Melissa McCarthy Jokes About Her PEOPLE Beautiful Issue Cover Photo: 'I Had Just Finished Vacuuming'

"That's just me laying around the house. Those are just candid shots, guys," the Little Mermaid actress joked of her PEOPLE 2023 Beautiful Issue shoot

Melissa McCarthy wasn't sure PEOPLE had the right number when she was invited to grace the cover of the 2023 Beautiful Issue.

"I was like, 'Have you called the right person?' " the Little Mermaid star, 52, said Tuesday on Good Morning America after her cover was revealed.

Asked about her reaction to seeing the cover for the first time, McCarthy further joked, "Can you imagine if I was like, 'That's just me laying around the house. Those are just candid shots, guys.' ... I had just finished vacuuming."

In all seriousness, the actress loves "what it says about redefining what we think could be beautiful, could be strong, could be anything, 'cause I think they're all wrapped up together now."

In this week's issue of PEOPLE, McCarthy admitted she was "incredibly flattered" over the honor, and she "felt like it was saying something really lovely to my younger self, to my 20-year-old self. And maybe to other people, too."

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Speaking of her younger self, during high school, the Ghostbusters actress said, "I feel like the first two years were like, 'We're all going to dress alike.' Nobody wants to stand out too much. And then I was like, 'I think I'm bored.' "

"And then came the Mohawks and the blue hair," she added. "I mean, on the outside, I was a really good punk and gothic kid, but then I was terrible because I was really chatty. So I looked like I was going to maybe get into a fist fight. And then I was like, 'Hi! What's your name?' "

It was also the first time McCarthy was exposed to judgment and criticism.

"I was fascinated because when I walked down the street and I looked like that, it was the first time that I'd ever had people kind of make fun of me or say really mean things to me, even adults," she recalled. "I just kept thinking, 'You don't know me; I didn't do anything to you.' "

"It was a real big eye-opener that people are just judging left and right," the actress continued. "Luckily, instead of going back into my shell, I think that made me want to seek out people [expressing themselves] more. Because I was like, that's so much more fun."

For more from Melissa's McCarthy's exclusive interview, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Related: Melissa McCarthy: Gracing PEOPLE's Beautiful Issue Cover Is "Saying Something Lovely to My Younger Self"

Asked on GMA to choose the most memorable moment of her career, McCarthy said "it's hard to pick one" and that she's "always kind of waiting for somebody to be like, 'You gotta go.' "

"So the fact that I get to do something I love and meet all these amazing people [is great]," she added.

The Heat actress allowed that "every time [there was] a first — the first time I got to write something, the first time I got to produce and the first time that I really realized I have a voice and I need to use it" — have definitely been standouts.

"And I'm proud every time my girls get to see that you can have an opinion, you can take your place in the world, and you can still do it kindly," McCarthy said.

Watch the full episode of The Beautiful Issue Cover Story: Melissa McCarthy

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