Actress Danielle Brooks Features in Glamour Magazine. Talks Self-Acceptance and Self-Love.

Danielle Brooks Orange Is the New Black


Shot by Caitlin Mitchell for Glamour magazine, “Orange is the New Black” actress Danielle Brooks looks amazing in a black, cut out, bodysuit. In an essay for the publication, the 25-year-old Juilliard graduate and South Carolina native, talks about her road to self-acceptance.

“Being a teenager can be one of the hardest phases of a person’s life. For me, I struggled every day tricking myself into appearing confident. After reading over old journal entries, I realized some days were less successful than others. I came across one that took me aback. In this entry, I had written about how insecure I was about my weight. I wasn’t able to wear the flared jeans and cute tops the other girls wore—they didn’t come in my size. On top of that, I was dark-skinned and had natural hair. By the standard definition of beauty I had absorbed from the world around me, I had three strikes against me: I was too dark, too curly, and too fat.

Because of this insecurity, I was desperately unhappy. I was even having suicidal thoughts. But you wouldn’t have known it. The world saw a young teenage girl who was happy in her skin, laughed a lot, and didn’t care what anyone thought about her. The truth of the matter was I wasn’t happy in my skin; I laughed to hide my pain, and cared deeply what my peers thought of my appearance—to the point that I even was having suicidal thoughts. But you wouldn’t have known it.”

Read more at Glamour.

P.S. “Orange is the New Black” Season 3 premieres on Netflix on June 12th.