Singer and actress Louise Redknapp has said that she was held back by her looks, despite being voted as one of the sexiest women in the world, and that she spent much of her time worrying about how she looked.
Louise Redknapp has opened up about how her struggles with body image and confidence held her back in her early career. Despite being named one of the world’s sexiest women, the 50 year old singer, said she battled with insecurities about her appearance, which affected her self-esteem and confidence.
After becoming a mother, her confidence took a hit due to a flare-up of her skin issues. She revealed that dealing with skin conditions and the anxiety of being photographed unexpectedly stopped her from living in the moment and fully enjoying life. Her concerns about her looks also held her back professionally.
The former Eternal band member expressed: “There’s been lots of times in life that maybe being worried [about] how I looked has held me back from really living in the moment and enjoying things.
“Every moment being on the beach, worrying that somebody might take a picture of you in an unflattering angle – I spent most of my holidays lying flat in the hope that no one would spot me.”
Her self-esteem took a further hit due to her struggles with skin pigmentation, which was particularly severe in her twenties. A dermatologist once told her that the pigmentation she experienced after childbirth was among the worst they had seen in a long time.
“I looked like I had the world map on my face,” she said, admitting that particularly time really impacted her. “It really affected my confidence, because on one hand, I was so happy having this gorgeous baby, and on the other hand, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my face.”
Louise opened up about her personal battles after joining forces with other celebrities for the ‘I AM… Thiamidol’ campaign, which aims to empower people who suffer from hyperpigmentation. The campaign features four raw interviews where each star shares their path to skin confidence.
The initiative saw Love Island’s Dani Dyer, relationship guru and Married At First Sight co-host Paul C Brunson, writer Louise Pentland, and herself take part in a live billboard event orchestrated by Beiersdorf, the parent company of NIVEA and Eucerin.
Despite previous challenges with her appearance, Louise is hopeful that current popstars have the freedom to show more vulnerability than she experienced during her heyday in the 90s and early 2000s.
Reflecting on her own experiences, she remarked: “I think I come from an era in music where everything was so sort of perfect and you never really got to show your true self at all, because every time you went out and you did anything, there was hair, there was makeup, there was the whole kind of showbiz element behind it.
“I feel as time’s gone on, especially in today’s world, we’re so open about talking about mental health, anxiety, actually, talking about yourself, which shows a real of strength and character.”
Even when she’s having a bad skin day, she now has ways to try to stay positive, adding: ““I think we’ve got to accept we’re not always going to stay really positive but remember that not everybody’s seeing what you’re seeing.
“The things that we think are terrible – blemishes on our face, pigment on our face – people might notice it, but it’s not the first thing they judge you on, and if it is, you don’t want to know them anyway.
“Trying to keep a positive mental attitude is really tough but just remember that everybody’s fighting their own battles and believe you me, whatever you’re fighting at that time will not beat the forefront of their mind.”
Find out more about the I AM.. Thiamidol campaign by visiting @nivea_uk on Instagram.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
