Date: 29 January 1984
Originally published in: Sunday Mirror (UK)
Written by: Claire Rayner
Even the brightest of our swinging stars can be racked with pain and doubt because of jealousy. Here’s how some of them have faced up to life’s emotional crises.
Stunning Kim Wilde says that as a teenager she was madly jealous of other girls – especially singer Lynsey de Paul. “She was everything I wasn’t”, says Kim. “She was petite, pretty, cute and lovable and she had lovely hair. And I didn’t have any of these things. It was quite unbearable. I was also envious of my schoolgirl chums. They were prettier and smaller than me. I was tall and strong, with big feet and desperately wanted to be dainty and delicate. It amazes me to think that maybe teenage girls today feel about me the way I did about Lynsey de Paul.”
Claire’s verdict: Kim’s problem wasn’t so much real jealousy, as a lack of self esteem. She picked on Lynsey as an example of what she’d like to be – but she didn’t actually envy her. It’s great she grew more self-confident, and built herself such a smashing career.
