Friday, February 24, 2012 1:55pm ET by  
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Lea Michele on empowerment, leading men and being a role model

Star of Broadway and now Glee sensation, Lea Michele, has opened up about her experiences at school and revealed that she's proud to be a role model to young girls because her teenage years were difficult. 

The talented singer and actress sat down for an interview with TV Buzz, which will be published with The Sun newspaper tomorrow (February 25), and explained that she was teased about her appearance - especially her nose - but has learned not to succumb to negativity:

"This is who I am – I eat what I want to eat. I was lucky to be raised by some incredible women in my family who taught me to love the body I was given. Honestly, I can’t tell you the last time I worked out. I never let people influence me negatively either; I always stand by what I believe in.”

"I feel like I’m a good role model because I don’t look like everyone else. I’ve always been fairly confident, but I really think I’ve never felt more beautiful than when I’m on Glee. It delivers such an amazing message, and it’s really encouraged me to accept my true beauty.”

 

 

 

She also spoke about her relationship with actor Cory Monteith, who plays her leading man Finn, and added that they're incredibly close, which is just as well because they have filmed some intense scenes together:

“I really love working with Cory. We’ve done so many emotional scenes together – even standing up and singing in front of each other makes you feel vulnerable – so we’re used to it.”

Watch Michele talk about her plans for 2012 in a recent interview below: