Zoe Kravitz struggled with her identity during teen years

Zoe Kravitz struggled to embrace her African-American heritage during her school days.

The Big Little Lies actress is the daughter of musician Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet, with both of her parents of black and Jewish descent.

In spite of her privileged upbringing, Zoe has now revealed that she felt like an outsider in the private schools she attended due to being one of the few black students in her classes.

"It's been a really interesting journey because I was always one of the only black kids in any of my schools," she told Allure magazine. "I went to private schools full of white kids. I think a lot of that made me want to blend in or not be looked at as black. The white kids are always talking about your hair and making you feel weird. I had this struggle of accepting myself as black and loving that part of myself."

As Zoe has matured, she feels much more connected to her family and identity. In fact, the 28-year-old credits her father with teaching her to embrace her family's unique history and culture.

"I am definitely mixed. Both my parents are mixed. I have white family on both sides. The older I get, the more I experience life, I am identifying more and more with being black, and what that means - being more and more proud of that and feeling connected to my roots and my history," she shared.

As well as using her platform to celebrate diversity and inclusivity, Zoe wants to promote more films produced by and starring women. The platinum blonde star next appears in movie Rough Night, a comedy starring Scarlett Johansson and Kate McKinnon, which tells of a crazy bachelorette party in Miami and subverts conventions of the classic buddy film.

"I had so much fun," she smiled of the project. "Kate is genius. It's hard not to laugh in every scene with her. There was definitely this idea behind doing the movie that it's our turn to do a film like The Hangover where male characters get rowdy and dirty and outrageous. Women want to do that, too."