Between her role as Kate Pearson on This is Us, her cinematic portrayal of real-life mom Joyce Smith, and her inspiring music career, Chrissy Metz is dominating her industry. After years of paying her dues and truly learning to love herself, here's how far she's come — and where she's headed next.

Metz was born in Florida, but spent the majority of her childhood in Japan since her father was stationed there for the Navy, according to Glamour. When she was 8 years old, her parents split, and mom Denise moved the kids back to Florida, where she eventually remarried.

But while Chrissy now describes her family with a bit of sentimentality, her childhood was filled with drama. The actor told Marie Claire that her mother enrolled her in Weight Watchers when she was just 11 years old, and that her stepdad forced Chrissy to do weigh-ins, and bullied and abused her. She wrote in her 2018 memoir, This Is Me,

"My body seemed to offend him, but he couldn't help but stare, especially when I was eating. […] [My] mother was always at work, so she didn't see how he treated me."

Watch this video for the gorgeous transformation of Chrissy Metz!

#ChrissyMetz #ThisIsUs

Difficult childhood | 0:00

Humble beginnings | 1:04

Paying her dues | 2:06

Turning point | 3:09

Hitting the rocks | 4:21

AHS: Freak Show | 5:05

This is Us | 6:05

Smash hit | 7:15

Hitting Netflix | 8:17

Breakthrough | 9:36

Chrissy goes country | 10:30

Blazing a trail | 11:27