Kim Novak: Being beautiful in Hollywood can be a hassle

Kim Novak is considered one of the most beautiful screen stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era. However, the “Vertigo” actress, now 79, said that being deemed a Tinseltown beauty did come with disadvantages.

“Sometimes it's a handicap, having people (judge) you only for the way you look, rather than for the way you think and feel about life,” Novak told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column, after her hand and footprints were enshrined in concrete in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival over the weekend. “There are so many people who only look at the outside. But I paint, so I like to think that is what I do: I’m always trying to show what is coming from the inside of me. If you stop and look at just the outside, that's unfortunate. I try to let the inside come through, and all you can do is try.”

Novak’s old friend Debbie Reynolds was also on hand to honor the screen star and congratulated her for escaping the Hollywood machine.

“She was smart enough to leave as a big star. And give everybody the finger. ‘I’m out of here!!’ And she actually married a nice man,” Reynolds said with a smile. “It never happened to me!”

And while Novak said it would take something pretty special for her to agree to get in front of the camera again, one can never say never.

“It would have to be pretty right to get me back. I lead a wonderful life, I live in Oregon with my husband [a veterinarian] and ride horses. We live a beautiful life with our animals,” she continued. “It would have to be terrific, but you never know. I'm certainly not looking for anything, but if something came and felt right.”

Novak also hopes that her hand and footprints aren’t the only impressions she leaves behind in Hollywood.

“I am hoping that my performances are also memorable. I always meant to be an original. I have prided myself on not being of a particular style of acting, but just being a real person coming from my inner spirit. I like to think that offers something original,” Novak said. “That's the feeling I have always gotten from my fans, that my performances are something timeless. That is what I hope to leave with people.”

Danielle Jones-Wesley contributed to this report.