Kate Beckinsale used to spend photo shoots in tears.
The 45-year-old actress – who has daughter Lily, 19, with former partner Michael Sheen – still doesn’t feel entirely comfortable in front of the camera but admitted she’s never been particularly glamorous in her everyday life.
She said: "I can’t help feeling everybody would rather have a model. Almost every photoshoot I did before the age of 25 I would at some point be crying in the bathroom.
"It wasn’t until my late 20s that I started feeling a bit more confident. In films I’d look alright, but in my personal life, I was literally in pyjamas and cutting my hair with nail scissors."
But the ‘Farming’ actress feels grateful she’s never felt defined by her appearance because that would have made her "tiresome".
She said: "I wasn’t someone who felt defined by what I looked like. I’m glad I wasn’t thinking I was hot s**t back then, it makes for a tiresome person."
While Kate will accept compliments about her looks, she doesn’t want to be seen as just a pretty face, especially as she can’t help her appearance.
She said: "It’s not annoying if somebody pays a nice compliment but if people think that my looks are all that’s going on, it’s a bit tiresome. It’s also nothing to do with me.
"This is what my parents made, I can’t take any credit for it.
"My mum looks amazing, she looks 30 years younger than she is."
For her latest role in ‘Farming’, Kate’s make-up artist took great pleasure in making her look dowdy for her role as an abusive, neglectful foster parent.
She added to Tatler magazine: "My make-up artist was very excited to paint my teeth brown and put wrinkles on me.
"What I liked so much about the character is that even though she did some [questionable] thngs, it’s still a love story between a boy and his mother."
Kate Beckinsale’s teary photo shoots
