Jodie Turner-Smith Looks Like a Totally Different Woman With Long Hair

Kayla Greaves

Jodie Turner-Smith made waves this fall as the leading lady of the instant box office hit Queen & Slim, and she's been having fun while out promoting the film by trying out different hairstyles for her short cut.

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BEAUTY FLASHBACK: #QueenAndSlim Premiere✨💜✨💜✨💜✨ had to take a moment to appreciate this look and the efforts of my amazing glam team! old hollywood meets new hollywood with finger waves and graphic liner above a patent leather choker and silk plissé gown 🖤💜 (with a very goofy photobomb in pic 2 from my #MCM & #MCE)

A post shared by Jodie Turner-Smith (@jodiesmith) on Nov 18, 2019 at 9:25am PST

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On Dec. 17, the actress posted an early TBT of her high school yearbook photos where she had long, straight hair. In the caption, Turner-Smith opened up about her journey to getting to a place where she felt comfortable in her own skin.

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Proof That The Glow Up Has Been Really Real 😅😅😅 it’s been soooo long since i’ve seen these pictures, but because the internet is undefeated, i found them! a blast from the past! i’m humbled when i look at this girl. 17 year old me. not just because of how i look on the outside, but because i remember how i felt on the inside. i remember how badly i hated myself and hated the dark skin that made people call me ugly. how i turned my helplessness at being unable to change my outward appearance inward, by constantly cleaving away any and all parts of myself that i was told made me unacceptable to others. how i changed my voice, changed my hair, became captain of this and president of that, used my intelligence to build a wall around me, spent years in the practice of bending and shaping myself into the most acceptable form of Jodie for the people around me until there was nothing of me left but hate for a person i didn’t recognise and fear that i had become someone it was impossible to come back from... AND, MY GOD, IT WAS EXHAUSTING! but i say all that to say this— i am grateful for the girl in these photos and for every part of this journey. because i couldn’t be me, now, if i wasn’t first her, then. when you know what it feels like to hate yourself, finally loving yourself is a freedom that cannot be matched by anyone else’s approval 🥰🥰🥰 also worth noting— i was voted Most Likely To Succeed! but we all thought it would be in somebody’s office 🤓

A post shared by Jodie Turner-Smith (@jodiesmith) on Dec 17, 2019 at 12:33pm PST

"I’m humbled when I look at this girl. 17 year old me. Not just because of how I look on the outside, but because I remember how I felt on the inside," she wrote. "I remember how badly I hated myself and hated the dark skin that made people call me ugly. How I turned my helplessness at being unable to change my outward appearance inward, by constantly cleaving away any and all parts of myself that I was told made me unacceptable to others."

The actress went on to describe how at the time she exhausted herself by trying to change her appearance in an effort to be more acceptable to those around her. But looking back now, she sees a totally different girl.

"I am grateful for the girl in these photos and for every part of this journey," she shared. "Because I couldn’t be me, now, if I wasn’t first her, then. When you know what it feels like to hate yourself, finally loving yourself is a freedom that cannot be matched by anyone else’s approval. Also worth noting — I was voted Most Likely To Succeed! But we all thought it would be in somebody’s office."

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It's refreshing to see Turner-Smith reflect on her journey in such a positive light. And whether she's on the big screen, or sharing throwback photos on Instagram, she's always keeping us inspired — both when it comes to learning to love ourselves and the way we wear our hair.