Miley Cyrus has revealed that playing perky pop princess Hannah Montana left her with severe body dysmorphia, as she suffered severe anxiety attacks as a teenager and had to put her TV commitments before her first period.
The singer spoke to Marie Claire about being comfortable in her own skin, and though her recent behaviour is often considered controversial or edgy, the 22-year-old said that the pressure of trying to be someone else had a hugely negative impact on her life when she was younger.
"I was told for so long what a girl is supposed to be from being on that show," she said.
"From the time I was 11, it was 'You’re a pop star! That means you have to be blonde, and you have to have long hair, and you have to put on some glittery tight thing.'"
She said she was made to feel like the excessive make-up and wigs were the only way she could achieve prettiness, and that following the show’s conclusion, she struggled with her identity.
"I was made to look like someone that I wasn't, which probably caused some body dysmorphia because I had been made pretty every day for so long, and then when I wasn’t on that show it was like, 'Who the f**k am I?'" she said.
Cyrus, who is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, said she even had her first period while filming the show, but she had to put her TV commitments first.
"It was so embarrassing, but I couldn't leave," she said. "And I was crying, begging my mom, 'You're going to have to put the tampon in. I have to be on set.""
Cyrus also goes on to describe the anxiety attacks she suffered as a young child star, saying she experienced hot flashes that made her feel like she was going to throw up.
"I would be with my friends, thinking, 'I should be having so much fun'. You get in this hole that seems like you're never going to be able to get out of.”
