The "Sex and the City” star says meeting with veteran director Otto Preminger when she was just 17 years old made her realise her looks were going to be just as important as her acting ability if she wanted to be successful.
"He told me, 'Darling, you remind me of Marilyn Monroe - not in looks of course, but in lack of talent,” contactmusic.com quoted her as saying.
"Actually he was right. I was terribly unformed. I was this scruffy provincial with wild hair and jeans who had been raised in the wilds of British Columbia, not glamorous at all.
"It eventually dawned on me that, whether I liked it or not, my appearance was going to be every bit as important as my ability. It made me realise that maybe I needed to dress up a bit," she said.