Nikki Reed Gets Real About Feeling "Good Enough" in Hollywood

Twilight star speaks candidly about success at a Create & Cultivate event

By Mike Vulpo Oct 19, 2016 1:40 AMTags

When it comes to defining success in Hollywood, many people have different interpretations.

Maybe it's an Oscar trophy at the end of awards season. Perhaps it's a giant check after a box office hit. Or maybe it's simply doing something that makes you feel good.

Over the weekend, Nikki Reed traveled to Atlanta to speak at a Create & Cultivate event where the subject of success came up. As it turns out, the panelists agreed that it's important to celebrate the milestones along any personal journey.

"The real question is what makes you feel good? Nobody in your position has ever been given a check for $5 million and suddenly they just feel good. You feel good from the start and those things are the icing on the cake or it just doesn't work," Nikki explained. "If you're chasing it the other way around, it will never work and that's why so many people in my business come out so f—ed up.  They are chasing some sort of validation."

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Nikki Reed's Best Looks
Kelley Raye Photography

Soon after, the Twilight star got even more candid about some of the criticism she has faced while trying to accomplish her goals and dreams.

"You know how many times I've been told you're not good enough, you're not pretty enough, you're too fat—that one I really like—you're too skinny—that one's also kinda crazy," she explained after visiting the Amazon fashion lounge. "The amount of times I've been categorized by somebody else's standards of a person is so ridiculous and I would be completely destroyed if I defined myself by that."

Create & Cultivate is described as a movement for women looking to create and cultivate the career of their dreams. Atlanta's event also included Nicole Richie, Ayesha Curry and Sarah Michelle Gellar.

During the discussion, Nikki later opened up about her five-year plan. As it turns out, her goals for the future may not be as Hollywood as you'd think.

"In the next five years, I'd like to be able to look at all of you and say I've gone back to school and I have something to show for it. I'm a lifelong student. I'm always enrolling in classes wherever I am," she shared. "When I was shooting in Baton Rouge for a long time, months and months, I enrolled at LSU and I took psychology and I've taken classes at SMC, UCLA extension."

She later joked, "It's probably me chasing my father's dreams or following my brothers footsteps or something that I should talk to a therapist about."