Zoe Kravitz “felt like a freak” at school because of the color of her skin.
The 29-year-old actress has revealed that because she went to a private school in Miami where most of the students were white, she felt out of place, and wanted to start “straightening her hair” to remind people that she “was half white”, rather than embracing the things that made her different.
She said: “[Growing up] was a rough time for someone trying to discover who they are. I went to a private school in Miami, surrounded by wealthy kids, mostly white. I felt like a freak because my hair was different, and little kids would come up and say, ‘Can I feel your hair?’ The things that made me different were the things I didn’t like about myself; I wanted to straighten my hair, remind people that I was half white.”
The ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ star – who is the daughter of musical icon Lenny Kravitz – felt “awkward” growing up, but says she’s now thankful of her weird phases because she thinks being different made her “develop her personality”.
She added: “I went through a really awkward phase. I was short and brown, surrounded by tall girls with boobs and blonde hair. And my dad was dating supermodels, so I was waking up to Adriana Lima. I didn’t have beauty as a crutch, and I’m thankful for that because I had to develop my personality.”
Zoe still feels “insecure” about her looks, but says she’s working on loving herself, and can’t believe people on the street tell her she’s beautiful.
Speaking to the December issue of ELLE UK, the ‘Big Little Lies’ actress said: “People come up to me on the street and tell me I’m beautiful and I still feel insecure. It’s important to be humble but I also want to feel beautiful. I want to love myself. That energy affects your health.”
