By Stephanie DuBois and Stacy Jenel Smith It's ironic that Janet Jackson has found herself in tabloid hell over a reported weight gain of around 50 pounds - since for years the singer has long been one of the favorite celebrity poster girls for transformation to slim and sexy.

After drowning her sorrows in food following her Super Bowl debacle and the failure of her last album, plus the stress of brother Michael's child molestation trial, she's now reportedly pushing to lose weight before the planned September release of her next album. Certainly Janet's been down this road before -- though maybe not as long and winding a road as 50 pounds might be to take off.

She was able to morph herself from chubby teen to voluptuous woman on her 1986 "Control" album -- into a lean, mean, six-pack ab machine by the time she released her Virgin Records debut, "Janet."

When Grammy-winning rap impresario Missy Elliott decided she could use a little body makeover herself, she turned to Janet for help finding just the right personal trainer. Elliott proved she could "Work It" just like her hit single -- and dropped 75 pounds. Maybe she can return the favor for Janet now.

Hey, reinventing yourself is what Hollywood is all about. "The Shield's" Michael Chiklis could have been a stand-in for the Pillsbury doughboy when he starred as "The Commish" a few years back. But after starring as Curly Howard in "The Three Stooges" TV movie, he put himself on - reportedly with the help of his wife - a six month regimen that turned him into imposing, buffed up, edgy detective Vic Mackey he plays on 'The Shield.' Shaving his head helped to remove him completely from his old image, but we wouldn't suggest that to Janet.

Jennifer Aniston and Kate Winslet are just two examples of actresses who transformed themselves from roly poly girls to slender beauties before attaining success in the industry. At the age of 16, Winslet tipped the scales at more than 180 pounds and was known to her bitchy classmates at Redroofs Theatre School as "Blubber." By the time she landed her first feature role, in 1994's "Heavenly Creatures," she'd dieted and exercised into fabulous shape. Kate's fluctuating weight has been a subject of media attention ever since - and she's been vocal about her disdain toward the unhealthy preoccupation with staying thin.

Aniston has stayed thin - since her agent told her she'd get more roles if she dropped some weight. After she lost 30 pounds, she landed "Friends." However, she, too has made it clear she worries about the impact of thin - sometimes excessively thin -- stars on young girls. "TV is definitely guilty of putting out unrealistic images of what is socially acceptable," she told USA Today. "I'm guilty of it, too."

There are certainly plenty of celebs who can give Jackson leads on shedding weight in the spotlight of celebritydom. Oprah Winfrey's notorious up and down battle with her weight is the stuff of legend. Even with her personal trainers, nutritional chefs and enough money to hire someone to move each muscle individually, Winfrey is constantly battling the bulge.

Maybe Janet should do what Kirstie Alley or Anna Nicole Smith - pack on the pounds, then lost the weight as part of a reality show or ad campaign, thereby becoming big losers and big winners at the same time.

Janet's reported 50 excess pounds qualify as obesity, but she might not want to go to the extreme of having gastric bypass surgery, which has its accompanying health risks. Though, having the medical procedure resulted in major transformations for such celebs as Sharon Osbourne, Al Roker, Carnie Wilson, Roseanne Barr and 'American Idol's' Randy Jackson.

Jackson's best bet, however, might be to take some tips from rapper-cum-Oscar-nominated actress Queen Latifah on learning to love yourself first.

Latifah lost weight and underwent voluntary breast reduction in 2003. She keeps a personal trainer around, but told Glamour Magazine, "we've got to be the s--it to ourselves, excuse my language, but we have got to be the bomb to ourselves first.

I mean, if I wanted to lose weight, I would lose it for myself. I never lost weight because somebody told me I needed to lose weight. There are too many people with gorgeous bodies and no freaking self-confidence. They are way too self-absorbed - 'Do I look fat?' That's annoying. When will they finally get that a guy prefers a woman with confidence, that confidence is sexy? I don't care what size you are. If they don't have a banging body and their confidence is just so up, they seem much more attractive and more sexy, because of the confidence. I'm not saying let yourself go or don't be healthy. Be healthy, but don't be hung up? I realized a long time ago that something that I definitely did not want to be measured by was my waistline."

Now that sounds like a woman truly in control.