These Celebs' Were Mean Girls In High School

I think we can all universally agree that Mean Girls was the magnum opus of high school films of the '00s. It has already been over a decade since it was released in 2004, and Mean Girls still rings a little bit too true of the daunting experience of high school, cool girls, and the idea of trying to fit in. In a bit of a shocking revelation with Edit, at least for me, the writer of the film, Tina Fey, admitted that she was a "mean girl" in high school, as a way of battling her many insecurities. Seems like Fey has matured quite a bit since those years, and she's not the only celeb to do so.

Let's face it: High school is weird and sometimes terrible for everyone. It's a time when your hormones are completely unbalanced and trying to fit in is one of the most important things you do. But sometimes, in the case of some of these celebrities, being a mean girl and acting out is actually meant as a way to not fit in, so they could do your own thing.

And because celebrities deal with just the same insecurities and bad decisions as we all do, here are a few celebrity ladies who were once mean girls and have (mostly) grown out of it in their adulthood.

1. Mariah Carey

Carey might not have been a super mean girl, per se, but she was definitely one of the more popular girls who did not really respect the school system at all. Her nickname in high school was "Mirage" because she barely appeared in class and she confessed that she was more "social in school than a student." This summer, she was asked by TMZ if she would be attending her high school reunion, to which she replied, "Why would I go to anything I didn’t create myself?" The diva speaks!

2. Cameron Diaz

Diaz might seem like a ray of sunshine now who is all about holistic and healthy living, but back in high school, she was a fighter, literally. Diaz told Us Weekly, "I used to get in fights with boys more than girls, for some reason boys liked to fight me. But one time in junior high I had this girl come up to me in the locker room from behind and pull my hair back. I had to shut her down!"

3. Tina Fey

In her Edit interview, Fey opened up about her best girlfriend in high school who was pretty and popular, but never the Mean Girl, but the actress confessed that she was. She said,

I was [a mean girl]. I admit it openly. That was a disease that had to be conquered. It's another coping mechanism — it's a bad coping mechanism — but when you feel less than (in high school, everyone feels less than everyone else for different reasons) in your mind it's a way of leveling the playing field. Though of course it's not. Saying something terrible about someone else does not actually level the playing field.

4. Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is probably one of the most beautiful women ever and could definitely have been considered one of the "hot girls" in high school, but she chose a road less travelled. She was a mean girl in her own way, by choosing to rebel against those in the popular crowds. She told Parade about her high school: “It’s where the bad kids go. I chose it. I was the punk outsider who nobody messed with. I was fearless. At 16, I graduated and moved out.”

5. Gabrielle Union

In 2013, Gabrielle Union won Essence's Fierce and Fearless Award, where she confessed that she used to be a mean girl — not necessarily in high school, but earlier on in life — but is now supportive of other women. She said,

I was a victim masquerading as a survivor... I turned a blind eye to injustice instead of having the courage to stand up for what’s right. I used to shrink in the presence of other dope beautiful women. I used to revel in gossip and rumors, and I lived for the negativity inflicted upon my sister actresses or anyone who I felt whose shine diminished my own.

6. Paris Hilton

In case you forgot, Kim Kardashian used to organize Paris Hilton's closet and Hilton wasn't always very nice about it. In an interview with Seventeen, she confessed she was in "the popular girl clique, and Nicole [Richie] and I were the leaders of the group." When asked about any rumors spread about her in school, she replied, "People didn't really start rumors about me in high school because they were scared of me."

Well, seems like most of these ladies have left those mean girl days behind them, and have found a way to use their confidence in a way to support others, and not bring them down.