Priyanka Chopra Recalls Being Bullied, Told 'Go Back to Your Country'
"I was really scared," the "Quantico" star said. "I could not deal with it."
— -- Priyanka Chopra is a successful TV and movie star, but her life wasn't always so perfect.
The "Quantico" actress told New You magazine that after she moved to America from India as a teen, she was bullied by girls at school.
"There was this bunch of girls who were just mean to me. When you are 14 and 15, it’s a big deal to be called 'brownie' and hear, 'Go back to your country,'" she told the magazine. "At the time, I was really scared. I felt I could not deal with it and thought I should go home."
Chopra, 33, did go back to India, where she went on to win Miss India and Miss World in 2000. Chopra said she feels more confident now than she did as a teen.
"I got up one day and said, 'Enough.' The color of my skin, the hair I have — there are so many things about me that may not be conventional. But as soon as I chose to own it and walk out the door wearing confidence, people looked at me differently," she said.
She also wants to inspire other girls who may be struggling with self-esteem issues to embrace their flaws and go after the things they want. Her parents taught her to be independent, she said, and she hopes that others can learn to be the same way.
"I believe girls all over the world [have been] raised to believe that we need to be protected, or need someone else to feel validated and strong. Now we are in a time where we are enough. We are complete as ourselves, and our flaws make us unique. Perfection is boring anyway," she said. "As soon as you find and identify your flaws, there’s no one who can be like you. From that you can take your confidence."