She is one of Hollywood's most esteemed actresses, with her diverse and kooky roles winning praise throughout her near-three decade long career.

Yet Winona Ryder insists her popularity was not always so widespread as she gave a candid interview in Marie Claire's November issue, where she admitted she was bullied at school following her role in iconic 1988 movie Beetlejuice.

The 45-year-old stunner appeared in a dazzling shoot alongside the interview, in which she sported a number of gowns before talking about her role in Netflix series Stranger Things - and how the series impacted her emotionally.

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Thinking it over: Winona Ryder insists her popularity was not always so widespread as she gave a candid interview in Marie Claire 's November issue, where she admitted she was bullied at school following her role in iconic 1988 movie Beetlejuice

Winona revealed she found it tough accessing the emotions she required for her role in Stranger Things, in which plays single other Joyce Byers mother to teenager Jonathan and 12-year-old Will - who goes missing.

Asking her own mother to help her draw on the emotions Joyce would be feeling, Winona revealed Joyce's words made her realise how a mother would feel.

She said: 'I said: "Mom, if every bit of logic is telling you your kid is gone, would you still refuse to believe it?” And she said: “Absolutely.”

'I said: "What if they show you a body?” She said, “If you don’t see it happen, you don’t believe it.” It’s a weird, primal thing. But I may have gone too far: it seemed like every day I was crying or freaking out.’

Emotional: Winona revealed she found it tough accessing the emotions she required for her role in Stranger Things, in which plays single other Joyce Byers mother to teenager Jonathan and 12-year-old Will

Chic: The 45-year-old stunner appeared in a dazzling shoot alongside the interview, in which she sported a number of gowns before talking about her role in popular Netflix series Stranger Things - and how the series impacted her emotionally

Winona shot to fame in the early Eighties, first in her role as Rina in 1986 David Seltzer movie Lucas, which led her to Tim Burton, who was so impressed with her acting skills that he cast her as Lydia Deetz in 1988's Beetlejuice.

Playing a teen whose family relocate to a haunted house, her character was seen to get along famously with ghosts played by Hollywood heavyweights including Michael Keaton, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin - winning huge acclaim for the part.

While she was hoping the film's popularity would win her very own popularity among peers, Winona confessed she struggled in school as she was branded a witch.

She said: 'I remember thinking: “Ooh, it is like the number-one movie. This is going to make things great at school.” But it made things worse. They called me a witch'.

Way back when: Winona shot to fame in the early Eighties, first in her role as Rina in 1986 David Seltzer movie Lucas, which led her to Tim Burton who was so impressed with her acting skills that he cast her as Lydia Deetz in 1988's Beetlejuice

Witch? While she was hoping the film's popularity would win her popularity among her peers, Winona confessed she struggled in school as she was branded a witch

As she grew up with humble beginnings, Winona confessed she maintained a happy childhood thanks to her loving mother and father, Cynthia and Michael. She said: ‘We didn’t have a lot of money, but the love compensation was amazing.

'My dad would make little things exciting, like bringing home Rolos. There’s that saying, “you find your family,” but I would have chosen them even if they weren’t my parents. They’re my best friends.’

Speaking of his parents' relationship, she said: 'They are madly in love, they’re like teenagers. It’s embarrassing sometimes…

'I’ve had relationships that haven’t worked out. But when you have that as your gold (standard), and you know that’s the way it should be… Oh man!’

Discussing the success of Stranger Things, she said: 'It’s so overwhelming. I don’t know what it’s like for really famous people… I keep hearing that people are dressing up like me as her character Joyce. I’m like, “What?”’

Out now: To read the feature in full, see the November issue of Marie Claire, out on Thursday

Keeping herself away from social media is clearly something Winona is determined to do, as she hilariously weighed in on Snapchat - with a cheeky mispronouncing.

She said: 'Snack chat? Give me a piece of that! I’m like the confused older person on the Stranger Things set. People who I really respect talk about “relevance”, but I’m like: “I don’t care, leave me alone.”’

On the unprecedented success of Stranger Things, which came after a break from the spotlight, she said: ‘My hiatus. Whatever they want to call it – I did take time off. It was mutual, I think. I just went through a tough time.

'It’s so overwhelming. I don’t know what it’s like for really famous people… I keep hearing that people are dressing up like me as her character Joyce. I’m like, “What?”’

To read the feature in full, see the November issue of Marie Claire, out on Thursday