One of the main reasons why we love Rita Ora? Her confidence. Whenever we see the 24-year-old out and about, the “Black Widow” singer always keeps her head high in the boldest fashion statements. However, the Rita we know and love always wasn’t like this.
In a recent interview with Yahoo! Beauty‘s editor-in-chief Bobbi Brown, the British pop star spills about dealing with bullies and learning to be comfortable in her own skin.
“I matured much earlier when I was growing up. I started my period when I was, like 13. I started to get breasts and a butt way younger than other kids. I went to musical theater school where we would wear leotards for dance classes, so you couldn’t really hide anything. I used to get bullied for it. And then at 16, when peoples’ hormones started kicking in, I was all hot again. I think it definitely was a crazy teenage confusion for me. Meeting my fans now they’re like, “Thank you so much for being so comfortable in your skin.” I think they are more grateful for that than for anything. It’s important for someone’s state of mind to feel comfortable instead of feeling like they have to fit in all the time.”
As the interview goes on, Rita talks about her newest collaboration with Rimmel London and her drive towards creativity. She also opens up about her past and why her mother is her hero and mentor. Check out some of the highlights below.
On her collaboration with Rimmel London: “It’s actually my second collection with them. It’s a really cool collab. It was really something I wanted to get into. I was really obsessed with the boldness of the colors. I went to the factory and met the whole gang. I wanted to do a spectrum that was really opposite my personality, which was girliness. I’m not really the girliest person in the world, and it’s lovely to see the pastel pinks. I like to experiment with my look and my image.”
On her drive towards creativity: “I see myself as more of a free-thinking artist. I think nowadays artists have changed so much, the things we are exposed to socially. I’m the person who likes to spread my wings and get involved and create this brand I’ve been working on for so long.”
On why her mother is her hero and mentor: “She moved us from Albania to London when I was one. [She] didn’t speak a word of English, was diagnosed with breast cancer, beat that bastard off, and now she’s been clean for five years, and she’s so happy and her life is so great. That for me is a hero. She’s my inspiration. She’s the one that makes me work every single day.”
