While Zooey Deschanel may have stolen plenty of hearts as a Hollywood star, her childhood was a far different story. Before she made a name for herself as an actor, Deschanel admitted that being popular was not one of her strong suits.
“People really teased me. It was really bad,” she told Cosmopolitan magazine (via the Daily Mail) of her middle school days. The “Happening” star revealed that those difficult teenage years were some of the hardest she ever faced. “There were insecurities that I think I would have worked through a lot faster if I’d had certain tools and could have connected with certain people earlier,” she explained.
Decades later, Deschanel hoped to help other women struggling with their self-esteem. The actor started her website HelloGiggles in 2011 alongside Sophia Rivka Rossi, and Molly McAleer, dubbing it a “happy space for millennial women.” The website is a safe space free from negativity and judgmental comments, both of which Deschanel has learned to shake off throughout life. “If there had been a place like that for me when I was 13, I would have felt so much less alone,” she admitted. The site proved to be a hit, garnering more than 17 million monthly unique visitors on average. In 2015, Time Inc. acquired HelloGiggles reportedly for a staggering $30 million.
