6 Wildly Successful Women and Their Body Insecurities

“I had really bad acne at 19 and even though the physical scars have gone, I still have anxiety about it. I do feel that I need to constantly be looking after it and that if I don’t things could flair up again. It can be quite exhausting. I often find things are so much worse in my head whilst the reality is often very different.

Marketing from the beauty industry tells women that we ‘need’ something that is going to change our lives. Striving to be perfect has become a generational obsession. I think we can always look back and admire 'simpler’ times through rose-tinted glasses, but there is something to be said between living life in a simple way and being happy.

I look after a 97-year-old lady who just radiates body contentment. Even though she might not leave the house, she will still get dressed and put on jewellery. She takes care of herself: her hair, teeth and nails and she eats really well. She enjoys life and I think this shines through. Her body is just a tool for her to connect with the world.”

“In comedy, I feel like we are making tracks now about the relationship between women and their bodies. It’s starting to become acceptable not to be perfect. It’s OK for women to be funny and point out their flaws. A brilliant example has to be Amy Schumer, who takes the piss out of her weight and uses jokes about her looks to explore what culture is saying about women. I often make a joke out of the fact that I have a big nose, I’m really tall and I’m flat chested. It’s a way of getting people to be endeared to Meg’s character in Drifters.

Yes, there’s a certain amount of vanity about being on telly. The broadcasters and directors do encourage good looks and sex appeal because basically sex sells, but I don’t feel like it’s as important for comedy. In fact, the reverse is often true: the less attractive you are the funnier you are! I’m happy to be on screen without make up and I love to take the piss out of the way the world wants women to look a certain way. If you did do what everyone told you to do with your face then you’d look hideous – over bronzed, clumps of make-up on… Ridiculous.

My attitude towards my body is healthy but push me onto the red carpet, knowing there’ll be loads of paparazzi there, and I’ll want to drop a dress size.

That’s really bad, isn’t it? It’s true though. I put it down to a vile, dangerous and almost unconscious expectation for women to look a certain way. That said, I have a very sexy friend who is Burlesque dancer and she is so glamorous and always wears such good makeup. We were having a drink and she lifted up her arm and she had loads of thick hair there. I thought to myself, ‘You radical b*tch. Bloody brilliant.’

I do want a culture change where women can assess their priorities and focus on internal, mental and emotional wellbeing. I feel like the more we talk about it the better we’ll get at that.”

“I’m obsessed with my thighs. I always have been. I think it’s because when I sit down they are the part of me that I can see. I have bony, weak arms that I feel are unattractive and I feel insecure about being out of proportion. Even in my mind, I know that it’s not a problem but that doesn’t make it go away. It’s always an issue for me. A negative thought about my thighs crops up weekly. I try to think of things I can do to make them smaller.

Doing make-up is fun and doesn’t feel like a job, but hair removal is a chore and it’s expensive. If I felt like I didn’t need to shave, then I wouldn’t.

I think shaving leg hair is associated with pleasing a man. My girlfriend thought I was single for a period of time just because I had let my body hair grow.

So, why am I doing this? And why do I feel so shit if I don’t do it? And why do guys have to do nothing? It just drives me mad that I spend time and money shaving my legs, and then scratching my legs because it’s irritated my skin, so I then have to buy another product to solve that problem!

I think it’s really important that we talk openly about this stuff and don’t judge someone if they choose to not wax. The worst thing that girls do to each other is to get competitive about beauty regimes and weight loss. It’s unhelpful and immature.”

“I think women are judged far more for their looks than ever before because of more photos and social media. I find that when a woman looks at a photo of herself, she is not looking at it as a photo (if the composition or light is nice) but she tends to look at the details about her body; if her hair or skin looks perfect.

I feel more confident about my looks than I did ten years ago. I have a boyish figure so knowing what outfits work on my frame helps me to feel good. I don’t ever daydream about changing my body. I’m by no means perfect, but I just accept what I have. Maybe it’s age or a state of mind but I’m just happy that my body is healthy and all the bits work in the way that they are intended to.”

“There are only a small percentage of people who make money out of how they look. The reality is that the photos have been so airbrushed and tampered with. It’s hyper sensitised, it’s not real and it depicts an ideal that this is how women should look in clothes.

Weirdly, working in this environment has made me more content with how I look. I’ve noticed that perceptions of beauty are changing. People are more interested in personality, how people live their lives, who they are friends with and what PJs they wear.

I wish I could say that I love all parts of my body but I try not to dwell because it’s not helpful and doesn’t exude confidence. No one is perfection. I’m a huge lover of food and cooking, so I’d rather cook what I want rather than worry about carbs. Loads of pasta and parmesan makes my soul smile. Sophia Loren got it totally spot on when she said, “I owe all this to spaghetti’. I just make sure that I do exercise three times a week to keep my mental health and confidence levels good.”

“I come from a different culture where to have a fuller figure is to be classed as content. If you look healthy and have curves then that translates to being happy in your life. Whereas, Western people have remarked on how great it is that I’m naturally thin.

With me being a chef, people think I must feed everyone but myself. Food is incredibly important to me, especially with me owning my restaurant – it’s my home! In my culture, you have to cook with love because it gets passed onto the people who eat it. I make sure that I always eat good food and be around good people because it feeds into my inner positivity.

In general though, comments from other people about my body don’t bother me because I have my own identity and it’s not drawn from what I look like. I feel positive about what I am and I don’t try to be someone else. I like to dress up and look nice but it’s not something I thrive on. I don’t expect compliments and I like to nurture my inner strength to ignore criticism.”