‘Dallas’ star Charlene Tilton says she never felt ‘beautiful’ as a 1980s sex symbol

“Dallas” star Charlene Tilton was a 1980s sex symbol, but the 64-year-old said she never felt “beautiful” when she was in the spotlight. 

“I had no idea how beautiful I was,” Tilton told People magazine in an interview published Thursday. “I look back at pictures now and go, ‘I really was all that and a bag of chips!’ I really was pretty. But, back then, I didn’t get it.”

Tilton appeared on hundreds of magazine covers at the height of her fame playing J.R. Ewing’s (Larry Hagman) conniving niece Lucy.

The actress, now starring in the faith-based romance “Heaven Sent” said she couldn’t help comparing herself to bombshells like Farrah Fawcett, Loni Anderson and Suzanne Somers at the time. 

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Charlene Tilton, 64, said she never felt “beautiful” as a young actress.  (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images/Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Princess Cruises)

“There were all kinds of beautiful women in Hollywood. I didn’t think I was anything special,” she told People, adding that she thought supermodel Iman was the “epitome” of beauty. 

“I just remember wishing I looked like Iman, the model and David Bowie’s wife,” she recalled. “She just has the most gorgeous bone structure and skin color and is tall and gorgeous. To me, she was the epitome of beauty. I was short, and when I gained five pounds, you could see it. And, believe me, it was mentioned in the press.”

Charlene Tilton played Lucy Ewing on “Dallas.”  (Getty Images)

“I’m curvy. I’m not tall and thin. I’m not elegant, I’m spunky,” she said, adding that she always wanted to be a character actress. She now gets to do that in her 60s with the movies she’s made over the last few years, like “A Welcome Home Christmas” and “Starting up Love.” 

Charlene Tilton said she was always comparing herself to bombshells like Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers. (Getty Images)

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She said she’s “comfortable and content” with her life in Nashville, where she lives near her daughter, country singer Cherish Lee, and her two grandsons.

Charlene Tilton lives near her daughter and two grandsons in Nashville.  (Getty Images)

“The older I get, I’ve learned to be more present in the day to day,” she said. “When I was on Dallas, it was such a whirlwind. At my age now, I’m more present. I don’t feel the need to take every job, but I do make myself say yes to most things because I believe in saying yes and trying new things and having opportunities.

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“What I love about the age I am now is it brings different characters.”