Julianne Moore wasn't "perceived as pretty" until she swapped her glasses for contact lenses.
The 'Still Alice' actress still doesn't understand why her classmates didn't think she was "terribly pretty" until she ditched her specs when she was 16 years old because she was still the same person on the inside.
She said: "That's the thing about beauty, it's perceptual, not about what you look like.
"I had glasses and no-one thought I was terribly attractive. Then suddenly, I wore contacts and everyone thought I was pretty. But I was the same person perceived as pretty."
The 54-year-old actress - who has children Cal, 17, and Liv, 12, with husband Bart Freundlich - has ruled out undergoing cosmetic surgery and can't understand why people think it will make them look younger.
She added: "I don't know why people have work done. It doesn't make them look younger, it just makes them look like they've had work done.
"You're never going to look like you did at 25. What are you going to do about it?"
Though Julianne has happily stripped in several of her movies, she admits she doesn't always feel good about herself.
Asked if she is comfortable in her own body, she told Psychologies magazine: "I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I don't think anybody is comfortable in their own skin.
"Sometimes you think, 'This is who I want to be' and you feel quite good about it, you feel attractive. But it's not possible to feel good about yourself at all times."
Tagged in Julianne Moore