Dallas star Charlene Tilton was a sex symbol of the 1980s, but the 64-year-old said she never felt “beautiful” when she was in the spotlight.
“I had no idea how beautiful I was,” Tilton told People magazine in an interview published Thursday. “I look back at the pictures now and I’m like, ‘I really was all that and a bag of chips!’ I was really pretty. But I didn’t understand it at the time.”
At the height of her fame, Tilton appeared on hundreds of magazine covers playing JR Ewing’s (Larry Hagman) conniving niece, Lucy.
The actress – who now stars in faith-based romance Heaven Sent – said she couldn’t help but compare herself to bombshells like Farrah Fawcett, Loni Anderson and Suzanne Somers at the time.
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Charlene Tilton, 64, said she never felt “beautiful” as a young actress. (CBS Photo Library/Getty Images/Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Princess Cruises)
“There were all kinds of beautiful women in Hollywood. I didn’t think I was anything special,” she told People, adding that she thought supermodel Iman was the “quintessential” beauty.
“I just remember wishing I looked like Iman, the model and David Bowie’s wife,” she recalled. “She just has the most gorgeous bone structure and complexion and is tall and beautiful. To me she was the epitome of beauty. I was short and when I gained five pounds it showed. And, believe me, it’s been mentioned in the press.”
Charlene Tilton played Lucy Ewing in Dallas. (Getty Images)
“I’m curvy. I’m not tall and thin. I’m not elegant, I’m bold,” she said, adding that she’s always wanted to be a character actress. With the movies she’s been filming over the past few years, like A Welcome Home Christmas and Starting up Love, she can do that now in her 60s.
Charlene Tilton said she always compared herself to bombshells like Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers. (Getty Images)
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She said she is “comfortable and content” with her life in Nashville, where she lives near her daughter, country singer Cherish Lee, and her two grandchildren.
Charlene Tilton lives near her daughter and two grandchildren in Nashville. (Getty Images)
“The older I get, the more I’ve learned to be more present in everyday life,” she said. “When I was at Dallas it was such a whirlwind. At my age I’m more present now. I don’t feel the need to take every job, but I push myself to say yes to most things because I believe in saying yes and trying new things and having opportunities.
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“What I love about my current age is that it brings with it different characters.”