Just before her appointment as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, her appearance had suddenly changed. She put on a lot of weight and lost hair. She was suffering from a benign brain tumour and had to undergo radiotherapy and steroid treatment. Mowlam thinks this has increased her "tough" appearance. She believes that women can be just as tough as men but that this is not the most important quality they should possess.

 "I think you can be tough and female. I probably look tougher than I am because ever since my benign brain tumour … I lost a lot of hair - it's come back but not as much as I would like. … Some days I think I look like an out of work American football player! - so I'm a bit kind of stocky and I think that makes me look tough. But toughness, determination and courage are always important in politics. But for women the main thing I think is about confidence, if you are confident and act confidently you can do it, whatever it is you want to do, confidence is the key."