If there's one celebrity story that we're tired of hearing, it's the one about all of these so-called "ugly ducklings" who grew up to become supermodels. I mean, come on. One or two stories are believable, but does anyone actually buy it when Christie Brinkley laments about how hideous she was at 16, while still stopping traffic at age 60? There's no way. It's refreshing to learn that at least one gorgeous celeb isn't pretending she was anything less than insanely beautiful as a teen. Zero Dark Thirty star Jessica Chastain recently posted a throwback photo from high school that proves 99 percent of celebrity "ugly ducklings" are lying through their teeth.
Jessica recently admitted that she never actually graduated from El Camino Fundamental High School in California, namely necause she had racked up too many absences to earn her diploma. She says that experience was a total blow to her confidence and that, even though she eventually earned her adult diploma at Julliard -- which isn't too shabby -- it was difficult for her to shake the feeling that she wasn't as intelligent as everyone else.
Totally sad, and given her enormous talent and her movie success since high school, I'm sure the 37-year-old is a lot more confident these days.
With that said, there's one area I'm guessing she never felt like she was lacking in: the looks department. Jessica must have sat for her senior yearbook portrait before finding out she wasn't going to graduate. Here it is:
How is this portrait even real? How can we be sure this isn't a painting of Jessica? How is it possible the actress didn't have one blemish on her face -- not a single gorgeous red hair out of place?
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Let's remember Jessica took this photo in the mid '90s, and yet, she somehow managed not to look at all dated, which is a miracle. There's no trace of Manic Panic hair dye, no coffee-brown lipstick, no glittery eye shadow. I think her lip liner is slightly too dark, which is the only '90s clues here, but she somehow manages to make it work. I mean, what the hell, Jessica?
Either someone who seriously loves Jessica advised her not to look like she was a Nirvana groupie or this girl just knew how to take a damn good, timeless photo.
Color me impressed. Hands down: best yearbook photo ever.
What do you think of Jessica's yearbook portrait? Does yours look like hers?
Images via chastainiac/Instagram