Neilson Barnard/Getty ImagesChloë Grace Moretz wanted to go under the knife when she was just 16.
The Kick Ass actress discusses female empowerment, finding happiness and more in an interview with Elle, where she also makes some candid admissions about how she found her self-esteem. Growing up in the spotlight, Moretz felt the ever-growing pressure of Hollywood on her shoulders, and it led her to want to alter her image in big ways.
"When I was 16 I wanted a boob job. I wanted the fat pad under my chin to be removed. I wanted a butt reduction, or whatever," she shares with the magazine. "And my mom said, 'Absolutely not, you're not allowed to have plastic surgery.' And because of that, I found a lot of power within my insecurities.
"They're what make me who I am now."
But like any normal person, Moretz has her bad days where she can feel insecure. During those times, she takes solace in boyfriend Brooklyn Beckham, but don't think she necessarily needs a guy to help her feel better.
"My boyfriend is a huge support. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't need a man for anything, but when I'm feeling bad about myself, he's like, 'Stop. Look at what you say in interviews. Look at what you stand for. Listen to your own words, because you're as beautiful as you say you are! All young women are more beautiful than they think, you know. And I like you more in sweatpants than I do when you're on a red carpet,'" she shares. Swoon.
She continues, "And it's nice to have a young man who's 17 years old be able to look at a woman that way. I think it means we're on the right track."
Moretz has become a young face for women's empowerment over the past year, teaming up with Hillary Clinton on important issues such as education. But Moretz makes it clear that she doesn't want to mistake supportive women for "girl squads."
"[Meghan Trainor and I] met at an awards show. She came up to me and was like, 'I love you, I want to be best friends with you, let's do this.' We're really good friends because we hate the system," she says of her unlikely friendship with the pop star. "We hate the BS. We sit there and we're like, 'We're stupid. We're ridiculous. Let's show all the girls out there that none of this is real, and you should just have fun.'"
So when asked how they're the "anti-squad," she responded, "We kind of are, yeah!"