Natalie Imbruglia has candidly opened up on her battle with body dysmorphia and how it affected her while filming the music video for her hit single Torn.
Natalie, now 47, rose to fame in Australia after appearing in Neighbours, as she played Beth Brennan on the soap from 1992 until 1994.
But, she later catapulted to worldwide stardom three years after leaving the Aussie soap and making her debut to the international music industry with the rock pop anthem in 1997.
The iconic song's video has wracked up more than 255 million views on YouTube. But, little did fans know at the time, Natalie was battling body dysmorphia.
Body dysmorphia – or, body dysmorphic disorder – is a "mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others", according to the NHS.
Natalie has now revealed in an interview with The Independent that her choice of outfit in the VMA award-winning video, was influenced by her body dysmorphia.
She explained that she was "so body dysmorphic and insecure" at the time of the music video shoot that she chose to wear a now-iconic hoodie and baggy army pants.
The former Neighbours star added: "The army pants weren’t even cool army pants – they weren’t in fashion or anything.
"My intention in wearing that was so that you couldn’t see my silhouette, because I didn’t want anyone to see. But it ended up that there was a power in that because it was like [seen as] androgyny cool.
"But it really came from a place of 'thank god I don’t have to wear a dress!'"
Last month, Natalie celebrated the hit song's 25th anniversary, which was also nominated for a Grammy.
She recently appeared on This Morning and gushed over the track, which sold 4 million copies worldwide.
She confessed to the ITV daytime show's hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield: "It’s been a blink. I had no idea the impact it would make!"
The singer also admitted that she was initially concerned her soap opera background might hamper her success as she said: "Because I came from a soap I thought people would give me a hard time.
"I was chasing the song around the world, I'm so grateful to be a part of something that touched so many people."
Viewers were left in awe of her youthful looks as she appeared on the programme. One tweeted: "Natalie still looks amazing - hardly aged in 25 years."
Another added: "Natalie Imbruglia has aged like a fine wine, Jesus".
And now, later this month, Natalie is set to embark on a UK headline tour, to celebrate her debut studio album Left of the Middle.
She told the Independent: "I’m super-excited to celebrate the album, especially now I’m in a really confident place after going through writer’s block."
