Karen Elson is grateful she was labelled a "freak" when she first started her modelling career.

The British supermodel shocked the world with her unique look when she entered The Fashion world at the age of 18 because she didn't look like her fellow peers and while she admits it was sometimes hard to take people's harsh opinions, she now knows it helped make her.

She said: "It was all, 'You're the freak! You're the freak!' They would say, 'She's weird, she doesn't look normal. She's ugly.' I'd be backstage and every journalist would ask, 'You're a freak; how does it feel?' And I'd be like, 'I'm 18, I don't know how it feels, can I just go and smoke a cigarette, please?' but thank God that all happened because it changed everything!"

While she may have been labelled a "freak", Karen - who has two children with husband Jack White and is also now a successful singer - has no desire to change her appearance.

The 31-year-old star told Stella magazine: "I am a woman. I go on set and I'll be who I am and I'll represent who I am. I think it comes with age. To not be myself? It's not even a question anymore. It's impossible. If you want me to look like that you've got the wrong girl. So bets find another!"