It seems that nobody, no matter how rich and famous or slender and toned, can escape the curse of lumpy thighs

Cellulite is the fancy name for the dimples and bumps in the skin, usually around the thighs and buttocks, caused when the natural structure of the skin is stretched by fat cells growing too large.

Nine out of ten women 'suffer' from it, and this wobbly subject has fuelled a whole industry of bulge-banishing products. Many of us dread going on holiday as stripping down to a bikini in broad daylight reveals even the tiniest bodily imperfection.

Here are a few brave celebs who openly admit to battle the 'orange peel' effect, and some of the interesting ways they have come up with to tackle it.

Kim Cattrall

Solution: Pilates

Kim says her lack of cellulite and her svelte size 8-10 figure come courtesy of regular sessions of her favourite discipline. But the 50-year-old former Sex And The City star has also vowed to take the problems of aging, including an increase in cellulite, in her stride. 'My philosophy on aging is to relax and consider the alternative,' she says.

Kate Winslet

Solution: Cut out wheat and alcohol

When the gorgeous Titanic star has to strip off for a film role, she banishes the bumps by banning bread and booze from her diet. 'After having two children, yes, there's the start of cellulite,' admits curvy Kate, 31. 'But what woman like me isn't in the same position? For a couple of weeks building up to [a sex scene] I'll lay off the booze and I'll lay off the bread and just really, really be insanely disciplined and that's fine.'

Gwyneth Paltrow

Solution: Go Organic

The slender Oscar winner, known for her strict macrobiotic regime before baby Apple came along, confessed to close pals she was feeling oversized and flabby following the birth of her son Moses last April. But Gwyneth, 34, has pledged to tackle the bulge by cutting out junk food and returning to her healthy diet. 'I try to eat as organically as possible,' she says. 'And I steer clear of sweets because I don't think there's any energy in them.'

Rachel Hunter

Solution: Have a day off the diet

Rachel, 37, is normally strict about making sure she eats all the right foods but has found a way to make sure she sticks to her diet: by having a day off! She says: 'Of course I have cellulite, doesn't everybody? My bum and stomach are my weak areas and I'd like them to be firmer. I diet during the week and then eat whatever I want on Sunday. I don't go crazy but there's no pressure.'

Demi Moore

Solution: Eat raw food

The actress seemed to be reversing the aging process when she unveiled her smooth, cellulite-free thighs in a bikini scene for Charlie's Angels. Demi, 44, credits her raw food diet, made up of 75 per cent raw food and 25 per cent cooked, with helping her skin stay smooth and free of lumpy bits.

Tyra Banks

Solution: Get it airbrushed

Tyra, 33, is happy with her curvy figure, which includes dimpled thighs, but the stunning supermodel confesses one well-known trick to eliminate cellulite is airbrushing, or digital manipulation. 'I disappoint people who meet me in person because I don't look like me,' she says. 'I openly admit that I have cellulite and I get that touched off.'

Reese Witherspoon

Solution: Buy a Kaftan

Mum-of-two Reese says there are plenty of A-listers with all kinds of cellulite hanging around under their designer gowns, including her. 'I have cellulite; I have stretch marks,' says the 30-year-old Oscar-winning star, who adds that she knows how to make the most of her imperfections. 'My breasts are not what they were before I breastfed two children. If I ever have to do a bikini scene, it will become a Kaftan scene.'

Jerry Hall

Solution: Blame the lighting

Jerry simply denies any knowledge of her alleged cellulite and blames bad lighting. The 50-year-old ex-model and mother-of-four says of the famous pictures capturing signs of her cellulite while on holiday in southern France: 'I don't think I do actually have cellulite. Maybe it was the light.'

Scarlett Johansson

Solution: Become a computer game

Scarlett Johansson has confessed she has cellulite, and would love computer boffins to make a game of her so she will lose her orange peel skin. 'I hope they make a computer game out of me,' she says. 'At least then I wouldn't have any cellulite. Everyone in Hollywood is so damn skinny. I try not to let the pressure get to me but Los Angeles is a very hard place to be.'

Jennifer Lopez

Solution: Be sexier

For J-Lo, cellulite is part of the territory of being a woman and the more that ladies accept it, the hotter they are. 'People think sexy is big breasts, a curvy body, no cellulite - it's not that,' says Jennifer. 'Take the girl at the beach with the cellulite legs, wearing her bathing suit the way she likes it, walking with a certain air, comfortable with herself: that woman is sexy. Then you see the perfect girl who's really thin, tugging at her bathing suit, wondering how her hair looks. That's not sexy.'

Top Tips on how to beat cellulite

1. Eat tomatoes
Lecithin, which comes from soy, spinach and tomatoes, helps repair cell membranes in the skin to help you beat the bumps.

2. Ditch junk food
Fast food can contain high levels of salt which encourage fluid retention and will make even a small amount of cellulite more prominent, especially on thinner women.

3. Drink more water
Salt, caffeine and alcohol all show up the 'orange peel' effect so drink two litres of water a day to help flush out your system, as well as limiting your coffee and alcohol intake.

4. Coffee massages
It's a trade secret in the modeling industry: massaging used coffee grounds into the cellulite-afflicted areas really does work.

5. Eliminate sugar
Give up eating sugar and it will help to flush out the toxins and reduce the appearance of unsightly dimples.