart's face that she made herself — because why not?
6. Did we mention she's hilarious?
Anyone who's witnessed her scene-stealing appearances in the aforementioned movies knows that. For further proof, check out her responses to pictures of Fabio and a teenage Jimmy Fallon during a rousing game of Random Word Association on "The Tonight Show" this week.
7. She has a positive outlook on life
When the New York Observer's Rex Reed made cruel remarks about McCarthy's appearance in a review of the movie "Identity Thief," McCarthy showed that a good attitude is everything. "I just thought, that's someone who's in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot," she told the New York Times. "I laugh my head off every day with my husband and my kids who are mooning me and singing me songs."