They might strut their stuff on the red carpet and grace the covers of high-fashion magazines, but – like the rest of us – celebrities have their fair share of body blunders. Here, we reveal them all…

Spot the problem
Spots are something most of us hope to wave bye-bye to when we move from teens to 20-somethings. But even the most successful young actress is powerless to prevent teenage  skin problems following her into her later years, as British superstar Keira Knightley well knows.

Being refreshingly honest about her adult acne, the 25-year-old admits, ‘I look in the mirror and go, “Oh no! More spots, more acne!”’

Just like fellow celebrity actresses Cameron Diaz and Renée Zellweger, Keira has never denied she has a far-from-perfect complexion. She describes it as ‘really awful’, and admits that she only looks picture-perfect with a good slathering of camouflage.

‘I’ve been saved many times at film premieres by wonderful make-up artists who make my skin look much better than it is,’ she says. ‘That’s all part of the make-believe world of cinema.’

As for Keira’s flawless on-screen close-ups, the secret is ‘about four hours of make-up – and I have a very good dermatologist’.

But when it came to making the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, not even the best expert help
could banish the blemishes. Following a reaction to the make-up she wore for her role as Elizabeth Swann, Keira’s spots had to be painstakingly digitally removed during the post-production stage.

Still, bearing in mind the film turned out to be one of the highest-grossing of all time, the extra budget for Keira’s all-clear was money well spent.

Fuzz-tastic!
With 11 appearances on People magazine’s ‘50 Most Beautiful People in the World’ under her belt, you’d  think that Julia Roberts would be on permanent super-preen duty. After all, she’s as famous for her gorgeous smile, lustrous locks and killer bod as she is for her acting skills.

But in the late 1990s, the Oscar winner took to rocking the red carpet with an extra accessory – one that, until then, was taboo on LA lovelies: hairy armpits. So why the furry friends? It’s not like Julia’s budget can’t stretch to the odd razor or waxing session. As one of the world’s highest-paid actresses, she  can afford her own full-time army  of personal waxing consultants.

First spotted during an enthusiastic arm wave during the 1999 premiere of her film Notting Hill, 43-year-old Julia’s tendency to keep it natural has proved to be a favourite ever since. The mum-of-three again revealed her love of fuzz during a relaxed beach holiday in Hawaii in September 2010.

And she’s not alone; other Hollywood beauties who’ve taken on the trend include Drew Barrymore, 35, who
was spotted touting her tufts at a 2005 Marc Jacobs fashion show, and Hilary Swank, 36, who accessorised  her gorgeous gold Calvin Klein bustier dress with furry armpits at an Elle magazine party in October 2010.

Perhaps these A-listers need to pay more attention to the numerous, and easily available, hair removal products on the market. Whatever their hair or skin type, there are effective  and easy-to-use wax strips, hot waxes
(which are particularly good for tough hair) and body sugars – all of which make de-fuzzing at home a straightforward, quick and pain-free procedure. Are you listening, A-listers?

All white now
They say the English have bad teeth, but TV’s favourite Mr Nasty Simon Cowell has gone to great lengths to break that particular stereotype.The 51-year-old X-Factor judge has famously spent thousands of pounds
turning his ‘smoker’s yellows’ into Hollywood-approved ‘pearly whites’. So white, in fact, that at times his  neon nashers eclipse everything else on screen. (No offence intended, Cheryl Cole.)

But the millionaire music mogul knows it’s important to give praise where praise is due, dedicating his
2010 National Television Award to his cosmetic dentist, Rob O’Neill. Yes, it’s fair to say the man is obsessed. As well as offering teeth-whitening to all X-Factor finalists, Simon also pledged to pay for fellow judge Louis Walsh to get his smile spruced up.

‘Louis was supposed to have new teeth – he does need them. I would actually pay for him to have new teeth,’ said Simon. ‘It’s a big job. I’ll start with just one tooth this year. Then we can keep going for the next 20 years.’

True to form, Mr Nasty couldn’t resist one dentistry dig at his friend’s expense. ‘It hasn’t been the success he [Louis] hoped, because where I use a white chart, he used a grey chart,’ he said. ‘His teeth are straight but grey!’

A load of hot air
If there’s a list of embarrassing secrets you’d rather weren’t outed on national radio, this one must be at the top.
Just months before their wedding, comedian Russell Brand described  Katy Perry as a ‘flatulence factory’ – not to her face, but on air during a US radio interview.

‘The pop hits that she fires out of her mouth are nothing compared to what comes out the other end of her!’ he quipped.

Ever the lady, Katy, 26, didn’t waste time in protesting her innocence. ‘I’ve farted a lot in my life, but never once
in front of Russell’, she claimed.

Despite the coyness around her man, the popstress has claimed she’s ‘a real person, not some manufactured pop tart who’s afraid to step out of the hotel room.’ Continued the I Kissed a Girl singer: ‘I’m flawed – I swear, I have the occasional cocktail, I pick my nose and fart,’ she says.

Oh, and she also tells tales behind the back of 35-year-old Russell. ‘Being a vegetarian, his farts are the worst things ever. Lingering and revolting.’

Perhaps that’s the reason behind the recent split rumours.

Losing control
A nation of mums cheered recently when TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson spoke about a personal health problem she’s suffered from for decades. Ulrika, 43, revealed that having four children has left her with a  weak bladder, also known as light adult incontinence.

‘It could be quite funny if it weren’t so serious,’ she said. ‘In fact, when some of us do laugh, we run the risk of losing control of our bladders and having to make a mad dash for the toilet.’

The 2009 Celebrity Big Brother winner first noticed the problem while she  was pregnant with her oldest son, Cameron, who’s now 16. During pregnancy and childbirth the muscles and tendons supporting the bladder were stretched and damaged. But the issue didn’t appear in any pregnancy or parenting books, nor  was it talked about much, so she labelled it as one of the things that’s inevitable after having kids.

‘I’m Swedish and terribly open about all subjects… yet I wouldn’t have dreamed of bringing it up,’ she explained. ‘It not only felt awkward, but I believed that I was the only one who had it.’

As light adult incontinence affects one in three women over 30, she’s hardly alone. Still, the sense of isolation led to her fronting a campaign with the charity Wellbeing of Women to lift the taboo.

‘No one’s ever talked about it,’ she said. ‘So many women suffer in silence, so I thought it was important we generate some conversation about this.’

Stink bomb
He's mobbed by female fans the world over, but gorgeous actor Robert Pattinson has come up with a novel  way of keeping even the most ardent admirer at arm’s length.The man who plays teen vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight film trilogy might look good, but he smells b-a-d.

In fact, a source on the set of the 2009 hit film Twilight: New Moon confided that the 24-year-old ‘stinks’: ‘I mean, it’s awful. He never showers, and it drives people on the set crazy.’

Robert’s admission that he doesn’t ‘have much of a sense of personal hygiene or styling,’ goes some way to explaining his distinctive smell. ‘These jeans are  a few days old. But the top is probably fresh because it gets to the point where even I can’t stand the air around me,’ he confessed. ‘I have very few clothes that I like and I’m travelling all the time, so I can’t really get any more.’

In the mood for clearing the air – if not his laundry hamper – the heart-throb actor went on to admit that  when it comes to his famously tousled locks, he’s just as slapdash.

‘I don’t really see the point in washing your hair,’ he divulged. ‘If you don’t care if your hair’s clean or not, why would
you wash it? I have my hair for just, you know, hanging out on my head.’

And while the hair just, you know, hangs around his head, the dandruff just, you know, hangs around his shoulders. And is he bothered? Well, no. ‘I was supposed to have a little afternoon nap, but instead I just went like that [shaking his hair] all afternoon to see how much dandruff could possibly come out of my hair. It was intense.’

The above feature was published in at home's Ask the Doctor with Dr Christian Jessen in March 2011. To read more articles from the mag, just click here or visit at home's health section here.

 Images: PA Photos