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Claire Danes has a pretty strange phobia…

Claire Danes used to have a “phobia of girls”. The ‘Homeland actress struggled to fit in when she attended a “really progressive” school that lacked structure and admitted her experiences made her mistrustful of female friendships.

“I think the kids compensated for [the lack of structure] by creating a really strong social structure,” says Claire. “It was cliquey as eff. That was hard for me. [My friend there] knew how critical it was to remain discreet and inconspicuous and, for some reason, I just didn’t know how essential that was. I would get targeted, I think because I was a little too myself, maybe? I don’t know, too expressive or something? I just retreated and became pretty isolated.”

But the 37-year-old star overcame her worries when she enrolled in Yale university in 1998 to study psychology and now has a close group of female pals who meet for a monthly book club and loves being around them.

She told Harper’s Bazaar: “They all do their different things. One’s a therapist, one is a doctor and one is a graphic designer We could be a great non-profit organisation. I don’t know what I would offer, though. Really it’s an excuse to be amongst each other… There’s an energy shift when it’s all women. It feels so replenishing.

“I mean, I love men, obviously, but it feels really good. I think we do start talking a little differently. We’re allowed to say we have certain grievances, that we’ve had a hard time because we’re women. It’s also just really fun.”

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