Check out our gallery of celebrity Oscar-ready bodies

High octane divas

With the latest 'size zero' fad sweeping Beverly Hills, these screen women keep their personal trainers on their toes so they can look svelte for the 79th Academy Awards.

Katie Holmes
It's been Mrs Cruise's year in the paparazzi limelight but after the birth of baby Suri in April 2006, Katie Holmes shrunk back to her pre-pregnancy weight, a minuscule size six. Her high-profile hubby helped plan her gruelling gym workout with a personal trainer and running regime. Does this mean her red carpet 'Mission Impossible' can be accomplished?

Rachel Weisz
After collecting an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Constant Gardener while seven months pregnant, Rachel Weisz is back to her post-pregnancy shape after the birth of her son, Henry Chance, for this year's Awards. 'I don't really have a magic potion or pill, I do Pilates,' she explains. 'Being a mother also burns a lot of calories, 500 a day, so if I could help promote breastfeeding, that would be a good way.'

She's not up for an award this year but that hasn't stopped her getting in shape. Weisz is a fan of the Primrose Hill and Chelsea trainer David Marshall, aka the Bodydoctor, whose six-week exercise regime has helped a host of A-listers drop dress sizes.

'When I needed to get in shape for a film he took me safely down from a size 12 to size 8 in just six weeks,' she says. 'David's is the only form of exercise I've ever been able to stick to. His programme has made me amazingly fit and much smaller.'

Catherine Zeta Jones
Catherine Zeta Jones knows how to work the red carpet. She flaunted her sexy hourglass figure as Velma Kelly in Chicago in 2002, and picked up an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Catherine is said to use a nutrition coach and portion control and drinks plenty of water to keep hunger pangs at bay.

But after the rigorous training dance sessions for Chicago, which she says were almost as painful as giving birth to her son, she has found dance is her answer to staying in shape.

Low maintenance dames

Effortlessly glamorous and nonchalant about weight loss, these A-listers keep exercise to a minimum, yet still keep the camera bulbs flashing.

Dame Helen Mirren
With a Golden Globe already under her belt for her role as Elizabeth I, the three-time Academy Award-nominated actor, 61, is no stranger to the red carpet. She is tipped to win the Best Actress accolade for her role in The Queen but, despite public confidence, she still feels the pressure at the Oscars. 'You're in this weird competition, up against people that are built like models,' she says.

Kate Winslet
Nominated this year for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Little Children, Kate Winslet has already given a sneak preview of her awards-season look. In January, arriving at the 18th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival in an elegant electric blue full-length gown, it seemed that Kate may have ditched her enviable curves.

But Winslet claims she does not crash diet and only ever dieted once after having her first child. She famously compared her post birth-boobs to 'the ears off a dog' and says: 'I was told the only way I'd have a career as an actress would be if I could settle for playing fat.'

But she endorses a healthy dose of exercise: in October 2006 she fronted The Allstar Workout DVD for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Kiera Knightly
With her swashbuckling action scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean and her waif-like frame, Kiera Knightly might lead you to think that she is the sporty type.

But she says: 'The only thing I do is sit in front of the TV and do tons of sit-ups. I'm supposed to do squats, but I don't like those. I don't like running, either. I tried yoga for the first time when I was doing Pirates of the Caribbean, but I got quite frustrated with it because of all that breathing. It stresses me out; it doesn't relax me.'

She shocked on the red carpet bearing her rib cage at the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest premiere, sparking rumours that she may have an eating disorder. But she is naturally skinny and hates working out. 'The very thought of a diet makes me want chips and ice cream. And I just hate going to the gym. I cannot stand it,' she says.

Cate Blanchett
Cate will be stepping into the spotlight at the Oscars with her nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Notes on a Scandal. But is she working out for the big night?

'I refuse to worry about all that fitness stuff,' she says. 'Being a mother is exercise enough for me.'