Amy Adams is convinced her teenage love life suffered because of her bodybuilder mother, whose ripped physique was "really intimidating" to her skinny boyfriends.

The Fighter star's mum Kathryn took up weightlifting after having Adams and her six siblings, and the Hollywood beauty admits having such a muscular parent made dating difficult.

Adams tells U.K. talk show host Graham Norton, "She had seven kids and then she decided she wanted to get into bodybuilding. She did enter competitions, she was kind of like semi-professional, started as a novice. She started when she was 35 bodybuilding after seven kids - she looked good, she was ripped!

"She was really intimidating to my boyfriends. I tended to date skinny skinny guys. She moved a Tv in front of one of them once and he was terrified. We were watching a movie and the Tv wasn't getting reception, so she literally picked it up and moved it to another part of the (room). She's tough, she's a tough woman!"

Adams is now engaged to actor and artist Darren Le Gallo.