Audrey Hepburn didn’t think she was pretty

Audrey Hepburn in an irrefutable beauty icon, but her son reveals that she was very critical of her looks.

In an interview about his new book about his mother, Audrey’s son Luca Dotti Audrey in Rome tells Vanity Fair:

“She thought she had a big nose and big feet, and she was too skinny and not enough breast. She would look in the mirror and say, ‘I don’t understand why people see me as beautiful.'”

If Audrey Hepburn didn’t think she was beautiful, what chance do the rest of us have at any chance of self esteem? But seriously, when we look at ourselves, even if we’re Audrey Hepburn, it’s so easy to pick apart all the flaws we see. (Usually when we look at old photographs and can ignore the questionable fashion choices, we often think “Oh, I looked so good then! Why didn’t I appreciate it then?”) The only thing we can do is appreciate how we look, now at this moment, and not get obsessed down about the noses and ears and shape that makes us distinctive.

Or maybe she wasn’t self-critical like most of us, and was just humblebragging.

Audrey in Rome is out April 16, and looks like a delightful coffee table book flush with candid photographs from the style icon’s 20 years in her favorite city.