The Truth About Emily Ratajkowski's Tragic Childhood
Emily Ratajkowski appears to have everything anyone could ever want. The model has a seriously impressive career under her belt, appearing inside and on the front cover of some of the biggest magazine in the world, including Sports Illustrated, while also walking the runway for some of the most prestigious fashion houses going, including Dolce & Gabbana and Versace.
But that's not all. Ratajkowski also has a very impressive acting résumé, having popped up in movies including "Gone Girl," "Entourage," and "I Feel Pretty." Throw in close to 29 million Instagram followers and a reported fortune of $8 million (per Celebrity Net Worth) and what more could you ask for?
Well, on top of all that, the star is also thriving in her personal life. She married movie producer Sebastian Bear-McClard in 2018 before the happy couple announced in March that they'd welcomed their first child, a son named Sebastian, into the world in March 2021.
But while it all seems glittering on the surface, Ratajkowski has opened up about the difficult childhood that pushed her to the place she's gotten to today. She's speaking out about being objectified as a child, as well as the tough beauty battle she had with her parents that led her to her hugely successful modeling career.
Emily Ratajkowski felt sexualized as a child
Emily Ratajkowski got very candid about her childhood difficulties in her book of essays, titled "My Body," with New York Post getting a sneak peek.
The star shared she initially started modeling to please her parents, recalling how proud her mom would be when she got attention from men from the age of 12. "I was a child, but somehow already an expert in detecting male desire, even if I didn't completely understand what to make of it," she explained, recalling feeling uncomfortable after her teacher dad displayed a photo sharing her measurements in class and her mom had a photo showing her body up in their home.
Though she acknowledged her looks have brought her a lot of the success she enjoys today, she poignantly wrote it "had never occurred to [her] that the women who gained their power from beauty were indebted to the men whose desire granted them that power in the first place" and men were always "the ones in control."
Ratajkowski also recalled a lewd experience with a casting agent as a high schooler when he told her, "Now this is the look. This is how we know this girl gets f**ked!" when he saw photos of her pursing her lips.
Ratajkowski added, "I had to face some ugly truths about what I understood as important, what I thought love was, what I believed made me special, and to confront the reality of my relationship with my body."