Jane The Virgin star Gina Rodriguez has become well-known for her refreshing candor and her encouragement of female empowerment. This weekend, Rodriguez opened about her anxiety in an Instagram post and her honesty is what we all need right now. The post included a makeup-free selfie video taken by her friend Anton Soggiu, a Norwegian photographer, for his collection of Ten Second Portraits, which can be found on his own IG account. Rodriguez reposted the video and added her caption, in which she shared her insecurities about appearing in public without makeup and beyond.
"It's always great to be in front of his lens, but this time, it was just me," Rodriguez wrote in the caption. "Bare and exposed in the streets of LA. No makeup. No styling. Just me." She continued, communicating how you can see her emotions in the 10-second clip.
I suffer from anxiety. And watching this clip I could see how anxious I was, but I empathize with myself. I wanted to protect her and tell her it's OK to be anxious, there is nothing different or strange about having anxiety, and I will prevail. I like watching this video. It makes me uncomfortable, but there is a freedom I feel, maybe even an acceptance. This is me. Puro Gina.
Like many actors, Rodriguez is rarely seen without makeup when walking on glamorous red carpets or making appearances to promote Jane The Virgin. So it's totally understandable for her to feel a bit of fear about posing without being done up and in her good ol' Yankees baseball cap. But as Rodriguez implies in her caption, that's just one aspect of the anxiety she feels. It's not just about appearing in public not wearing makeup; it encompasses all the facets of life that leave us feeling anxious, uncomfortable, and vulnerable. Rodriguez's message about acceptance of anxiety and empathy is so inspiring and something we can all learn from.
This isn't the first time the Jane The Virgin actor has inspired fans with her honesty regarding self-acceptance. Back in 2015, Rodriguez shared an image she posed for from a photoshoot for Cosmo For Latinas and told fans about her struggle with Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid gland, according to WebMD. "As a woman with Hashimoto's, my struggle with health and weight and body acceptance in this industry has been a loving, painful, growing, exposing, vulnerable, and incredible journey," she wrote in the caption of the IG post. "And to come to a place where I love the skin I am in and it isn't defined by anyone's expectations or limitations is beyond freeing."
And Rodriguez's candor about self-acceptance is so freeing and inspiring for her fans as well.
