Beauty is "so many things" to Melissa McCarthy -- and as evidenced by People's 2023 Beautiful Issue -- she's definitely one of them.
The beloved actress, who is set to star as Ursula in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, nabbed the cover of this year's issue, and ever the comedian, made a quip about who might have been behind the complimentary decision. "First I thought, 'Did my mom and my dad have the two main votes?" she jokes to People.
On a more serious note, the "incredibly flattered" McCarthy also highlighted the importance of inner beauty.
"I also thought we’re in a nice place in the world where perfection doesn’t mean better or worse," she says. "It comes from the inside and I like that a lot. I can get behind that."
As she recalled to People, she's experienced the uglier side of human behavior, particularly as a teenager with punk and goth style.
"I was fascinated because when I walked down the street and I looked like that, it was the first time that I'd ever had people kind of make fun of me or say really mean things to me, even adults," she says. "I just kept thinking, 'You don't know me... I didn't do anything to you.'"
By her 30s, McCarthy had learned a valuable lesson about acceptance.
"Somewhere in my 30s, I was like 'I'm okay with who I am.' And if someone wasn't thrilled with that, that's okay too," she says. "At some point I was like, 'They're not all going to like you.' You have to learn that the hard way, but it's a good [lesson]."
People's Beautiful Issue hits newsstands Friday.
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