Anya Taylor-Joy says she was bullied in school for the way she looks

The future is looking incredibly bright for Anya Taylor-Joy - but she's had to overcome some obstacles to get to where she is today.

The 26-year-old rose to fame with her performances in the Netflix hit show The Queen's Gambit and Peaky Blinders, and has recently starred in blockbuster movies including The Northman and Last Night In Soho.

She also received the actress award at the Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards 2022.

But back when she was at high school, Taylor-Joy said she was bullied for her looks and was taunted by classmates.

Thankfully, her parents were by her side to support her through it.

"I was very, very lucky with my parents because when I was bullied for my looks my mum always said you look at the inside of somebody," she said on The Drew Barrymore Show.

"You look at the inside of somebody you don't look at class, you don't look at anything like that."

She added: "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 mum for that because it was really helpful."

Taylor-Joy has been open about how she feels about her looks in the past.

Speaking to The Sun in 2020, she said: "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**k 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."

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.'"

The star was born in the US and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before moving to London when she was eight.

As such, she felt she never quite fit in anywhere.

REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

She explained: "Argentina is all green and I had horses and animals everywhere. All of a sudden I was in a big city and didn't speak the language. I didn't really feel like I fitted in anywhere.

"I was too English to be Argentine, too Argentine to be English, too American to be anything.

"The kids just didn't understand me in any shape or form. I used to get locked in lockers. I spent a lot of time in school crying in bathrooms.

"I was so lonely as a kid. I felt so isolated that I created this story in my head about lonely was bad, being alone was bad.

"That can be quite an impactful feeling, especially if you've taught yourself to fear it."