(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Emma Stone insists she was "good-looking" when she was younger.

The 22-year-old actress, who is best known for her roles in The House Bunny, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Friends with Benefits, is celebrated for her sultry looks.

The star says that despite having braces when she was growing up, she never felt like a "dork".

"I sucked my thumb until I was 11, so I had this expander in. I was a good-looking kid," she laughs. "I never felt, like, dorky. I was just like, 'Yup, these are my braces. I've had them forever.'"

Emma likes to look believable when she tackles a film role. The American beauty says when actresses look too good in a movie, it shifts her focus from admiring their talent to checking out how "great" they look.

"I like to look like a person. It drives me crazy when you see women in movies playing teachers, and they have biceps. It totally takes me out of the movie. I start thinking, Wow, that actress playing this part really looks great!" she quipped in the July issue of Elle magazine.

Emma, who is set to star as Gwen Stacy in a reboot of the Spider-Man film series, is thrilled at where her career is. The stunning star has recalled the time she was rejected from hit US TV show Heroes, and admits her film career has come a long way since.

"It's so funny how different life could have been. I went to so many auditions," she recalled. "I remember my audition for Heroes. I went in right after Hayden Panettiere. Now here we are in this rented house. It feels like it just happened."

Emma was linked to Kieran Culkin after appearing together in 2009 comedy Paper Man. The star says relationships should be kept "sacred", and doesn't believe celebrity relationships are doomed to fail.

"I don't think that's true. Maybe," she replied when asked if relationships in the public eye have a shorter shelf life. "But there's a fair amount that do work.I'm optimistic." (C) Cover Media