In a December 2025 interview, Zooey Deschanel shared her devastating experience of being bullied as a kid. The actress recalled how another girl spit in her face and she was teased about the way she looked.
Zooey Deschanel Shares Heartbreaking Bullying Experience
During an appearance on the December 17 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Deschanel shared her 7th grade bullying experience.
She noted she was “kind of chubby,” adding, “not that there’s anything wrong with that,” but that it made her a target.
Deschanel explained that she was “just like an awkward person … I hadn’t quite figured out my personality yet.”
“I had like this one girl who bullied me, like, really bad, who like spit in my face. It was just awful,” she shared.
The bully said Deschanel was “trying to act like [she was] thin.”
“I remember her saying that to me and being like, ‘Am I trying to act like I’m thin? I don’t think so.’ I think I’m just acting like myself. And I also was like, ‘Why are you coming after me?’ I was trying to hide from her all the time,” the “Elf” star explained.
Deschanel said she joined the swim team, lost weight, and “grew six inches” the summer before eighth grade. “So when I came back I had, like, a new lease on life,” she noted. “Because in eighth grade everyone was like ‘Are you the same person? You look really different.'”
“It was kind of fortunate that my growth spurt happened,” she added.
Deschanel Shares Approach to Dealing With Criticism
The actress also addressed how her experience informed her parenting approach.
“One of the things, I think, we can’t always control how other people act toward [her kids], but we can help them give them tools like on how to react when people do something that’s not very nice. And also help them be the kindest people they can be.”
She also doesn’t display her insecurities to her kids. “I don’t want them to ever think like, ‘Oh, mommy’s insecure or my mom doesn’t like this.’ I always want them to think I’m happy with myself. Because they get their self-esteem from their parents. So it’s important to me to show up with confidence.”
The “New Girl” star also shared her perspective on dealing with criticisms about appearance in the entertainment industry.
She explained that letting “it roll off” is important, sharing, “It’s when you internalize it too much” that it becomes problematic.
Deschanel also noted that “having a strong sense of self beyond that is really important.”
“I think my identity was never super wrapped up in my appearance. I always made an effort to be more about what I’m presenting,” she shared. “It’s more about my style and artistic and creative expressions.”
