Despite becoming a Hollywood icon after appearing opposite Roger Moore, Britt Ekland said she thought of herself as a "plain, normal Swedish woman."
A "Bond Girl" is characterized by her beauty, her sophistication, her sex appeal and most importantly, her confidence, which Britt Ekland says was hard to come by.
More than 40 years after the Hollywood temptress shot to fame as Roger Moore's love interest in "The Man with the Golden Gun," Ekland is opening up about her insecure past.
In an interview with U.K. talk show Loose Women, the former actress opened up about her body dysmorphia and self-doubt throughout the 60s and 70s.
"I've always been very insecure and not satisfied with my looks," Ekland said. "I was a plain, normal Swedish woman. There's hundreds like me. They're all beautiful, and blonde, and very natural."
Ekland, who is now 73, recalled having a negative perception of her body since she was 11 or 12, a time when she called herself "a very fat girl."
Her self-consciousness continued as she grew older, when she was teased for her big ears and called "Dumbo," in school.
In her transformation into the iconic Bond girl she is known as today, she said she was even pressured to have her image altered.
Ekland claimed that as soon as she had the contract with the film studio, "they filed down my teeth and they changed my name.
"It's a job," Ekland said. "As an actress, you just do whatever you've been told."
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But looking back, the former actress said she can now look at her photos from the 60s and 70s and appreciate her beauty.
"It's not really until today, when I'm a really old woman, that I can see I'm satisfied," she said. "If I look back now properly, I've had an amazing life."
Even though the mother soon eventually became known for more than just her figure and her films, Ekland said: "I'll always be a Bond girl."
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