Michelle Pfeiffer says that she only felt confident in her own skin when she turned 31.

The 53-year-old actress is one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood but says it took her a long time to fully embrace it.

She told Britain's The Sun newspaper that she "struggled with my own image as a sexual person."

It was only when the blonde beauty filmed The Fabulous Baker Boys in 1989 when she was 31 that she finally felt confident in her own body.

"Even two years before that, I would not have been able to play the part of the sexually appealing Susie Diamond," she told the publication.

"She was dynamic and unapologetic and I was able to put on those clothes and play the part.

"I think, because of the way I looked, I had stayed away from buying anything sexy or overtly sexual.

"It was a turning point for me, because I couldn't understand why men would find her sexy. I wish I'd been more like her. Before that, I would walk around looking like a bag lady!"

Michelle says that the "biggest turning point" of her life was when she adopted her daughter Claudia, now 18, and had son John Henry, 17, with her television producer husband David E. Kelley.

"If you had told me when I was 18 that I could survive on three hours' sleep a night, I'd have never believed it," Michelle shared. "You just cope."