Film and TV star Hayden Panettiere has come out as bisexual in her new memoir, and discussed the journey in a new interview.

The American actor, best known for the TV shows Heroes and Nashville, as well as two instalments of the Scream film franchise, opened up about her sexuality for the first time in her new memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and spoke to US Weekly about why she chose now to talk about it.

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

The star continued: “Then came the period where it felt like people coming out, especially women, saying that they were bisexual or liked girls, was a fad. I was afraid that if I was honest, it was going to be like me jumping on the bandwagon. It’s sad I had to wait until I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?”

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She then shared: “I’m comfortable to confidently say that yes, I am bisexual. I said it! This is the first time I got to say it out loud.” However, she added that while she has dated women, the fear of backlash prevented her from exploring it fully.

“It was scary, because there were paparazzi always waiting for me outside, to follow me everywhere” she recalled. “I had very little privacy.”

While many LGBTQ+ actors are now visible in Hollywood, such as Luke Evans, Elliot Page, and Reneé Rapp, coming out has often been seen as a “risk” to performers’ careers. Last year, Ben Whishaw, who is openly gay, told The Guardian that there is still pressure for Queer actors “to conform to what is deemed to be heterosexual taste,” adding: “I don’t blame people for being private [about their sexuality].”