Caitriona Balfe's self-esteem was 'in the toilet' as a model
Caitriona Balfe's self-confidence was "in the toilet" when she quit modelling.
The 42-year-old star worked as a fashion model before she found success as an actress, and she admits that working in the industry left her with a "really broken interior".
She explained: "Modelling does two things: It gives you a really, really tough exterior; and then a really broken interior.
"Everyone’s experience is different, but I know my confidence and my self-esteem when I finished was in the toilet. Being in that for so long can leave you pretty messed up for a little bit."
Caitriona still remembers questioning her life choices while she was posing for a catalogue photoshoot.
She told The Observer Magazine: "The [catwalk] shows were fun and exciting, but with catalogues, you’re just standing there like a clothes horse - literally. And you know, ‘This is not what I want to be doing with my life.'"
The 'Outlander' star thinks there's still a "stigma" that comes from making the transition from the catwalk into acting.
Caitriona has found it hard to "overcome" the preconceived ideas that people have of her based on her modelling background.
She said: "So many actors used to work in bars or used to be this or that, but you come with a lot of stigma when you’ve been a model. And that’s a hard thing to overcome, that being the first thing that people thought of me."
Caitriona has also suffered her fair share of setbacks during her time as an actress.
She recalled: "In an audition, if it didn’t work out, it wasn’t always because you didn’t do a good job, or you weren’t good.
"It was other arbitrary things like your name’s not big enough. Which can also be soul-destroying, but I don’t know, it’s different."
