PEOPLE's Beautiful Issue: Stars on the Most Beautiful Thing Anyone Has Ever Said to Them

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CARRIE UNDERWOOD

"One day, when I was about 14 years old, I'd had a particularly rough day at school because I had been teased by a boy in one of my classes. He made fun of my makeup. (Hey, I was just 14 … I was still learning how to do it.) At dinner that night, for no reason at all, my dad told me that I looked really pretty. He had no clue about what happened that day, nor is he exactly the kind of guy to give out compliments like that freely. But those words turned a bad day into a really good one."

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JULIA ROBERTS

"When my own mother said I had become an incredible parent."

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MINDY KALING

"Ever since I was a little girl, my mom instructed me to put lotion on after I shower. I like it when people tell me my skin is soft, because I've been working at it for so long."

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KATE HUDSON

"Someone said to me ... that one of the qualities they liked most about me is that I always want the people around me to be happy. I never thought about that, but it's true. It was such a nice thing to hear."

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LUPITA NYONG'O

"The best compliment I have ever received is that I have good taste in people. A new friend said that I really know how to curate company for a good dinner party."

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JENNIFER GARNER

"If someone tells me there is something special about my kids, that is the nicest thing they can say to me."

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CHARLIZE THERON

THEY WERE IGNORED BY THEIR CRUSHES — Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

"When my mom told me, 'You are a great mom.' "

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MELISSA MCCARTHY

"The best compliment I've ever received that wasn't work-related was someone saying to me, 'You have really happy children…well done!' "

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SERENA WILLIAMS

"When I was traveling with Helping Hands Jamaica, someone said, 'Thank you for helping us build our school. It has been one of the best experiences of my life.' "

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SELENA GOMEZ

"My best friend complimented me on how I treat people, which is the biggest compliment someone can give me. She always knows how to say the right thing."

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TARAJI P. HENSON

"I love you unconditionally."

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MELISSA BENOIST

"The most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me, I mean this is going to sound really cheesy but I feel like anytime anyone says 'I love you' to me and truly means it and I can feel that they do, that is the most beautiful thing in the world to me. And love is more beautiful than anything happening vanity-wise."

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GINA RODRIGUEZ

"The most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me was 'Is there anything I can help you with?' "

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ANDREA BARBER

"The most beautiful thing that anyone has ever said to me was at the finish line of the L.A. Marathon after I had run 26 miles. My boyfriend gave me a big hug and told me I looked beautiful even though I didn't, I looked awful and sweaty and gross. But for someone to tell you you look beautiful after 26 miles of running is really special."

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JENNY MCCARTHY

"The most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me, by far, is my husband who said, numerous times, as I've said 'I just want to look younger or prettier' in my insecure moments, and he says 'You can't ever look more beautiful, you can look different, but never more beautiful.' "

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JENNY MOLLEN

"The most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me was actually written in a card that I received from [my husband] Jason, when my dog passed away. It was just – I'm going to cry – it was just really beautiful and touching and it made me love him in a way that I didn't obviously before."

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JAIMIE ALEXANDER

"The most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me is that I inspired them. That's always amazing."

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CECILY STRONG

"In high school I had a friend once say that 'When I hang out with you it's like I'm playing, we're always playing.' And I just remember being like 'That's the kind of person I want to be.' And it felt really good to hear that."

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PRIYANKA CHOPRA

"The most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me would probably be that I look my best without makeup. You know how girls get supremely insecure about coming in front of anyone without their makeup? But I've been told many, many times that I look my best without it, so I think that's beautiful."

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ZENDAYA

"There has been a few times that I've had encounters with fans and there has been many instances where people who you would have no idea that they even know who I am, have come up to me and explained a situation where me doing what I'm doing has really helped them through something, or helped them through a situation, or helped them get out of a negative position that they were in and that's really important to me."

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SARAH SILVERMAN

"The first thing that comes to my mind is the first time my heart was broken. I was walking around Washington Square Park with my mom, and I was sobbing. And I was so surprised because she was like 'Don't let this keep you from falling in love again. Don't let this bad experience make you build a wall, because love is worth the extraordinary pain it often causes.' "

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JODIE SWEETIN

"I think the most beautiful thing anybody has ever said to me was my littlest daughter Beatrix. It was right before bed and she just grabbed my face and said 'You're my most specialist friend in the whole world.' "

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HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE

"The most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me was 'Mommy, you inspire me to be an amazing person.' And that would be my son, R.J."

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JENNIFER MORRISON

"I would say one of the most beautiful things anyone ever said to me was my niece. She's so creative and so artistic and such a free spirit, and it's really fun to watch her. She watched a series of music videos I directed [when she was 4]. She was totally captivated and then when she finished she was like 'I want to direct a movie.' And I loved that. I never really thought about the fact that by doing something like that, and putting it in front of her when she was so impressionable and so able to see the possibilities in something like that, and for her immediate response to be 'I want to direct a movie.'"

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TRACEE ELLIS ROSS

"I think hearing 'I love you' from my family is the most beautiful thing that's ever said to me. It gives you that certain kind of beauty sparkle."

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SANDRA BULLOCK

"I'm horrible with compliments. I'm better with constructive criticism. But I keep coming back to the one thing that makes me feel the best, and that's when someone actually laughs when I think I'm being funny. I'll go to great lengths for a laugh, and sometimes it results in minor injuries. So worth it!"

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SOFIA VERGARA

"Every time people compliment me about my son Manolo it is very rewarding. I was really young when I divorced his father, so I raised him by trying to set the best example and give him the best that I could. When people say how charming, funny and well-behaved he is, it makes all the sacrifices worthwhile."

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KEKE PALMER

"The most beautiful thing someone has ever said to me has probably been somewhere along the lines of 'I feel your spirit' or 'I love your spirit.' Whenever I meet people and that's something that they say, something that's not physical, that makes me feel really awesome."

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KERRY WASHINGTON

2020 13th Annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon — Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for ESSENCE

"The first time my mom told me that she thought I was a good mother."

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REESE WITHERSPOON

"I'm always really touched when my mother tells me that I'm a good mother. She knows that I really value her opinion and that a big part of my self-worth comes from how I feel as a parent on any given day. She did such a great job raising my brother and me with a lot of love and a great sense of humor. Her compliment holds a lot of value in my life."

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SUSAN SARANDON

Saint Laurent Presents "Belle De Jour" 50th Anniversary Screening — Mike Coppola/Getty

"When I was doing Lorenzo's Oil, one of the kids I was working with who couldn't move, I would stay with him in-between takes, and he said 'You look like my mother,' and I didn't look anything like his mother but I really thought that was moving."

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NIKKI REED

"The most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me was probably from my dad. He told me that I had a 'beautiful mind.' Education is really important in my family, so I suppose I always sort of held that in some kind of literal way."