Anitta Grew Up Feeling 'Horrendous' — But That Didn't Stop Her from Winning a Beauty Pageant. Here's How She Did It

Mar. 15, 2025

Anitta.Photo:Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Despite the ultra-confident persona we see onstage,Anitta, too, grew up with insecurities — but she never let that stand in her way.In the Brazilian star’s new Netflix documentaryLarissa: The Other Side of Anitta, the “Envolver” singer reveals she struggled with her appearance when she was a young girl.“I was very horrendous,” Anitta, 31, says in the documentary, which premiered on Thursday, March 6.“In school… whenever I walked in a classroom at that time, people would pretend they were dying because my nose was so big,” the singer (born Larissa de Macedo Machado) continues. “They would pretend they were suffocating to death.“Then, Anitta’s father’s business was “going through a tough time” and she needed to switch to private school. The “BELLAKEO” singer “loved to study” and dreaded the move — until she found out there was a beauty pageant happening where the winner earned a scholarship.“I don’t believe in coincidences, I think everything happened so I would have this story to tell,” she says.“I became a joke in the school when I signed up,” Anitta adds.The theme of the pageant was “recycling” and she made a “coffee cup outfit” with some help from her mom. When they arrived at the pageant, the other contestants had outfits that were “super well-produced” and Anitta’s mom suggested they leave.“So I said, ‘Mom, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have what I have,'” she recalled saying. “Charisma.“Anitta in New York City in May 2024.Dia Dipasupil/GettyAfter they announced her name as the winner, and Anitta’s mom was halfway out the door, she said to her aunt: “Didn’t I tell you I was gonna win?“She then said she got her sash, her flowers and her scholarship and “studied for free.“InLarissa: The Other Side of Anitta, the star “reveals her most intimate world yet in this documentary that explores her dual identity, personal struggles and search for joy,” according to the description.In 2023, the star opened up to PEOPLE aboutbalancing her stage persona,Anitta, with the real Larissa.“Larissa is very private, very relaxed, very low key and very quiet. Anitta is the opposite: outspoken, exposing myself,” the singer told PEOPLE. “I think it’s two completely different people and I used to struggle with that.“She added, “It [used to be] two sides of my brain fighting with each other. [Then,] I learned how to make them communicate.“Larissais out now.

Despite the ultra-confident persona we see onstage,Anitta, too, grew up with insecurities — but she never let that stand in her way.

In the Brazilian star’s new Netflix documentaryLarissa: The Other Side of Anitta, the “Envolver” singer reveals she struggled with her appearance when she was a young girl.

“I was very horrendous,” Anitta, 31, says in the documentary, which premiered on Thursday, March 6.

“In school… whenever I walked in a classroom at that time, people would pretend they were dying because my nose was so big,” the singer (born Larissa de Macedo Machado) continues. “They would pretend they were suffocating to death.”

Then, Anitta’s father’s business was “going through a tough time” and she needed to switch to private school. The “BELLAKEO” singer “loved to study” and dreaded the move — until she found out there was a beauty pageant happening where the winner earned a scholarship.

“I don’t believe in coincidences, I think everything happened so I would have this story to tell,” she says.

“I became a joke in the school when I signed up,” Anitta adds.

The theme of the pageant was “recycling” and she made a “coffee cup outfit” with some help from her mom. When they arrived at the pageant, the other contestants had outfits that were “super well-produced” and Anitta’s mom suggested they leave.

“So I said, ‘Mom, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have what I have,'” she recalled saying. “Charisma.”

Anitta in New York City in May 2024.Dia Dipasupil/Getty

After they announced her name as the winner, and Anitta’s mom was halfway out the door, she said to her aunt: “Didn’t I tell you I was gonna win?”

She then said she got her sash, her flowers and her scholarship and “studied for free.”

InLarissa: The Other Side of Anitta, the star “reveals her most intimate world yet in this documentary that explores her dual identity, personal struggles and search for joy,” according to the description.

In 2023, the star opened up to PEOPLE aboutbalancing her stage persona,Anitta, with the real Larissa.

“Larissa is very private, very relaxed, very low key and very quiet. Anitta is the opposite: outspoken, exposing myself,” the singer told PEOPLE. “I think it’s two completely different people and I used to struggle with that.”

She added, “It [used to be] two sides of my brain fighting with each other. [Then,] I learned how to make them communicate.”

Larissais out now.

source: people.com