She might be one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, but according to Kerry Washington herself, she never thought she was "pretty enough" while growing up. The Scandal star opens up about her self-esteem issues and how she likes to keep her private life private.

In an interview with Marie Claire magazine this month (via E! News), Washington admits that she didn't always think she was a "looker."

She said, "I didn't grow up thinking I was pretty; there was always a prettier girl than me. So I learned to be smart and tried to be funny and develop the inside of me, because I felt like that's what I had."

Kerry Washington Preps For The Return Of 'Scandal'

Washington also admits that she wasn't always such a private person in her life. The Hollywood beauty admits that there was a moment in her life when she was a little "too open" about everything that was going on in her private life and that she regrets sharing too much information about herself.

She said, "Earlier in my career I was much more super-sharey. There were moments when I wanted to process things that were happening to me more privately, and I didn't have the space to do it, because once you let people in, they're in and you don't get to say, 'Oh, I want this for myself.'"

As far as her 10-month-old daughter Isabelle, Washington adds, "I just want to know that she's heard. Really heard, because I feel like that is what we all really want. When I think about any of the missteps in my life that I've made, all of which I'm grateful for, it's because I just so wanted to be truly seen and heard for who I am and was afraid I wasn't or wouldn't be. I see you, I hear you, I'm with you as you are."

For more, pick up the latest issue of Marie Claire, available on newsstands now.

Tags
Kerry Washington