Heather McMahan Talks Bras, Body Confidence for New Spanx Campaign: 'The Boobies Are Out' (Exclusive)

Michelle LeeTue, March 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC

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Heather McMahan for SpanxCredit: Credit: Spanx -

Heather McMahan is the face of a new Spanx campaign launching the SPANXsupersmooth BraVa T-shirt bra collection

The spot is inspired by the 1980s and empowers women to embrace their bras while highlighting McMahan's signature humor

The comedian shot the campaign ad in Brooklyn, where she opened up to PEOPLE about her personal journey with bras and the importance of finding the right fit

Heather McMahan keeps things effortlessly cool on the set of her Spanx shoot. She's so comfortable, in fact, you'd never know she's posing in her undergarments surrounded by at least a dozen people watching her have a conversation with her "girls."

On a gray, rainy day in Brooklyn, the Southern comedian known for her razor sharp whit and relatable candor, is the brightest thing in the room. The set — a plush, pink boudoir inspired by the '80s — feels like a fever dream and McMahan is right at home. Stretched across the bed, she delivers line after line about her "girls" loving Spanx's new BraVa bra collection, but the real magic happens between takes. That’s when she veers off-script, tossing out perfectly timed asides that shatter the fourth wall and leave everyone laughing.

The ease isn’t just about her humor, it's about her honesty. McMahan taps into something instantly familiar: the complicated, often hilarious relationship women have with their bras. And she knows it firsthand.

"I remember when I really got boobs. It was in-between junior and senior year. On the first day, at my very conservative school, my button-down burst open," McMahan, 39, tells PEOPLE. "And I called my mom and was like, 'I need to go to a bra store and get the right bra.' That was such a core memory,"

Heather McMahan for SpanxCredit: Credit: Spanx

If there's anything she's learned since then, it's to not worry about sizing. "Listen, it's not about the number on the back of the band. Okay? Just get what fits."

Along her journey, she's found the SPANXsupersmooth BraVa collection, the brand's latest everyday T-shirt bras that provide smooth, seamless comfort that look and feel great under clothes.

When McMahan got the call about becoming the face of the line, she says it felt like "Mercury had moved out of retrograde, the stars had aligned, and I was living to my fullest potential." That last part is especially true because the Absolutely Not podcaster feels like she can do anything with it on. "Whatever you're doing, you can do it in this bra."

The Brava collection was designed to move with its wearer. Flexible cups accommodate breast size fluctuation, while free-cut, bonded wings provide extra support. Styles include Lightly Lined, Unlined and Push-Up, which are available in skin-toned shades and fashionable colors.

"When you find the right bra, you're going to feel comfortable. A bra should feel like a second skin," McMahan says before referencing a feeling many women know all too well. "You don't want that dreaded, 'I'm coming home from a day at work and I want to rip my bra off' [feeling]. With the Brava collection, it's so comfortable that I forget I have it on."

It's this that made McMahan totally confident in her skin while shooting the commercial in her intimates.

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"Let me tell you what. When I found out I was going to be in my bra and underwear, I did zero prep. In fact, I went the opposite way. I started eating. When I saw the campaign, I thought, this is going to be so much fun. It's playful. It's funny. This is right in my wheelhouse," she says. "The boobies are out. We're in a silk robe. I just thought it was so fantastic. As a comic, I'm always being playful, but to be playful in a sexy way, and encouraging women to find a product that they love, it was a no-brainer for me."

Heather McMahan for SpanxCredit: Credit: Spanx

She's also doing exactly that by breaking down Hollywood stigmas and openly talking about her recent cosmetic enhancement journey (she's undergone two neck lifts and refuses to "gatekeep" her work). "I was always going to be open about sharing if I've ever had anything done, because I would want the girlies to know."

"I try to encourage women to feel really good in their skin, but you have to feel it," she says, although adding, "I could preach all day long, but I even have insecure days."

Sometimes those days can happen on set, other times onstage, but McMahan likes to remind herself that laughter is the best medicine.

"There aren't many mantras I tell myself. It's more, like, you have a bunch of fabulous people in the audience who want to giggle. No matter what kind of day I'm having, my job is still to take them out of their s---ty day," she says. It's an honor and a privilege that I get to do that for a living. At the end of the day, it's cathartic for me. I get to turn my brain off for 90 minutes and just go out there, giggle, and let it rip. And that's the best job in the world."

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As she travels the country on The Bamboozled Tour (concluding in Knoxville Tenn. on May 30), McMahan and her Spanx bra will make one dynamic duo since its one of the items she needs with her on the road — as are sequins, feathers and a "massage device" (because "when you are performing and telling jokes onstage in high heels, you'd be surprised, the shin splints and the tight calves are remarkable").

Back on set in-between takes, McMahan grooves to Fleetwood Mac and jokes that she can do the splits.

"Any time I've taken life too seriously, it has humbled me very quickly," she says when asked about how she keeps life lighthearted. "So, I just say, you've got to go with the flow, be a chameleon, be ready to pivot when you need to. We're only here for a short time, so, you got to make it a good time."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”