Melissa McCarthy "got bored" trying to fit in in high school, even though it led to her being "judged" by others.
The 52-year-old actress explained that she refused to keep up with trends in high school and loved to play dress-up but was left mystified when those around her started to be "mean" because they knew nothing about her.
She told this week's edition of PEOPLE: "I loved sports, I loved dressing up. I just was kind of super high-energy. We grew up on a farm so I think it gives you a really different perspective, because I went to school in town, all my friends were like, 'Yeah, we ride bikes, we all hang out afterwards.'
"And I'm like, 'Well, it's just kind of me in a barn. I feel like the first two years were like, 'We're all going to dress alike.' Nobody wants to stand out too much. And then I was like, 'I think I'm bored. And then came the Mohawks and the blue hair.
I mean, on the outside, I was a really good punk and gothic kid, but then I was terrible because I was really chatty.
"So I looked like I was going to maybe get into a fist fight. And then I was like, 'Hi! What's your name?
"I was fascinated because when I walked down the street and I looked like that, it was the first time that I'd ever had people kind of make fun of me or say really mean things to me, even adults. I just kept thinking, 'You don't know me; I didn't do anything to you.'
"It was a real big eye-opener that people are just judging left and right."
Despite the critcism, the 'Tammy' star refused to "go back into her shell" and these days credits her husband Ben Falcon - with whom she has Vivian, 15, and 13-year-old Georgette - 'for allowing her to feel comfortable as herself.
She added: "Luckily, instead of going back into my shell, I think that made me want to seek out people [expressing themselves] more. Because I was like, that's so much more fun!
"Ben is so constantly loving and kind. And funny and the weirdest human I know, to be honest. And somewhere in my 30s, I was like 'I'm okay with who I am.' And if someone wasn't thrilled with that, that's okay too. At some point I was like, 'They're not all going to like you.' You have to learn that the hard way, but it's a good [lesson]."
