The “Transformers” star, 37, who was one of the four cover subjects for the sports magazine’s annual swimsuit edition this year, said in a video that she does not “ever see myself the way other people see me.”
“There’s never a point in my life where I loved my body, never, ever,” Fox told the magazine.
She's an actress, she's a mom and she's gracing the cover of the 2023 SI Swimsuit issue! https://t.co/Ze7jPErtdf
— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) May 15, 2023
Body dysmorphia disorder involves a person being preoccupied by thoughts of imagined defects with their appearance, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, the disorder impacts about one in 50 people. The disorder affects both men and women and usually develops during a person’s teen years.
The Cleveland Clinic estimated that the disorder affects 2.4% of adults in the U.S. overall, the Times reported.
“When I was little, that was an obsession I had of, like, that I should look this way, and why I had an awareness of my body that young? I’m not sure, and it definitely wasn’t environmental because I grew up in a very religious environment where bodies weren’t even acknowledged,” Fox said in the video. “The journey of loving myself is going to be never-ending, I think.”
It is not the first time Fox has addressed her struggle with body dysmorphia, “Today” reported. In October 2021 she told British GQ Style that she has “a lot of deep insecurities.”
“We may look at somebody and think, ‘That person’s so beautiful. Their life must be so easy,’” Fox told the website.
Marla W. Deibler, a licensed psychologist and executive director of The Center for Emotional Health of Greater Philadelphia, told USA Today in 2021 that many people with dysmorphia are convinced of their negative self-perceptions despite hearing compliments.
“BDD may be challenging to recognize in oneself, because insight into the inaccuracy of one’s misperception of their body is often poor,” Deibler told the newspaper.
Fox expressed the hope that her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit photos “are beautiful and the frequency that comes off of them are just a healthy, good girl.”
“I hope people take away what I always hope they take away -- that I’m a thoughtful, articulate, deep person,” Fox told the magazine.
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Photos: Megan Fox through the years Here are some memorable photos of actress Megan Fox through the years. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2007: Actress Megan Fox arrives to the 2007 MTV Movie Awards held at the Gibson Amphitheatre on June 3, 2007, in Universal City, California. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images for MTV)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2008: Actress Megan Fox arrives at the 17th annual MTV Movie Awards held at the Gibson Amphitheatre on June 1, 2008, in Universal City, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2009: Actress Megan Fox arrives at the 66th annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009, in Beverly Hills, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2010: Actress Megan Fox arrives at premiere of Warner Bros. "Jonah Hex" held at ArcLight Cinema's Cinerama Dome on June 17, 2010, in Hollywood, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2011: Actress Megan Fox (left) and actor Brian Austin Green arrive at the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton hotel on January 16, 2011, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2012: Actress Megan Fox attends the premiere of Universal Pictures' "This Is 40" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on December 12, 2012, in Hollywood, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2013: Actress Megan Fox (left) and actor Brian Austin Green arrive at the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 13, 2013, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2014: Megan Fox visits "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" at Rockefeller Center on August 6, 2014, in New York City. (Theo Wargo/NBC/Getty Images for "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon")
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2015: Actress Megan Fox attends FOX's "New Girl" 100th Episode Cake Cutting held at Fox Studio Lot on December 2, 2015, in Century City, California. (Mark Davis/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2016: Actors Stephen Amell (left) and Megan Fox attend an autograph signing at WonderCon 2016 to promote the upcoming release of Paramount Pictures' "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows," on March 25, 2016, at the LA Convention Center in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2017: Actress Megan Fox attends at press conference to promote Fashion Fest Autumn/ Winter 2017 at Liverpool Insurgentes on September 6, 2017, in Mexico City, Mexico. (Carlos Tischler/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2018: Actress/model Megan Fox visits "Extra" on November 28, 2018, in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2019: Megan Fox attends the 55th annual Cinema Audio Society Awards at InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown on February 16, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2020: Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly attend the 2020 American Music Awards, hosted by Taraji P. Henson, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020. (ABC via Getty Images)
Photos: Megan Fox through the years 2021: Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly poses backstage for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, broadcast on May 23, 2021, at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Rich Fury/Getty Images for dcp)