So is it really a problem, or do these women need a reality check?

Tall, blonde and attractive, one of Australia's first ever supermodels Virginia Hey and in the sights of others.

Nearly every woman who passes her stares daggers, so are they just jealousy or does it go even further?

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Hey's angular beauty scored her a career in the movies and the coveted role as a Bond Girl. Now at 60, she concedes her good looks have been a blessing for her career, but when it comes to her private life, it's been a constant curse, scaring off the most eligible men.

"I think I will be single for the rest of my life because of the problem that my looks have created," she said.

Recently Hey was attacked by a female stranger on the tube. "She just decided 'who the hell do you think you are', and bashed me in the knee."

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Another Generation Y 'It Girl' Ruby Jacenko is another beauty who says her looks have often brought her unwanted attention.

"I have felt (like I'm treated) differently," Jacenko said. "Whether it be by girls being nasty to me without knowing me, judging me from walking into a place, and them not liking the look of me, and even men not wanting to approach me, thinking 'she's going to be a snob'."

Ruby believes she has missed out on job opportunities because of jealous wives and girlfriends. "I was a personal assistant and the boss's wife was really intimidated by me - would come into the office and she would be really rude to me. So I knew what was going on, and it was because of my looks."

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The discrimination these Aussie beauties are describing has a name - lookism.

It is not that the women are ungrateful for their genetic gifts, they just want others to know the flipside - girls can play mean.

However social commentator Melinda Tankard-Reist says these women need a severe reality check.

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"These women who fit society's ideal of a beautiful face are privileged - in life and in society. They're not getting my sympathy, they don't have a hard life at all," Madeline said.

PR Guru and Author, Manon Youdale says she's also lived with 'lookism' all her life. In her new book Unzipped she's written about dealing with the bitchiness.

"Bitchiness only really comes from a fear in other girls; personas - they’re not feeling good about themselves. I call it 'transference' - they're transferring their own fears onto you," Youdale said.