AceShowbiz - Sexist movie bosses almost drove Sandra Bullock out of Hollywood.

The Gravity star has enjoyed a successful career, which includes an Academy Award win for her role in The Blind Side, but she admits the sexism she experienced at the beginning of her journey made her rethink an acting path.

"It was hard for me, because I walked with blinders on through life and got to where I (felt) like I was less than because I was a woman," she tells USA Today. "And that was a hard pill to swallow.

"I had a lot of sadness from that. I was like, 'Wow, maybe I need to step out of here. Maybe I need to do something else for a living'. And that was in the middle of when I was getting work. I didn't want to be a part of that world where there was that experience".

Sandra, who landed her break-out role in 1994's Speed, explains she had no idea how much inequality women faced in Hollywood because she didn't grow up around sexism.

"My career has been a domino effect of people who said, 'I would like this person to fill this role'," she says. "And not just in the industry, but people in my life. My mother raised me like, 'You don't need to get married, you forge your own path. You make your own money, and be your own person'.

"And I literally went out into the world thinking there was no disparity, that everyone was equal, and I can do whatever a man can do".

However, she eventually experienced a "wake-up moment", revealing she realised, "Oh my God, I'm being treated this way because I have a vagina!".