SHE dazzled as the all-American schoolgirl who stole a young boy’s heart in hit romantic comedy Love Actually. But actress Olivia Olson says that in real life she felt like an outcast and feared having a breakdown as the pressure of being a child star became too much.
Olivia, now 30, developed crippling stage fright as Hollywood bigwigs criticised her weight and questioned her ethnicity. Despite being one of the most talented singers of her generation, with a megawatt smile, one casting director even told her she needed to lose 10lbs to win a major role.
The stress — and the vicious bullying she faced at school — eventually convinced Olivia, who is mixed race, to turn her back on the big screen and start working as a voice-over actor.
Speaking for the first time about her ordeal, she said: “I thank my parents for being such a support system, because it’s kind of a miracle I didn’t have a mental breakdown.
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