Uma Thurman Opens Up About Childhood Bullying

Whenever I watch Uma Thurman on screen, I'm always in awe of her screen presence, beauty, class, and her long legs, of course (curse my short limbs!). Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill series' are some of my favorite films, and I would have never guessed that the woman behind some of the most kick-ass female characters in cinema was anything but as self-assured as they were. Although I find it hard to believe that anyone would purposely attack her unique and beautiful features, Uma Thurman opened up about the bullying she enduring during her childhood to Hello! magazine, and how she has been able to overcome these criticisms as an adult. She shares,

I felt terrible. When I was 10, someone told me I had an ugly smile, so I spent the whole of my younger years feeling embarrassed and never smiling with my mouth open. But what are you going to do?...I'm enjoying getting older because I feel I didn't appreciate being pretty when I was younger.

Unfortunately, Thurman is still getting bullied for her physical appearance. A few weeks ago, the Internet went into an uproar while discussing one of Thurmans' recent red carpet looks in which some assumed the difference in her appearance was being of plastic surgery. But when Thurman visited the Today show soon after the Internet chaos, she shrugged off the strange speculation with class, saying, "I guess nobody liked my makeup. I mean, I've been doing this for years and years and years, and people say things nice and they say things mean."

Just goes to show you that we never really know any battles people are fighting in their personal life. Personally, I never knew about Thurman's past with confidence issues and bullying before her interview with Hello!, but it's not the first time she's opened up about how she even struggles with these issues today. She told The Sunday Times in 2000,

I spent the first 14 years of my life convinced that my looks were hideous... I know adolescence is painful for everyone, but mine was plain weird. There were nonstop changes of school, no friends and only acting to hide behind... Even today, when people tell me I am beautiful, I do not believe a word of it.

This really highlights how uncalled for the Internet speculation about her "new look" was. It is hard enough being a woman, and even more difficult when aging under the harsh microscope of fame. Throughout the years of being in the limelight, it is her past with feeling inadequate and awkward that has helped her healthily maneuver through the criticism and made her the strong woman she is today. She accepts her so-called "flaws" and has used this negativity to still feel like a beautiful woman regardless — the beautiful woman we all should rightfully feel like, regardless of age. She continued to Hello! Magazine:

We all lose our looks as we get older and I actually think there's a beauty to older people that's just different to the beauty of younger people. You look good as a beautiful mature woman.

PREACH, Uma! She is an inspiring example for any young woman who feels like she doesn't measure up, because one day, you can and will find the beauty in yourself in spite of others' opinions and maybe be a star of an epic action film series. You have the power and confidence to make anything happen for yourself if you allow it.

Images: Getty Images; Giphy