Sometimes it’s easy to forget that even the most beautiful and talented actresses face body confidence issues, and that’s certainly the case for Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner. Turner recently chatted about what it was like dealing with body image issues while growing up in Hollywood.
Now, you have to remember, that when Sophie first auditioned for Game of Thrones, she was only 13! So she’s pretty much dealt with puberty entirely in the public eye. She told Porter magazine,
“I was consumed with thoughts on weight and the idea that you have to be skinny to be an actress, and that I wasn’t skinny enough to get jobs. There are times when I have done jobs and they’ve told me that I have to lose weight, even when it has nothing to do with the character: It is so f—– up.”
She added,
“It’s a real problem in the industry and as much as I would like to be the champion for girls who aren’t skinny minis, it is so difficult to do that and maintain a career. So now I think as long as I work out and I’m healthy that is what is important, but also to keep speaking about it.”
She said she used to really struggled with her self-image and it wasn’t until she was forced to get a personal trainer for her role in X-Men that she was started to appreciate herself. She previously told The Edit,
“Before I got [the trainer], I went through a bit of a dark place, I was not happy with myself. I think for me, and for every young girl out there, body image is such a big thing, especially if you are in the public eye. People comment on [your appearance] and… Ugh.”
She added,
“So when I was forced to get into shape and eat healthily, my skin cleared up and I felt energetic all the time. It totally changed me.”
Since then, she’s made it her mission to speak out on the issue of body positivity.
“I just think it’s really horrible that women are body shaming each other and fat shaming each other when women should be championing each other.”
