The \u201cI Know What You Did Last Summer\u201d star rose to fame in 1995 at the age of 15 when she scored a role on the hit TV series, \u201cParty of Five.\u201d Despite Hewitt being a teenager, she was instantly objectified. <\/p>\n
![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/687ebe5f160000af8542d6a9.jpeg\")
Jennifer Love Hewitt attends the Los Angeles premiere of 2025\u2019s \u201cI Know What You Did Last Summer\u201d earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Axelle\/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I even knew what sex was, I was a sex symbol,\u201d Hewitt told Vulture. \u201cI still don\u2019t know that I have that fully defined for myself because it started so weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201c9-1-1\u201d star admitted to the outlet that she leaned into her sexpot persona for the sake of her career, but she never really gelled with it. She described herself multiple times in the profile as \u201cgoofy.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Hewitt](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/687ebfac160000de8542d6ae.jpeg\")
Hewitt attends the Century City premiere of \u201cThat Thing You Do\u201d in 1996.<\/p>\n
Vinnie Zuffante via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Yet, Hewitt\u2019s sense of self got flipped upside down in 2007 when she decided to take a vacation to Hawaii with her then-fianc\u00e9 Ross McCall. The pair spent a day frolicking on the beach, and the next morning Hewitt received a rude awakening. People magazine ran the photos of Hewitt on the beach with McCall as a cover story with the headline, \u201cStop Calling Me Fat!\u201d <\/p>\n
The \u201cCan\u2019t Hardly Wait\u201d star said the experience was shattering.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I was ever really insecure until that cover. And then when it happened, I don\u2019t know that I\u2019ve ever recovered from it,\u201d Hewitt said. \u201cBecause there\u2019s a part of me that\u2019s always like, Is this version going to be good enough, or is that going to happen again? Where somebody\u2019s going to be like, \u2018Hey, this is her without makeup at the cleaners. She looks 59.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Hewitt](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/687ebf1e280000443ec6dd61.jpeg\")
Hewitt arrives at Spike TV event in 2007, the same year her photos were shot in Hawaii.<\/p>\n
Steve Granitz via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Hewitt\u2019s pain went deeper than mere vanity. She heartbreakingly described to Vulture what she was thinking when these \u201cunflattering\u201d photos of her were shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was having the time of my life,\u201d Hewitt said. \u201cI had made up the dumbest song about eating snacks and playing in the ocean, and I was singing it to my boyfriend out loud, doing some weird dance move, and they got the picture and then it was on the cover.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hewitt went on to pinpoint why this incident affected her so profoundly. <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause that was me,\u201d she confessed to Vulture about the candid paparazzi photos. \u201cI think that\u2019s why the insecurity carried on. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve even ever put that together for myself other than right now.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI think I was like, \u2032Oh, my God, I was myself one time, and this is what happened,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"Hewitt](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/687ec00c280000873ec6dd62.jpeg\")
Hewitt in her current role as Maddie on \u201c9-1-1.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christopher Willard via Getty Images<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first time Hewitt has expressed her frustrations with her appearance overshadowing her true self. <\/p>\n
Earlier this year, she described the \u201cgross\u201d feedback she got from the public<\/a> after she starred in the first \u201cI Know What You Did Last Summer\u201d film in 1997.<\/p>\n \u201cEeverybody said, \u2018Oh, I know what your breasts did last summer,\u2019\u201d Hewitt explained on an episode of \u201cMayim Bialik\u2019s Breakdown<\/a>.\u201d Hewitt also told Bialik that she was annoyed by the original film\u2019s marketing as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so mad that I had done my first movie and worked so hard, and the only thing that you see is a movie poster with boobs on it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n 20 Years OfFreeJournalism<\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n For two decades, HuffPost has been fearless, unflinching, and relentless in pursuit of the truth. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 \u2014 we can’t do this without you.<\/p>\n We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever.