THE VICTORIA NO ONE KNOWS

At age 50, Victoria Beckham is finally letting her guard down but scandal continues to follow the former Spice Girl

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For decades, people loved to chide Victoria Beckham because she rarely smiled in public. “In the past, I’ve always looked at those red-carpet pictures of me and seen a woman who looks nervous and insecure. Everyone else saw a woman who looked grumpy and stern — I suppose that’s how I got the reputation of being such a miserable cow,” she told The Sunday Times in April. But that’s shifting. “I looked at some pictures of myself recently,” she added, “and was really struck by how happy I looked.”

A lot has changed. The Spice Girls singer-turned-designer just marked a major milestone, turning 50 in April. Her eponymous fashion brand, which she founded in 2008, finally turned a profit after 14 years in business. Three of the four children she shares with husband David Beckham — Brooklyn, 25, Romeo, 21, Cruz, 19, and Harper, 12 — are now grown. And her high-profile marriage has survived (thrived, even) in the face of scandal. “Behind closed doors, Victoria is very loving,” says a Beckham family insider of the woman few really know, “but she’s also quite controlling and super protective of her family. People would be surprised to learn that she can be silly, too — she’s not always as serious as people make her out to be.”

Nearly three decades ago, “David fell in love with the funny, playful Victoria,” adds the insider, “but no one, outside of her family and close friends, really gets to see that side of her.”

POSH UNCOVERED