It’s no secret that Nadine Lustre is one of the most sought-after actresses today. At just 29 years old, she has received numerous accolades for her acting projects, and has also ventured into singing and dancing. Before she achieved leading lady status, however, the actress admits experiencing discrimination in the early stages of her career.

Nadine got *real* about it in a recent vlog with Bea Alonzo, where she revealed that she used to get *rejected* at auditions for being morena.

“Super daming beses, mainly because of my skin color. Sasabihin sakin, ‘Ah, mestiza hinahanap namin,’ syempre pauuwiin na ako. Isa sa mga naging insecurities ko back then, kasi hindi lang siya once nangyari sakin,” she recalls.

“Alam mo yung pag VTR, pipila ka nang mahaba na ang tagal tagal. Tapos pagdating doon isang line kayo, papipilahin kayo, tapos pauuwiin na yung mga feeling nila hindi pasok. Mapapauwi ako kasi sasabihin ‘mestiza po yung hanap namin.’”

The actress revealed that the experience made her take glutathione when she was younger, which is a substance most people use as a skin-whitening agent. Now that she’s older, however, Nadine has come to love her natural skin color.

“Hindi na ako ganoon ka-takot umitim,” she says. “Morena naman talaga ako, pero yung pag nasa Siargao ako, hindi na ako yung nag-co-cover or nagpa-payong.”

You’re beautiful inside and out, Nadine!