It is a long way to come for a Gorleston schoolgirl with “massive glasses and chicken legs” to cover girl for the latest edition of Cosmopolitan.The list of past cover girls on the iconic magazine reads like a Who's Who, spanning decades of glamour from Farah Fawcett-Majors and Madonna through to Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce.

It is a long way to come for a Gorleston schoolgirl with “massive glasses and chicken legs” to cover girl for the latest edition of Cosmopolitan.

The list of past cover girls on the iconic magazine reads like a Who's Who, spanning decades of glamour from Farah Fawcett-Majors and Madonna through to Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce.

And the mother of Norfolk singer and television presenter Myleene Klass last night described it as “quite a compliment” that her daughter was joining the illustrious names on the front cover of April's edition.

Bong Klass said: “I don't normally read that type of magazine and I have not had a chance to look at the pictures yet but it shows just how far Myleene has come to get there.”

Myleene, who in the past has spearheaded an anti-bullying campaign, talks to Cosmopolitan about the impact school bullies had on her life.

The former pupil of Gorleston's St Mary's RC Primary and Cliff Park High schools says: “I was never the prettiest at school - I wore these massive glasses and had chicken legs. And I thought it was normal to get bullied. I started wearing my make-up as a mask - I needed something to hide behind. If I use my fame for anything, I hope it's to give the message that it's within everyone's power to overcome it.”

Myleene's mother would not be drawn further yesterday on how bullying had tainted her daughter's life but she has previously told the Mercury how she was “called to the school once after she had to go to hospital because she was thrown down the stairs”.

The personal way she has talked about bullying in her latest interview has drawn praise from Rita Adair, specialist educational psychologist for Norfolk County Council.

Ms Adair said: “Myleene is a role model for many of the county's young people and we hope her determination to talk about this issue encourages other victims of bullying to speak out.”

The full interview appears in Cosmopolitan magazine on sale this week.