For years, she believed that her smile could close doors for her, until it became part of what made her unforgettable.
Aimee Lou Wood, known for playing Aimee Gibbs in Sex Education, said that she was bullied during her teenage years because of her appearance. One of the boys even called her “Bugs Bunny” because of her teeth, which ended up fueling many of her insecurities.
Later, she decided to write to him, and he replied that he felt guilty about what he had done. Aimee described that exchange as a kind of catharsis.
Her insecurities also affected her relationship with her body. While studying acting, she suffered from anorexia and bulimia, and it was her own classmates who pushed her to seek help.
Even when she auditioned for Sex Education, she thought she didn’t fit the role of Aimee because she didn’t look like “the pretty girl” on television.
Years later, she won a BAFTA and turned precisely those features that had made her doubt herself so much into part of her identity.
What they had used for years to make her feel lesser ended up being one of the things that made her unmistakable.