EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy on the benefits of a big birthday
WORDS: ROBYN MORRIS.
Natalie Cassidy is no stranger to the perils that come with fame. Only recently, the EastEnders star was forced to hit back at one online troll who called her ‘ugly’ on Instagram, responding, ‘Sorry, I don’t go about saying I’m a model. I bet you’re an oil painting.’
But while Natalie admits she’s been trolled her entire life, confessing she was labelled a ‘beached whale’ at the age of 12, since turning 40 last year, the actor has a new-found confidence and no longer cares what others think, especially when it comes to her looks.
‘I’m more confident and just a little bit more focused on the things that I’d like to do,’ she tells Woman’s Own. ‘I’m looking forward to all of my 40s.’
NO MORE PRESSURE
Natalie admits she found the criticism that comes with fame tough when she was a child actor in the soap, describing the trolling she received as ‘awful’. But the one positive she’s taken from it is that she’s developed a thick skin and now the pressure of being in the spotlight simply doesn’t get to her. Nowadays, she’s only focused on taking care of herself.
‘[The pressure of the public eye] just doesn’t really bother me,’ she tells us.
‘I’m much more worried about myself and my health. For me, eating well, getting to 40, not drinking as much, you go, “All right, I’m 40 now. You’re gonna start taking care of yourself.” I don’t do anything for other people and I don’t care what people think of me.’
FEELING BRAVE
So is the actor’s new attitude something that came as she entered a new decade?
Perhaps it is, Natalie says, explaining, ‘I wasn’t worried about turning 40 at all. [But] I do feel much more… If I have a plan to do something, I want to make it work. I get s**t done now. I feel like I’m making things happen and I’m very open and honest about the things that I might not be comfortable with.’ Confidently, she adds, ‘I just think you own things a bit more when you get into your 40s.’
And she previously said, ‘I’ve always been brave enough to say how I feel and have an opinion. But I think even more so now, you just go, “I’ve been here 40 years and I’ll do what I want to do, when I want to do it.”’
BODY CONFIDENT
Natalie looks just as fresh-faced today as she did when she joined EastEnders three decades ago, something that’s down to the healthy
