Hayden Panettiere comes out as bisexual at age 36 and reveals why she's speaking out now

Actor Hayden Panettiere has shared how she has only very recently got to grips with telling people about her sexuality, ahead of the publication of her memoir.

Panettiere got her start as a child actor on soap operas such as ABC’s One Life to Live and CBS’ Guiding Light.

She would later hit the big time with her role as Princess Dot in A Bug's Life, before becoming a Disney star in Tiger Cruise, Remember the Titans and Ice Princess.

But perhaps her best known role was playing Claire Bennet on NBC’s Heroes.

Panettiere shared the news about her sexuality during an interview with US Weekly ahead of the publication for her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

She was asked about coming out in her book and explained her attraction towards women, which she said started at a 'very, very young age'.

She said: “That’s something about me I was never able to share with the world, because it was just never the right time.

“It was either I was too young, and I was being forced to be perfect at all times. I was not encouraged to just be myself.”

Hayden Panettiere's biggest role was in the TV series Heroes (Photo by Mitch Haaseth/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

She said that when she realised her feelings for women, it was at a time where it felt like people coming out was a fad.

Panettiere added that she was afraid the public would just view it as jumping on the bandwagon if she came out as bi during this period.

She continued: "And once again, it was always the fear of not being perfect, and what my team was going to think about it, what the public’s opinion was going to be about it.

“It was just never the right time, and it was a very difficult topic to articulate properly… It’s sad that I had to wait till I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?”

The actress revealed that she was now very comfortable revealing her sexuality.

Hayden has come out as bi-sexual (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)

She said: “I'm comfortable saying I’m bisexual. I’m comfortable to confidently say that, yes, I am bisexual. I said it!”

Panettiere talked about how earlier in her life she was scared because of the constant pressure of paparazzi waiting outside her home, 'following her everywhere'.

Despite this, she admitted had dated women in the past, as her bisexuality had started at a very, very young age.

Her book, This Is Me: A Reckoning, will be published on May 19.