Misty Copeland has this way of making things look easy. Arriving at her Glamour shoot with a sunny energy and a wide, beaming smile, she instantly makes everyone feel as if she is just one of us. Then the second she steps in front of the camera, boom—you realize who you’re in the room with. Here is a prodigy who started dance at the advanced age of 13, then became the first African American female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (one of the top companies in the world)—a woman who was a muse to and collaborator with Prince and is an author, a diversity advocate, and an idol to young dancers everywhere.

She’s petite (5’2″) but has the effortless strength of an athlete, something that comes across as she nails every move for our photos and video on the first try. And while she’s humble about her own beauty, she’s big on playing cheerleader to others. Listen in as she talks about challenging conventions, and how her new role as the face of Estée Lauder Modern Muse fragrance helps her do it.

GLAMOUR: Let’s go back—how did you find confidence as a young dancer?

Misty Copeland: It took me a while to understand that the classical ballet field is so much about what you look like, and also to accept that it’s OK to be different. I don’t need to look like every ballerina that’s come before me. As a young person, I wish I had had more examples of success through people who looked like me, showing me that brown skin is beautiful. I’ve been able to discover beauty on my own terms.

GLAMOUR: Whom have you looked up to along the way?

MC: Veronica Webb [the first African American model to land a major beauty contract, with Revlon in 1992]. She was one of the first groundbreaking black women I met early in my career. She set an example that there were endless opportunities no matter where you came from.

PHOTO: Nyra Lang

GLAMOUR: Have you always been into beauty?

MC: My mother loved makeup. She never left the house without full mascara and red lips. But as a child, I never wanted to stand out. The most I wore, up until high school, was clear mascara. I didn’t really discover makeup until I became a dancer, and I still don’t wear much when I’m not working. But I’ve always been a big perfume person. It’s something I put on before I step into rehearsal or onto the stage. I think it’s nice for my partner to smell something beautiful, and it has kind of just become a part of this ritual of my preparing to go onstage.

GLAMOUR: When do you feel most beautiful now?

MC: Onstage, when I’m able to really become the characters. Something about all that hard work and history makes me feel beautiful. It’s not that I feel ugly in my everyday life; it’s just not my goal to be beautiful.

GLAMOUR: So what motivated you to do a cosmetics campaign?

MC: It’s important for women to see themselves represented in every hue and every shape, with different careers and different paths. You don’t have to have plastic surgery; you don’t have to be stick-thin and starve yourself to be beautiful. I feel like I represent a lot of people. And I want to encourage young people to love themselves and accept who they are.

PHOTO: Nyra Lang

Related Stories:
–Read Misty Copeland’s Heartfelt Letter to Her 13-Year-Old Self
–Watch Misty Copeland Apply Makeup Using Ballerina Beauty Hacks
–5 Healthy Things Misty Copeland Does Every Day

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