Lea Michele Says ‘Following In Chrissy Teigen’s Shoes’ Was Intimidating

Lea Michele says she’s proud of her body and adds that she feels as though she’s in better condition than she’s ever been in, but that doesn’t mean the Scream Queens actress wasn’t apprehensive about posing nude for Women’s Health UK. In fact, Ms. Michele admits to feeling more than a little intimidated, but when it was all over and she had a chance to view the images, Lea says she was impressed with the finished images. In posing nude, she reminded herself that she was following in the footsteps of her own role models, but at the end of the day, it was Michele whose image was being forever immortalized on the cover of Women’s Health.

Scream Queens Star Lea Michele Bares More Than Her Soul, But This Wasn’t The First Time

In an interview shared by Elite Daily, Lea Michele says she agreed to pose nude for the Women’s Health cover for a number of reasons but adds that having seen others do the Nude Issue cover before her was a big motivator. Michele points to Chrissy Teigen and Zoe Saldana in naming those who have been featured on the cover for the special issue in recent years. Teigen more recently was the featured cover model, posing for the 2015 issue.

“It was intimidating following in Chrissy Teigen’s shoes. She’s so beautiful,” says the Scream Queens star. “Zoe Saldana has done the cover as well. But I’m very comfortable in my skin. I was on Broadway and I had to take my clothes off there as well.”

Michele says she was very pleased with the end results, but she admits the expected trepidation in baring one’s body publicly is always there. While some might expect it to get easier for an actress or model who has done previous nude scenes, Lea says she still felt nervous about exposing herself on a magazine cover with such widespread distribution. In the end, Lea says approaching her 30th birthday served as another motivator, because she knew, if she was going to do it, she wanted to do it sooner rather than later.

“I feel the best I’ve ever felt in my whole life,” says Ms. Michele. “I’m going to be 30 in three weeks, so I think it was the perfect time to do that.”

Lea Michele Is Having A Great Time Playing Hester

When Lea Michele was cast by Ryan Murphy for the freshman season of his Scream Queens series, many remarked at the odd fit it was for the Glee actress to star in a horror comedy show, but her first appearances as Hester proved that she was perfect for the role. As unexpected as that casting may have been for Lea herself, she tells Entertainment Tonight that she has come to love her character and reveals that she really enjoys working on the show.

“They got a bunch of pictures of me the other day filming and that was a lot of fun,” says Ms. Michele of the recent set photos in which she’s revealed to be dressed in a prison jumpsuit.

“If you ever told me a couple of years ago that I would be playing this character and doing the things I am doing I wouldn’t believe you. But I am having the best time. I love my storyline for this season and it’s going to be really great.”

Lea also shared that she has developed a new hobby at the request of her fans. She’s been practicing her Snapchat skills in between Scream Queens shooting breaks, and she used the app to share her recent Women’s Health photos with fans. Michele admits it was a new challenge, but she says she was determined to get the hang of it and, to that end, she practiced until she finally mastered the app.

“If you ask for me to get good at something, I’m going to get really, really good at it,” said the Scream Queens star, laughing. “So everyone’s been saying, ‘Please snapchat more, please do it,’ and so if you ask you shall receive. That’s what happens in the day of Lea Michele.”

[Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images]