Melissa McCarthy used to cry about not being 'thinner or prettier'

Melissa McCarthy is often hailed for her candid approach to Hollywood's unrealistic beauty standards, but in a new interview with People, the star admits that wasn't always the case.

"In my 20s I used to cry about why I wasn't thinner or prettier," McCarthy tells the magazine. "It's a decade of tears."

In the cover interview, which will be published in Friday's People, the actress discusses her marriage to actor Ben Falcone and her new movie, Tammy, which opens next month and which the couple co-wrote.

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McCarthy also explains that her confidence has increased since she's made it in Hollywood. "I've never felt like I needed to change," she tells the magazine. "I've always thought, 'If you want somebody different, pick somebody else.'" She also responds to a recent headline that dubbed her "America's plus-size sweetheart": "It's like I'm managing to achieve all this success in spite of my affliction... Would you ever put that in the headline for a male star?"