Reese Witherspoon reveals she was a 'late developer' and that she hid her 'embarrassing' body

While all have our own insecurities growing up, we often fail to think that our favourite celebrities might have had them too. Always impeccably glam and confident, we'd never imagine that these A-listers with their professional talents, fame and fortune would ever have had any kind of self-doubt too.

But Legally Blonde actress Reese Witherspoon has opened up to reveal she had the same teenage insecurities that many of us faced. The 42-year-old from New Orleans recently revealed in an interview that she was "embarrassed" about her body during high school.

Reese spoke about her insecurities during an interview with Glamour, sitting together with A Wrinkle In Time co-stars Mindy Kaling and Oprah. The three stars play a trio of witches who help protagonist Meg on her planet-hopping quest to find her scientist father. Meg struggles to fit in at school, which prompted the interviewer to ask the three actresses about their own insecurities growing up.

"I was a late developer," Reese revealed. "When I was 14, all of the other girls had boobs and stuff, and I was so embarrassed that I didn't."

"I would hide in the locker room and change my clothes in a way that no-one would ever see my body."

While Reese revealed it was that she was a "late developer" that made her feel "embarrassed" about her body, Oprah said it was the pair of glasses she grew up wearing that she felt self-conscious about. Mindy said "I did not like the way that I looked", adding that she thought she didn't resemble the "ideal standard of beauty" where she grew up. The The Office actress said it was only in her thirties that she really became more confident.

Despite everything, all three women have gone incredibly far with their careers and their own personal ambition.

Reese's insecurities as a teen weren't the only confidence issues she's had. She previously admitted she was one of the celebrities who was told she wasn't "pretty enough" to make it in Hollywood. The 42-year-old told You magazine, "People may think I have this dream life, but for years I worried about my looks."

"I thought I was too short or not thin enough to be a Hollywood star. I was constantly being told, 'No, not right, not tall enough, not pretty enough, not sexy enough'. I wasn't allowed to audition for roles because they saw me as too cute and girlie.

"So I decided if I was to succeed I had to face facts. I could never be the sexiest, thinnest girl in Hollywood."

The star says that hypnosis helped her overcome her irrational doubts, saying in particular that they helped with panic attacks she got right before starting a movie.

The Oscar-winner has recently moved her focus onto producing films after starting her own film production company, Pacific Standard, in 2012. It came about due to her frustration with the lack of female representation – both in lead roles, but also in directorial and production efforts – which spurred her decision to just do it herself.

“What is this? There’s no [parts for] women, and there’s no female directors, and I just don’t get it,” she told Vulture.

Well, despite all the insecurities she had growing up, there's no doubt that Reese has come a long way with her own personal achievements, as well as by paving a new industry of opportunities for women in the future.