“Lady Bird” is earning all kinds of praise for its real-life depiction of a mother-and-daughter relationship, but there might be one relatable part of the film that most viewers missed: lead actress Saoirse Ronan‘s acne scars.
In an interview with Racked, the 23-year-old actress opened up about her skin struggles and how she sought to represent a real teenager by bringing her acne scars to the big screen. Ronan revealed that she didn’t suffer from acne until a year before shooting “Lady Bird.” Due to fatigue and constantly wearing makeup, Ronan began developing blemishes.
“I?d never had bad skin before, but because I was really tired and wearing a lot of makeup, I started to get acne,” Ronan said. “I started to break out, and I?d never dealt with that before, so I didn?t know how to tackle it.”
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When the camera testing for “Lady Bird” rolled around, Ronan was asked by the film’s makeup artist, Jacqueline Knowlton, how she felt about skipping the on-screen makeup and allowing her acne to shine. “Our makeup artist asked me how I?d feel about maybe not having them covered up as much. Luckily, I didn?t feel insecure about it!” Ronan said.
She reasoned that the film would be a great opportunity to show viewers that many young people, especially teenagers, struggle with acne. She admitted that in television shows and movies grow...