Danielle Brooks on her stretch marks: 'That's just a road map of my strength'

Danielle Brooks is proud of her curves and everything that comes along with them. The “Orange Is The New Black” star allowed that confidence to shine while shooting for People‘s 2017 ‘Most Beautiful Women’ issue.

“Sometimes I’ll look at myself and be like, ‘Dang girl, you got a lot of stretch marks.’ But then I’m like, ‘That’s just the road map of my strength,’ ” the actress, 27, told People during her makeup-free photo shoot for the issue. “They remind me of things that I’ve gone through. I need to just embrace them and celebrate them. For the most part, I find ways to embrace my body.”

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Brooks’ optimism isn’t easily swayed, but even the TV talent has to deal with bullies on social media who aren’t so kind.

“Sometimes I can brush it off. You know, the haters,” Brooks said. “And sometimes it’s not always easy to do. But for me, I think it all starts with self, and how you feel about yourself that really matters. It doesn’t matter what other people think of you.”

“I know for a fact that I am beautiful, and what I do know for a fact is that we are spirits, at the end of the day, regardless of how much melanin we have, or how many pimples we have, or how curly or straight our hair is. It’s really about what we have inside of us, that makes us who we are.”

With that sentiment, Brooks shared a barefaced photo from her People shoot to Instagram. In an empowering caption, she explains why she chose to go makeup-less for the magazine.

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“For the girls who never felt pretty enough or were made to feel less than because their beauty was unique, I was you once. One day you will realize your B•E•A•U•T•Y. Outer beauty is fleeting, but lasting beauty comes from within,” the actress wrote. “This one is especially for all the beautiful dark skin girls who are underrepresented. Majestic is our melanin.”

Check out People’s Most Beautiful issue and let us know what you think by tweeting @YahooStyleCA!