Tina Fey [1] — the unofficial mascot for nerdy, awkward girls everywhere — decided to shatter everyone's dreams earlier this month by revealing that the inspiration for Mean Girls [2]'s most iconic character, Regina George [3], came from her own personality. "I was the mean girl," she revealed in a recent interview with Net-a-Porter's The Edit [4]. "I admit it openly." Although the Sisters actress [5] has always maintained her status as "a high-functioning nerd" [6] in her teenage years, apparently her predilection for bullying was serious. "That was a disease that had to be conquered," she went on. "It's another coping mechanism — it's a bad coping mechanism — but when you feel less than (in high school, everyone feels less than everyone else for different reasons), in your mind it's a way of leveling the playing field. Though of course it's not."

The interview, which is accompanied by some ridiculously glamorous portraits [7] taken by photographer Sebastian Kim, definitely wouldn't find a fan in Ms. Norbury, but now we know why the iconic movie [8] is so spot on. And if that isn't enough Tina for you, be sure to check out her amazing celebrity impressions [9]!