Anya Taylor-Joy was targeted by cruel school bullies who tormented her over her looks.
'The Queen's Gambit' star has opened up about her early years after moving from her native Argentina to London and she's revealed she went through a difficult time as she struggled to fit in with schoolmates who made fun of her appearance.
Speaking on 'The Drew Barrymore Show', Anya explained: "I was very, very lucky with my parents because when I was bullied for my looks my mom always said you look at the inside of somebody.
"You look at the inside of somebody you don’t look at class, you don’t look at anything like that.
"You don’t look at what they do for a job, it’s just do you like that person’s heart? And I really have to give a big shout out to my mom for that because it was really helpful."
Anya was six when her family moved to the UK and she didn't speak a word of English. They went on to move to New York when she was 14 and she ended up leaving school two years later to pursue an acting career.
She's previously spoken out about her insecurities over her appearance insisting she will always see herself as "weird-looking".
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, she explained: "I have never and I don't think I will ever think of myself as beautiful. I don't think I’m beautiful enough to be in films. It sounds pathetic and my boyfriend warns me people will think I'm an absolute d*** for saying these things, but I just think I'm weird-looking.
"I won't go to the cinema to watch my own film, I'll watch it before. The beauty of being in your own skin is that you don't have to look at your own face."
Speaking about her star turn in 2020 film 'Emma', Anya revealed she struggled on set because she didn't think she was beautiful enough for the lead role.
She added: "I genuinely had a panic attack on Emma because I thought, 'I am the first ugly Emma and I can't do this,' because the first line in the movie is, 'I'm handsome, clever and rich'."
