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I was a pretty insecure kid, didn't have a lot of friends, and was picked on a lot, and music gave me confidence.

From as far back as I can remember, I was always insecure about my looks, whether it was my flat chest, my skinny legs, or how to cope with my body as it changed. With hindsight, I can see I was different. I was given a body that worked for photographic modelling and a photogenic face.

I didn't have any confidence in my beauty when I was young. I felt like a character actress, and I still do.

When I was very young I never thought I was attractive, because I was a tomboy and I was always the biggest girl in the class.

People always had something to say about the fact I was odd looking, bigger than other people, that I was awkward. When I discovered punk, I bought into it. That look, combined with being fat, made me even less of what people thought a young woman should be.

When I was younger, I was chubby. It gave me a terrible sense of self-image, and I guess I carry that around with me still.

I thought I wasn't attractive or talented anymore. I cried easily and was depressed and removed. I became emotionally insecure about what the second half of my life would bring. I was angry, scared, frightened and lonely.

My mum never told me that I was beautiful when I was a kid - and I didn't read magazines or watch MTV, so I had no real consciousness about it all.

When I wasn't as attractive as I am now, I suffered at the hands of cruel children and their taunts until I realised that confidence and a bit of aesthetic care can overcome that.