It's hard to imagine that a woman able to pull off the tight, yellow, hashtag-worthy dress of Walk of Shame spent years denying her own beauty. "I didn't quite believe I was pretty for a long time," comedienne Elizabeth Banks tells New You magazine.
Today, Banks is considered one of Hollywood's most beautiful. Her swirls of naturally curly blonde hair, svelte figure, and slim legs have become her signature red carpet assets.
The Hunger Games star admits she is "genetically blessed" but credits her active lifestyle and moderated diet for her good shape. "I work hard at keeping myself together," she shares.
Banks is not just talking about her beauty. She claims that as a busy actress and producer, she has faces the same challenges just like any other working parent.
"I balance it by always putting my children's health and safety first. Then I feel OK to go and do the job I love," she told the magazine. "It's important to remember that I face the same challenges as many other working parents out there."
She continues to say that fathers have it easier and that working moms are still better than their male counterparts. "I don't think dads do it as well as moms, quite frankly, as I don't think there's any pressure on them to balance anything in their lives when it comes to parents being at work. I try not to feel that pressure, either," she says.
The pressure is understandably greater for a mom like Banks, who in the last nine years has acted in over twenty movies, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Spider-Man 3, Definitely Maybe, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Role Models, What to Expect When You're Expecting, Pitch Perfect, and The Hunger Games series, which premieres the first part of its finale later this year. She has also guest-starred in TV series Scrubs and Modern Family and voice-acted in Phineas and Ferb, The Lego Movie and Family Guy.
Banks, with movie producer husband Max Handelman, has two sons born to surrogate mothers. The first child, Felix was born three years ago. In November 2012, they had their second son Magnus Mitchell through the Center for Surrogate Parenting.
Shortly after Banks and Handelman welcomed Magnus, she made this hilarious announcement on her website: "I now turn my attention to managing two boys under two. For which I am thankful. And all their poop. For which I am less thankful."
