Zooey Deschanel has revealed she was bullied at school.
The 'New Girl' star was tormented by mean pupils during her time at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, and the worst incident she can recall was when a girl spat in her face.
Speaking in the new issue of InStyle magazine, Zooey said: "Seventh grade was the ultimate low rock bottom - someone spitting in your face while you are on your way to your locker. Having to fight your way through those years makes you ready for the future. I can snap back, I can make fun of myself before they do- I can do all of it."
Zooey, now 34, insists the bullying she suffered made her tougher and also prepared her for life as an actress and the sniping that comes with being famous.
She added: "There's no way I can ever be as sensitive as I used to be, and it's sad to lose any sensitivity because it generally makes people very good at art.
"I've seen a lot of people turn - sometimes it unlocks who they really are. They turn into celebrities are who are separate from themselves. That's OK, but I just don't want to be like that. I have to be normal. My mother wouldn't let me be any other way."
Crossroads School has numerous famous ex-pupils, including Jonah Hill, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Bay and Zooey's older sister, actress-and-producer Emily Deschanel.

'The Only Way Is Essex' stars Lydia Bright and James 'Arg' Argent are reportedly close to a reunion.
The 24-year-old boutique owner recently returned to the hit ITV2 reality show after a two-year hiatus following revelations her man cheated with Amy Childs, but it is said she is now keen to give it another go.
An insider told The Sun newspaper: "She wants to see him all the time. He is convinced that she is totally in love with him again.
"They're spending a lot of time together and she's always asking to see him. It's her doing the asking even though she's been telling everyone she just wants to be friends."
However, it is also reported that Arg is keen on a reunion with his former lover.
While Lydia is said to pushing for that, she recently insisted she just wanted them to be civil - although she has no interest in a friendship with Amy.
She previously claimed: "I just want to reach a happy medium where we can be in the same room and not be biting each other's heads off ... [But] me and Amy were never friends.
"I never knew her before 'TOWIE'. I don't have her number and I haven't spoken to her since. I wouldn't choose a friend like her. I don't think she's a very loyal friend.
"She's not really my kind of girl. It's unfortunate that she came into my life but then, equally, she's not really part of my life anyway."

Brendan O'Carroll is set for a chat show as Mrs. Brown.
The actor - who has become hugely popular as the foul-mouthed Irish matriarch - could become the new Mrs. Merton with TV bosses reportedly keen to create a programme based on Caroline Aherne's popular 90s show.
An insider told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: "Agnes Brown is irreverent, outspoken and ­incredibly nosey - perfect qualities for a chat-show host.
"The hope is it would be very much in line with 'The Mrs. Merton Show', which was a huge hit.
"Things are at an early stage but senior staff are hopeful this can happen. It's a fantastic idea and seems like a near-certain hit on paper."
It is said the BBC are very keen to "get the wheels in motion" on the project, due to the huge success of 'Mrs. Brown's Boys' - with some episodes across the three series watched by more than 11 million people.
Meanwhile, 'Mrs. Merton' ended its four-year run on the air in 1998 because ­Caroline wanted to focus on other projects.
The series had become ­infamous for the way she used cutting comments to put her celebrity guests in their place.

Linda Nolan has claimed Rolf Harris' prison sentence is "too lenient".
The 84-year-old TV presenter - who was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault - has been jailed for five years and nine months after being, and the singer has hit out while explaining that by her speaking about her own experiences, she might encourage others to do the same.
Talking to Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard on 'Good Morning Britain', she said: "In my opinion I think that his sentence was too lenient and I think that if me speaking out helps other people come forward then maybe we can do something about that."
Linda, 55, opened up about a meeting with Rolf 40 years ago - during which he bear-hugged her and made her "feel like an idiot" for complaining about his hands - and admitted he made her "uncomfortable".
She explained: "We were touring with him in South Africa and I went to the loo before we were going to go on stage, I was in my dressing gown, and when I came back out of the loo, he was in the corridor and he gave me a bear hug.
"I felt his hands all over my back, it felt uncomfortable immediately, his hands came around the side, too close to my breasts and then I felt him kissing my neck, I felt his tongue on my neck and I just shouted 'Stop Rolf, don't' and he just, he did stop, but he made me feel like an idiot.
"[He said] 'I'm only playing with you', and of course at the time you think ... he made me feel embarrassed, he made me feel like a stupid child and that's why I didn't then go in and tell everybody and all of that."
Meanwhile, Linda admitted she was nervous about sharing her story in case it looked like she was "jumping on a bandwagon".
She added: "I was really nervous coming on today, I obviously don't want people to think I'm jumping on a bandwagon here.
"I've never believed that any of these enquiries should be a witch hunt but I do feel that if we do speak out and I'm in position to do that, then maybe it will help other women come forward if the same thing has happened to them."

Prince and Nile Rodgers teamed up to pay tribute to David Bowie at the Essence Music Festival.
The 'Purple Rain' hitmaker joined the disco legend on state in New Orleans ahead of his own headline set on Friday (04.07.14) to cover 'Let's Dance', which was taken from the 1983 album of the same name that Nile produced for the reclusive British star.
The following day, Nile hailed the "symbolic" performance.
Posting a picture of himself and Prince on his Facebook page, he wrote: "How Proud Am I at This Moment? Playing 'Let's Dance' w Prince is so symbolic. That album w Bowie changed my life after Disco Sucks. (sic)"
The 'Le Freak' hitmaker teased ahead of the festival he was planning to collaborate with both Prince and Janelle Monae at the show.
He said: "At some point in the night, we'll all be doing something together. I won't tell you when that is, because we haven't rehearsed it yet. But we've sent the memos."
He also spontaneously performed with the 'Raspberry Beret' hitmaker many years ago after Prince spotted him from the stage.
He said: ."I played with him a gazillion years ago at one of his after-parties."

Metallica have vowed to return to the UK "very soon".
The heavy metal rockers closed the Sonisphere festival at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, East England last night (06.07.14) and enjoyed that performance, and their headline slot at Glastonbury last week, so much, they are already planning more British gigs.
Drummer Lars Ulrich said on stage: "Between last weekend and this one, we always love being back on your shores and we will be back again very soon."
The group's two-hour set was entirely chosen by fans as part of their 'By Request' initiative and included their version of Thin Lizzy's 'Whiskey in the Jar' and old favourites 'Enter Sandman', 'Master of Puppets', 'Nothing Else Matters' and 'Seek and Destroy'.
They also performed a "kinda new" song which is expected to feature on their next album.
Frontman James Hetfield said: "We have a new song. Well, it's kinda new. We hope you enjoy it. It's called 'Lords of the Summer'."
Earlier in the day, the crowd was treated to performances from the likes of Mastodon, Alice in Chains, Dream Theater and Gallows.
The previous evening, Iron Maiden headlined in what was the final show of their three-year Maiden England tour.
Singer Bruce Dickinson said: "Three years of touring comes to an end tonight.
"This is the culmination of those three years. We should be pretty good by now, if we don't get it right tonight then we never will."
Slayer, Frank Turner and Sisters of Mercy were among the other performers on Saturday (05.07.14).

Joe Manganiello always hangs out with his 'Magic Mike' co-stars.
The 37-year-old actor is excited about working on stripper sequel 'Magic Mike XXL' - which will also star Channing Tatum and is expected to have the likes of Alex Pettyfer and Matthew McConaughey returning - as it will focus more on the bond between the guys, and he thinks it will be much more true to life as they are all so close.
He said: "It's going to be about the guys. We didn't really get to focus on any of them. I don't think there are specific instances of, 'Oh! We have to do that!' It's more like, 'Man, I've never had this much fun on a set, ever!'
"And when you promise that you're going to stay in touch with everyone after a project, you never do that. And on this project, we all did.
"We all stay in contact and keep hanging out, no matter how busy we are. So we were like, 'We should have the cameras on us. It should be just us, messing around, this locker room/frat house-type atmosphere.' "
After shooting a documentary on male strippers called 'La Bare', Joe has picked up a few new moves which he is keen to show off in 'Magic Mike XXL'.
He told website Vulture: "I've got a whole bunch of routines that I've been thinking about, so I've got those in my back pocket. I've got some good ones.
"Like a couple of guys in La Bare do this move that's almost like a volleyball dive, so I've called dibs on that one. You can't shoot a documentary about a strip club and not get ideas!"

A lawsuit against Tom Cruise and Paramount Pictures has been dropped.
The actor and the studio were the subject of legal action from writer Timothy Patrick McLanahan, who claimed he came up with the 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' screenplay idea back in 1998 but the judge presiding over the dispute has dropped the case.
According to documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the court had issued an order to show cause as to why the case shouldn't be dropped for lack of prosecution, but McLanahan failed to do so in a timely fashion.
The documents read: "IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the above-entitled case is dismissed, without prejudice, for lack of prosecution and for failure to comply with the orders of the Court."
The writer - who was seeking $1 billion in damages - had alleged his script for a project called 'Head On' was rejected by William Morris Agency, but they "shopped the script around the world ... including [to] Tom Cruise's Rick Nicita, top agent with Creative Artist Agency."
When the fourth instalment in the iconic 'Mission: Impossible' action franchise about spy Ethan Hunt was released in 2011, McLanahan says the plot similarities were immediately obvious.
He wrote: "I immediately recognised that the scripts for this movie had been illegally written and produced from 'Head On's 1998 copyright."
The $1 billion sought in damages was to cover the sum of 'Ghost Protocol's box office sales ($694,710,000), DVD sales ($144.5 million), movie rentals, subscription sales and budget ($145 million).

Keira Knightley admires Angelina Jolie's devotion to charitable causes.
The 'Begin Again' actress recently went with Oxfam to visit a refugee camp in South Sudan to help the organisation raise awareness in their battle against poverty - but thinks it would be tough to do as much for others as the 'Maleficent' star, who is also a special envoy for the United Nations (UN).
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Keira said: "I admire Angelina Jolie hugely.
"I don't think I could ever be anything like as impressive or authoritative as she is on the world stage.
"She's pretty much devoting her life to her causes, and that's a great thing, a great message. I'm always happy to help in any small way I can."
As she met refugees, Keira was asked who she was, and felt embarrassed at saying 'actress' rather than "something else useful".
She explained: "When those refugees asked me, 'Who are you?', I really, really wished I could have said, 'I'm a doctor', or something else useful.
"So instead I told them, 'I am somebody who is going to ask people to give lots of money to Oxfam, so they can help you.' "

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have made a $15 million profit on a house they only bought a few months ago. The couple - who have been married for six years - weren't planning to sell 'The Brody House' in Los Angeles so soon, but were made an off...

Solange Knowles is "at peace" following her altercation with Jay Z.
The 28-year-old singer was seen lashing out at her brother-in-law in an elevator at a Met Ball afterparty earlier this year but she insists she and her family, including sister Beyonce, have moved on following the incident.
Dismissing the row as "that thing", Solange told Lucky magazine:
"What's important is that my family and I are all good.
"What we had to say collectively was in the statement that we put out, and we all feel at peace with that."
Following the leaked soundless video footage from New York's Standard Hotel - which showed Solange punching and kicking out at the '99 Problems' hitmaker while his wife looked on, the trio issued a collective statement saying they had "apologised to each other".
The statement read: "As a result of the public release of the elevator security footage from Monday, May 5th, there has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident.
"But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it. Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred.
"They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologised to each other and we have moved forward as a united family.
"The reports of Solange being intoxicated or displaying erratic behavior throughout that evening are simply false.
"At the end of the day families have problems and we're no different. We love each other and above all we are family. We've put this behind us and hope everyone else will do the same."

Ashley Roberts has a "hugging guru".
The pop beauty sees someone for cuddling therapy to rid herself of "negative energy" and she insists she always feels much better afterwards.
Speaking to the Sunday Express newspaper, Ashley said: "I'm very good at meditating, which I try to do every day. I have a ritual every morning where I do my meditation and visualisation then I give thanks and send love to my family and friends. I also have a hugging guru, Amma, who I've followed for five years. She clears negative energy with blessed hugs."
The 'Clockwork' singer admitted the love of her life is her pet pooch Cooper and she changes her plans to fit in around the life of her pet.
She revealed: "My greatest weakness is ... my dog. He's a Maltese called Cooper and I love him to pieces. Sometimes he interrupts my life a bit because I have to go home and make sure he's OK, but he's my best friend. I've travelled all round the world and done so many things, and he's just there by my side - which is amazing with my family and friends being so spread out."
Ashley does have a lot of human friends and she considers her former Pussycat Dolls bandmate Kimberley Wyatt to be one of her best pals.
She explained: "I have two best friends - the dancer and choreographer Bobby Newberry and my former bandmate Kimberley Wyatt. I've known them both for many years. I've got a nickname as well, the girls in the Dolls used to call me Shrash, then it became Shrish Shri, and finally Shri Shri."