Tina Arena has revealed she has ‘issues’ with her appearance.
The 57-year-old pop diva became teary-eyed as she made the surprising admission during a TV chat with 10 New+ reporter Jennifer Keyte on Friday.
Tina was being interviewed about her new photo portrait by artist Georges Antoni when she revealed that she was ‘never confident’ about her looks.
The segment also contained emotional scenes of Tina witnessing the unveiling of the artwork, currently hanging in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.
‘For me to have seen myself captured so honestly, I was taken aback,’ the veteran entertainer said of her new portrait.
‘Particularly for me, somebody that has had real issues with the way that I look…
Tina Arena (pictured) broke down in tears at the unveiling of her portrait by Georges Antoni
‘For me to have seen myself captured so honestly, I was taken aback,’ said Tina
‘I’ve never been terribly confident, although people might think the contrary,’ she continued.
‘I have struggled with image things, because image plays such a big part of what it is that we do. Unfortunately, a bigger part than I feel that it should.’
Tina’s new portrait, commissioned to celebrate her 50 years in show business, consists of two black and white panels by fashion photographer Antoni.
One picture shows a close-up of Tina, the other shows the hitmaker dressed in a leather-like suit and striking a passionate pose.
The Channel 10 segment also showed the moment when Tina first caught sight of her portrait, which left her in tears.
‘It’s hard to believe it’s been fifty years since I first stepped into the spotlight at just eight years old as a contestant on Young Talent Time,’ Tina said in a statement.
‘To have that journey honoured by the National Portrait Gallery is incredibly special. But what excites me most is that there is still so much more to come.’
It comes after Tina recently rounded out the Australian run of her 30th anniversary tour, celebrating the success of her 1994 smash hit album Don’t Ask.
Tina’s new portrait, commissioned to celebrate her 50 years in show business, consists of two black and white panels by fashion photographer Antoni
It comes after Tina recently rounded out the Australian run of her 30th anniversary tour, celebrating the success of her 1994 smash hit album Don’t Ask
She is set to continue her tour with shows in Europe next month.
It comes after Tina appeared on Channel Ten’s The Project last year and was asked by co-host Rove McManus why she embarked on her upcoming tour.
‘What designates the milestone? Do you wait until 21, 25, 30, what’s the number?’ Rove asked the pop star.
Tina responded that she came to the realisation she was getting older and she either had to do the tour now – or potentially miss out on it altogether.
‘I think the fact that it is has been around for as long as it has. People said to me at the 25-year mark, ‘what are you going to do about it?’ Tina began.
‘I was like, “I will wait.” The record will hit 30, 40 years, it will hit 50 and I will be dead! I can’t do anything at 50 years!
‘It seemed like the right thing to do, as it is a record that played such a fantastic role in so many people’s lives.’
Her Don’t Ask album debuted at number one on the Australian album chart in November 1994 and went on to be certified 10 times platinum.
The album also sold well in the UK, the US and New Zealand, due to the success of its hit singles Chains, Wasn’t it Good and Sorrento Moon.
