It was my father who taught me to value myself. He told me that I

In the gentle yet radiant words of Dawn French, there unfolds a truth as timeless as love itself: “It was my father who taught me to value myself. He told me that I was uncommonly beautiful and that I was the most precious thing in his life.” Within this confession lies not merely the memory of affection, but the revelation of self-worth—a truth that begins not within the solitary heart, but in the mirror of another’s love. French, a woman known for her laughter and wit, here speaks from the deepest well of tenderness: the bond between father and daughter, between protector and child, between the voice that names us and the soul that believes it.

The origin of this wisdom rests in the understanding that a parent, especially a father, holds the sacred power to shape how a child sees themselves. When a father’s words are filled with love and reverence, they become the first melody of confidence that echoes throughout a child’s life. Dawn French’s father did not merely tell her she was beautiful—he taught her to value herself, to understand her own worth not as a reflection of the world’s judgment, but as something intrinsic, unshakable, divine. In a world that so often teaches women to doubt themselves, such love is not only rare—it is redemptive.

This truth was known even to the ancients. In the old tales of Greece, it was said that the sculptor Pygmalion carved a woman so beautiful that he fell in love with his own creation. Yet the deeper lesson of that myth is not about beauty’s perfection, but about the power of recognition—that love awakens life. So too did Dawn French’s father see beauty where others might not have looked deeply enough. His gaze did not shape her into vanity, but into confidence—a living statue not of marble, but of spirit. He breathed into her the belief that she was worthy of love simply because she was.

We see this reflected in the life of Eleanor Roosevelt, who began her childhood under the shadow of self-doubt. Her father, though troubled and distant, was the one who told her she was special, who made her feel seen. Those rare moments of affirmation became her secret armor against the cruelties of the world. Later, she became one of the most powerful voices for justice and human dignity, a woman who lifted nations as her father once lifted her heart. From him she learned that the power to love oneself begins with being loved rightly.

In her words, Dawn French gives voice to the sacred responsibility of fathers—to be the first teacher of a child’s worth. When a father speaks love into his daughter, he builds within her the foundation upon which all her future relationships will stand. She will not hunger for approval nor settle for cruelty, for she will have known the steady light of unconditional care. But when that voice is absent, the soul wanders, searching for mirrors in places where love does not dwell. Thus, to every parent, the lesson is eternal: the words you speak become the world your child believes in.

Yet, there is also a message here for every soul grown older, perhaps untouched by such love in youth. For while a father’s voice may begin the journey, self-value must ultimately be claimed by one’s own spirit. The child who once heard “you are precious” must one day whisper it to themselves. If no one has said it before, then let it be said now: you are of worth beyond measure, not because of what you do or how you appear, but because you are a living vessel of hope, capable of love, of courage, of light. That truth, once accepted, cannot be taken away.

So, let the teaching of Dawn French’s father pass down like an ancient blessing: to love is to awaken the sacred worth in another. To speak words of affirmation, to lift others by seeing the beauty within them, is no small act—it is the very work of creation. Let every father, every mother, every friend, and every teacher become such a voice. Tell the children in your care that they are precious. Tell those around you that they are seen. And tell yourself, when silence falls, that you are worthy too.

For in the end, as this wise daughter reminds us, the greatest inheritance a parent can give is self-belief—a faith that outlasts death, outshines sorrow, and carries the heart unbroken through the trials of the world. When love speaks, it becomes truth; and when truth is spoken with love, it endures forever.