Jennifer Love Hewitt Revealed How Hollywood Took Advantage of Her Image at a Young Age
It feels like Jennifer Love Hewitt has been famous for most of her life, but she’s revealing that there are consequences to everyone knowing her name at a young age. Hollywood became tough to navigate as a teen star because there were expectations placed on her image at a very tender time in her development.
On the Dec. 5 episode of the Inside of You podcast, Hewitt explained how she was sexualized as a young performer. It was a time when she was “insecure” and “didn’t feel self-confident” about herself. “I felt watched. I felt like I had to be everything for everybody all the time. I was called sexy before I ever knew what being sexy was,” she shared. “I was 17 years old on the cover of Maxim, and I had no idea why. I was honored. I loved it. But why?”
And it wasn’t just the Maxim cover, Hewitt also felt sexualized on the set of Heartbreakers, which she filmed in 2001 at the age of 23. “I remember doing ‘Heartbreakers’ at 23 and the director [David Mirkin] was like, ‘We just need you to be sexier.’ I had to pull him aside and be like, ‘I don’t know what that means. I’m only 23,’” Hewitt recalled. “I know that I’m supposed to be this thing for people, but I don’t know what that means. He had to help me figure that out.”
It was an awkward time for her because Hewitt was making that big transition from her teen years into young womanhood. What makes the sexualization even more uncomfortable in 2023 is that fans sometimes voice their wishes that Hewitt still looked like the younger version of herself.
“It’s weird for me when people are like, ‘That’s the girl that we wanted you to be,’” Hewitt continued. “That girl was so insecure and so confused and trying her best. But this girl [now] — who may not look [that] way — I like who I am. I feel good. I’m fine.” The good news is that the 9-1-1 star now has the confidence to call herself sexy.
“I mean, not every day, but you know, I have my moments,” Hewitt summed up. “There’s definitely times where I look in the mirror and I’m like, ‘Oh, dear god, what has happened?’ And there’s other times where I’m like, ‘She’s got it. She’s fine.’”
Before you go, click here to see celebrities who have spoken out about being sexualized too young.