Hilda happy she was not a 'beautiful teenager'

British actress Hilda Swinton has revealed that she was glad she wasn't a beautiful teenager.

Swinton said she hated attending a strict boarding school where she was cut off from music, boys and parties, but is relieved she wasn't that good-looking too, reports contactmusic.com.

The "Burn After Reading" actress instead insists she has always been comfortable with her androgynous appearance and was happy to be a "strange" adolescent.

"When I was nine or 10, I wasn't pretty anymore which is a big advantage. It must be a nightmare to be a beautiful teenager," she said.

"I got this strange kind of androgyny. I was everything girls don't want to be - incredibly tall, incredibly thin, unimpressive. For years it's still been possible to hide as a sexual being," she added.

The 48-year-old admits she also felt her teenage years were lacking because she was isolated away from other popular pastimes due to attending a strict boarding school.

"I was at boarding school which was very strict, no make-up, no boys, no parties, no pop music. That was quite terrible because I had no access to pop culture at all. I get still angry when I think of it," she said.

"Being kept away from pop music as a teenager is to be kept away from your generation and even be kept away in some way from sex. As a teenager it is very important to be linked with the sexual impulses of popular music. Somehow I managed to get through this school and got a different kind of identity," she added.

Last updated on Nov 7^th, 2009 at 22:16 pm IST--IANS