Bipasha Basu came into the limelight with her coffee bean complexion in Ajnabee. But she has now moved on from being just a sex icon and is signing on mature roles.

But being confident young girl right from the start the actress says being dusky has never a bane in fact the actress says it made her stronger. Reminiscing her childhood Bipasha says "I was never meant to be beautiful. I was a short, dark and round girl.

I was incorrigible. I was the brat of the neighborhood. However, I had my defenses in order. Before anybody could scold me, I would start bawling loudly. Nevertheless, I was good kid in school.

I was the prefect in my school at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Kolkata, later I became the Head Girl.

If I had not started modeling at an early age, I would have liked to study. Not having done so will always be regret, " says the actress.

But the actress says that she didn't have many friends then. "I was always the butt of their jokes since my elder sister was the pretty one in the family.

She was taller, fair; always the centre of attention. But somewhere along the way, I shot up in height and started to look better. I won a few beauty contests. Things changed when I won the Ford Supermodel of the World in December 1996" she reveals.

The actress says there were times when she enjoyed the limelight and at times she didn't. "There were times when I enjoyed the attention and the lifestyle. At other times I wanted to lock myself in my room and hope the world outside the door would just go away"

Bipasha in fact started life a little earlier than most people. "I started modelling at the age of 16, doing fashion shows all over the world.

I used to live between Delhi and Mumbai for most of the year. That is, when I was not abroad. It has taken me a while to accept Mumbai as my home after living in Delhi and Kolkata. I have lived in a series of rented rooms and apartments. Many of them shared with other models for roommates. It was difficult to call any of these places home, until now.

I have my own apartment in a secluded lane in the city. It's a great place to come home to" she concludes.