Jessica Chastain called 'ugly' by bullies

Photo: Contributed

Jessica Chastain was told she was "ugly" by school bullies.

'The Help' actress was the victim of cruel playground taunts while growing up in California, and the experience shattered her confidence as a child.

Talking in the November edition of Glamour magazine, Jessica said: "[As a child] I was told every day at school that I was ugly. And that no one wanted to be friend. The most cruel things.

"If I can do anything to help young girls and to be a cheerleader for people who sometimes have low self-esteem, I want to do that."

After overcoming her school tormentors, the 37-year-old redhead has achieved great success on screen but believes she would have gone off the rails if she had achieved fame in her teenage years.

She told the magazine: "I would have been a disaster. If I was 19 and I had the attention that I'm getting now, I would have just said stupid things. I would have partied more.

"All these expensive dinners and people giving me champagne? All these stupid things that we criticize 19 year olds for doing when they're famous, I would have done."

As she's matured, Jessica has also realised that it's important to keep some details of her relationship with boyfriend, Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, to herself.

She said: "I think it's important not to talk about it. In the future I will. If everything continues on a path, of course it'll be part of the conversation. But until it gets there, I don't want to put any unexpected pressure on something that is so personal and so precious. It's too delicate right now."