Katharine McPhee on being labeled 'pretty but stupid' and why she is a fan of the Kardashians

Katharine McPhee may have her own beauty standards, but that doesn't stop her from praising other ladies in Hollywood for what they represent. The 32-year-old Scorpion actress admits that she keeps up with the Kardashians and admires their beauty ethic.

"I love the Kardashians," she said in September issue of Ocean Drive magazine. "I enjoy their show. I think some of the images they are constantly putting out there are part of their brand, like constant perfection. I think that they actually are pretty deep thinking, feeling people that have to deal with their issues and lives in their own ways."

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Katharine says she admires the Kardashians beauty standards Photo: Getty Images

Although she isn't a fan of valuing a person by the way they look, Katharine stated that there is a way to find a balance. She explained, "There is nothing wrong with wanting to look as good as you can, but there is no stopping it. The thing about social media is that it brought access to this so-called 'perfection.'"

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The American Idol alum noted that growing up she was always pegged as "pretty but stupid," and how she turned that notion around. “That was when I was really young," the performer said. "I wasn’t the best in school, but I got attention. Often times, I’ll see these pretty little girls at the store with their parents and one of the first things you want to say is, ‘Oh my god, she’s so beautiful.’ I got that a lot as a kid, especially growing up in L.A. with talent and modeling agencies and people giving you their cards, when you become valued only for the way you look."

She continued: "I knew I was really good at something—performing; I knew I had value in that way. One of the things I like the most about myself now is how emotionally intelligent I am and how I feel like I have a real, strong sense of myself. That was something I struggled with. We put these messages out there that [being pretty] is such a valuable thing, and it’s natural to want to affirm something you see is beautiful. But it’s something that people can value too much.”

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While she is comfortable with her beauty, Katharine is just as comfortable with the idea of getting older. However, when it comes to going under the knife, the actress has no qualms against that idea in the future. "I don't really have a problem with it, but I feel like the reason people don't want to talk about it is because there is this stigma on whether or not it is actually good work," she said.

Katharine is a former American Idol contestant Photo: Getty Images

"I’m not going to run out and get a face-lift anytime soon, but I don’t know how I’m going to feel 20 years from now," she shared. "I do believe in aging. I think that there is nothing more unattractive than someone who just refuses to age. At some point you have to allow yourself to age a little bit. But I can’t say that I won’t want to look as good as I possibly can in any stage of my life.”

And beauty aside, the actress is also learning the ropes on how to be single. After divorcing Nick Cokas in 2014 and more recently ending her relationship with Scorpion co-star Elyes Gabel in July, this is new territory for her. “I have not been single for very much of my life. I don’t really understand how to date or how to be single," she said. "As soon as I know that I don’t really want to be in a relationship with somebody, I don’t really care to keep it going. I’m trying to date in a way that doesn’t lock me down. There is still a certain level of attachment with the prior relationship that I was in, so emotionally to be suddenly dating other people is not as easy. People say, ‘You just need to hook up with a bunch of people,’ but I am more of an in-love kind of person. I want to be in love with one person. I’m a one-man kind of gal and a kind of true romantic at heart.”

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