Lea Michele "got hit with some pretty hard things" when she first became famous.

The Glee star became a celebrity almost instantly when the TV comedy premiered in 2009.

Some people claimed that Lea was a bit of a diva initially.

Lea believes she experienced growing pains while adjusting to her new life in the public eye.

"I think I got hit with some pretty hard things at the beginning that were not good representations of my personality, and people put a label I think they like to do that and it really got to me," she explained in an interview in Nylon Magazine's September issue.

"And I think I was fighting so hard to change that, that I was not really being myself. [But] I came to a place where I'm much happier personally in my life and because of that I really don't feel like I need to explain anything or be anything. I'm really proud of who I am."

The fourth season of Glee will premiere next month.