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9 stars who have embraced their individuality to the max

If you've ever been bullied because of your race, weight, sexuality, beliefs or countless other things that make us all unique, then you'll know how it feels to be different.

This week on Radio 1's The Surgery, Gemma Cairney and Dr Radha will be discussing what it's like to be different and how to deal with prejudice in all its forms.

But as these celebrities will tell you, standing out and being an individual is what makes us all special and exciting...

Christine & The Queens

Heloise Letissier is one of music's coolest and most inspirational new pop stars and as her message of acceptance, love and equality is as powerful as her music.

"The society we live in makes it too easy for people to feel like they're tilted — not fitting in, that is. When you're too fat, too queer, trans, when you're black," she told Advocate.com.

"Being myself is a constant and difficult work in progress."

"I'm not at peace yet, but Christine is definitely me trying to have my own set of rules, me trying to escape."

Lorde

was embraced by millions of young fans with her alternative looks, sound and performances but critics were harsh on the teen star when she came to international fame in 2012.

She has said that the only criticism she cares about comes from people the same age as her and in an emotional Facebook tribute to said that he helped her to love her quirks and what made her different.

"I realised everything I’d ever done, or would do from then on, would be done like maybe he was watching," she wrote after his death.

"I realised I was proud of my spiky strangeness because he had been proud of his. And I know I’m never going to stop learning dances, brand new dances."

Olly Alexander

Olly from has spoken out about being bullied in school and struggling with depression, but now uses his platform to inspire young people who may also be struggling to be proud of who they are.

He gave an empowering speech at Glastonbury in 2016, encouraging gay people to fight back against fear in their everyday lives.

"As a queer person, as queer people we know what it’s like to be scared. We know what it’s like to live with fear. As part of our every day.

"But, tonight at Glastonbury, I would like to ask you to join me on Pride weekend, and say ‘no thank you fear.’ To say, ‘bye fear, bye.’ To literally shove a rainbow in fear’s face.

"And all I have to say to finish is, I’m here, I’m queer, and yeah sometimes I am afraid but I am never ashamed because I am proud of who I am!"

Little Mix

The four ladies are beautifully different and they say that's exactly what makes the group and their friendship work so well.

"From the very beginning, we've always gone with what we feel comfortable with," Jesy Nelson tells Glamour.co.uk.

"We've also got different colour skin tones, and different colour hair… so what may suit me, may never suit Perrie."

"We're very individual and we like to keep it that way, and in a way that's what brings us together that we're all different"

Beyonce

Can you imagine telling that she should change how she looks in order to fit in and sell more records? Unbelievably, this happened - so she wrote one of her biggest hits about it.

"I wrote Bootylicious because, at the time, I'd gained some weight and the pressure that people put you under, the pressure to be thin, is unbelievable," she told Shape magazine.

"I was just 18 and you shouldn't be thinking about that. You should be thinking about building up your character and having fun, and the song was just telling everyone to just forget what people are saying, you're bootylicious.

"That's all. It's a celebration of curves and a celebration of women's bodies."

Watch Destiny's Child's Bootylicious video here

(Warning: Third party video may contain adverts)

Lady Gaga

has inspired millions of 'little monsters' with her positive messages about acceptance and has always admitted she never felt she fitted in when she was younger.

"Be yourself and love who you are and be proud, because you were born this way," she said during an interview with US TV show The View.

"Getting picked on in school, it sticks with you for life."

"I want you to reject anyone who didn’t make you feel accepted."

Solange

released one of the most powerful albums of 2016, A Seat At The Table, which celebrates every element of black culture.

Solange also about suffering racial abuse at a gig and how she fought back against people who singled her out by refusing to let a minor act of violence affect her.

"You and your friends have been called the N word, been approached as prostitutes, and have had your hair touched in a predominately white bar just around the corner from the same venue," she wrote.

"The biggest payback...was dancing right in front of them with my hair swinging from left to right, my beautiful black son and husband."

Taylor Swift

has built a career around being an outsider and while her friendship circle is one of the most envied in the world, she struggled to fit in when she was in school.

"It doesn't matter if you don't have friends in junior high," she told fans during a live show.

"Being an outsider gave me time to think. There was a time when my greatest fear was not fitting in at school."

Ed Sheeran

Taylor has a close friendship with and he reveals one thing that brought them together is that both struggled to fit in when they were at school.

"There’s an underdog element to it," Ed tells GQ of their friendship. "Taylor was never the popular kid in school. I was never the popular kid in school."

Ed says they both channelled these feelings into their work, to obvious success.

"Then you get to the point when you become the most popular kid in school — and we both take it a bit too far," he says.

"She wants to be the biggest female artist in the world, and I want to be the biggest male artist in the world. It also comes from always being told that you can’t do something."

Listen to The Surgery on Radio 1 at 9pm, Wednesday