Zoë Kravitz says she was ‘uncomfortable with her blackness’ growing up

Zoë Kravitz has opened up about feeling “uncomfortable” with her mixed-race heritage and how she eventually found self-acceptance.

In a new interview with The Observer magazine on Sunday 6 March, the actor, musician and model said that growing up she would often attempt to change her black features.

“I felt really insecure about my hair. Relaxing it, putting chemicals in it, plucking my eyebrows really thin,” she said.

“I was uncomfortable with my blackness. It took me a long time to not only accept it but to love it and want to scream it from the rooftops.”

Kravitz said the key to finding self-acceptance was “realising what it meant” for the women in her family to be visible, successful black women.

The 33-year-old, who stars as Catwoman in <em>The Batman</em> – the latest release from the DC Extended Universe – is the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, both of whom have successful careers in the film and music industries.

Her paternal grandmother was Roxie Roker, who portrayed Helen Willis on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons.

“For my grandmother to get a job on The Jeffersons, and be a Black woman on TV, and what it meant for her to be in a biracial relationship on television,” she said.

“And to hear stuff that my mother tells me about being a biracial girl in the 1970s, and being abused or being spit on, and what that felt like, you know?”

Kravitz said her parents had never “warned” her about racism she herself might experience.

“I think they were more focused on trying to make sure I understood that despite the colour of my skin I should be able to act or dress or do whatever it is I want to do,” she explained.

Also, during the interview, Kravitz revealed she doesn’t enjoy being famous, and sometimes will not leave the house for fear of being recognised in the street.

“You go into a coffee shop and everyone is looking at you, so you’re spending all of your energy trying to act like you don’t see everybody looking at you,” she said.

“And it’s the little things: I’ll be putting my coffee lid on, and it’s like, don’t spill it, because if you do it’s going to be on the internet… It’s like being the new kid in school every day.”

Highlighting one example, she recalls the criticism she received on social media for her 2021 Met Gala look – a sheer, crystal Saint Laurent gown paired with a matching silver thong.

“It hurt my feelings,” she said of the backlash. “I was really hurt. No matter who you are, how confident you are, people telling you that you’re disgusting, or that you should kill yourself, it doesn’t feel good.”