Julia Stiles Gave Super-Rare Details About the Disturbing Criticism She Got as a 17-Year-Old Actress

Julia Stiles has been in Hollywood for decades, first hitting superstardom at only 17 years old for her breakthrough role in 10 Things I Hate About You . However, before her role as Kate, she starred in films like Wicked, The Devil’s Own, and Wide Awake . And despite being such a beloved celebrity, she got a lot of disturbing criticisms early in her career.

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In a super-rare interview with Yahoo Entertainment , Stiles revealed the disturbing criticism she got as a literal teenager.

“That was my first big movie. I was a 17-year-old auditioning actress. So I’m trying to figure out who I am as a person, and then also getting all this criticism and feedback from the movie industry,” she said.

Now, what was this criticism? Well, people told her to lighten up and be more sexy…. as a child. As a teenager, we can’t stress this enough. “A lot of it was negative. A lot of it was like, ‘You’re too serious,’ ‘You [need to] lighten up.’ You know, trying to be more appealing sexually, whatever. That can be really disheartening, especially as a teenager. So when I read 10 Things I Hate About You , Kat was so refreshing because I loved how unapologetic she was,” she added.

We can’t believe she had to face that, and at such a young age. Sadly, many actresses have dealt with this and have recently spoken out about it, like Dakota Fanning , Elle Fanning, Christina Ricci, and more.

But we’re glad they didn’t let the criticisms get to them, and truly, Stiles has been thriving ever since the hit 1999 film.