It is hard to imagine that an actress as glamorous as Anya Taylor-Joy would ever be subjected to insulting remarks about her physical appearance, yet, here we are.
Upon being cast in the 2016 film Split, Anya sat down with W Magazine to discuss her rise to fame.
During the interview, the reporter described the at-the-time 20-year-old actress’ eyes as “beautiful” before adding: "They’re so far apart."
The interviewer proceeded to ask: "When you were a kid, did they make you self-conscious?”
Anya replied by reflecting back on hurtful remarks she had received about her looks in the past, particularly when bullies could hide behind social media, as per Unilad.
A resurfaced interview of a 20-year-old Anya Taylor-Joy shed on her experience of being bullied for her eyes
Image credits: anyataylorjoy
Image credits: W Magazine
She recalled a specific heartbreaking event, as she said: "I can definitely remember when Facebook was a thing and I was never aware that my eyes were far apart and then someone tagged me in a picture with a fish and they were like, 'This is you 'cause your eyes are like here.'
"And I was really upset about it and I didn’t enjoy it and I kind of stopped looking in mirrors for a very long time."
The Queen’s Gambit star went on to admit that at the time of the interview, she still didn't “really spend a lot of time in front of mirrors” so she wouldn't have to “deal with [her] face”.
She then quipped: "Unfortunately, y’all do.”
In 2016, Anya was asked by an interviewer for W Magazine if she had ever felt self-conscious about her eyes being "so far apart"
Image credits: W Magazine
Image credits: anyataylorjoy
Anya further recalled another sad memory from her childhood, confessing about a time when the placement of her eyes impacted her ability to play sports.
She said: "I will say, though, that it’s interesting in sports, because I became very aware that when I was smaller, my head was a lot more compact and so my eyes really were on both sides of my face."
Image credits: W Magazine
Image credits: W Magazine
Image credits: The Drew Barrymore Show
"It became common knowledge in the playground that if you wanted me to catch a ball, you had to throw it at the side of my head ’cause if you just threw it straight here, I’d just be like, 'Oh, my God. What? What happened? What’s going on?'"
At the time of the interview, Anya concluded: "I’m kind of growing into myself.
“I’m a bit less awkward.
“Though I’m still growing a lot. I’m still getting taller – I grew like two inches last year.
“I don’t really know what to do with all of my limbs."
Anya recalled being continuously bullied in school in an interview for The Drew Barrymore Show
Image credits: The Drew Barrymore Show
Image credits: anyataylorjoy
Last year, Anya shed more light on her school bullies by appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show.
She recalled: I was very, very lucky with my parents because when I was bullied for my looks my mom always said you look at the inside of somebody.
“You look at the inside of somebody, you don’t look at class, you don’t look at anything like that."
“I didn’t really feel like I fitted in anywhere," Anya recalled as she spoke about her Argentinian roots and living abroad
Image credits: The Drew Barrymore Show
The 5'8" beauty further explained: “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 mom for that because it was really helpful.”
For the first six years of her life, The Witch actress was raised in Argentina until her family – whom she once called ‘nomadic, traveling gypsies, really’ – moved to London, as per the Daily Mail.
Image credits: anyataylorjoy
Anya recalled: “Argentina is all green and I had horses and animals everywhere – all of a sudden I was in a big city and I 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 movie star was born in Miami, Florida.
Anya continued: “The kids just didn’t understand me in any shape or form.
“I used to get locked in lockers.”
"I was very, very lucky with my parents because when I was bullied for my looks, my mom always said you look at the inside of somebody," Anya said
Image credits: anyataylorjoy
You can watch Anya's interview with W Magazine below:
Image credits: W Magazine
You can watch the interview with Anya on The Drew Barrymore Show below:
Image credits: The Drew Barrymore Show
After spending a lot of time in school “crying in bathrooms”, the award-winning talent revealed that she moved to New York at the age of 14, giving up school two years later to pursue acting.
Anya is now a fully grown 27-year-old adult, and has gone on to become not only recognized for her talents, appearing in various successful movies such as the 2022 film The Menu, but also for her unique beauty.
The actress went on to wed musician Malcolm McRae in an intimate courthouse wedding in September.
Fans agreed that Anya's eyes were "her best feature"
