'I would collect dollars' Orange Is The New Black's Ruby Rose says she saved for gender transition surgery from age five before choosing not to have it

Australian actress and Orange Is The New Black star Ruby Rose has revealed she saved for gender transition surgery from the tender age of five.

Rose, who came out age 12 after being horrifically bullied at school, opened up to Access Hollywood saying it was a daytime segment on Oprah that first sparked her to save up for the surgical procedure.

'I had this jar that I would collect dollars, in fact it was probably cents, so I had like 19 cents to go towards this surgery that I didn't really know a lot about,' she says. 

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'I would collect dollars' Orange Is The New Black's Ruby Rose says she saved for gender transition surgery from age five before choosing not to have it

'I would collect dollars' Orange Is The New Black's Ruby Rose says she saved for gender transition surgery from age five before choosing not to have it

Flashback: Rose, who came out age 12 after being horrifically bullied at school, says it was a daytime segment on Oprah that first sparked her interest in the surgical procedure. Pictured age four

Flashback: Rose, who came out age 12 after being horrifically bullied at school, says it was a daytime segment on Oprah that first sparked her interest in the surgical procedure. Pictured age four

'I started saving probably from the age of like five and when I got to 15, that's when I got more into my body and I shaved my head and my mum was just like, "I don't know what's going on right now, but if you are happy then do it".

The model, actress and DJ has always spoken openly about her gender, describing herself as gender fluid, and she says it was as a teenager that she began to work out who she was.  

'I started to change the way that I dressed and talked and I realised that I didn't want to transition and I just wanted to be more comfortable in my own skin.' 

'I started to change the way that I dressed and talked and I realised that I didn't want to transition and I just wanted to be more comfortable in my own skin,' said the starlet in the Hollywood Access interview

'I started to change the way that I dressed and talked and I realised that I didn't want to transition and I just wanted to be more comfortable in my own skin,' said the starlet in the Hollywood Access interview

Experimenting: Ruby, pictured as a teen, has previously opened up about how she was taunted by schoolmates because of her sexuality, even being hospitalised after classmates attacked her

Experimenting: Ruby, pictured as a teen, has previously opened up about how she was taunted by schoolmates because of her sexuality, even being hospitalised after classmates attacked her

Ruby has previously opened up about how she was taunted by schoolmates because of her sexuality, even being hospitalised after classmates attacked her by smashing metal chairs into the back of her head. 

The Melbourne-born star is bipolar and has battled depression but has since used her own experiences to become a mouthpiece for the LGBT community. 

Last July she debuted a short film on sexuality and gender called Break Free, which addressed the sometimes controversial aspects of her sexuality. 

Changing style: The former MTV VJ has experimented with her style over the years. Pictured left at 2012 ARIA Awards and right at Vogue Fashion's Night Out in 2011
Changing style: The former MTV VJ has experimented with her style over the years. Pictured left at 2012 ARIA Awards and right at Vogue Fashion's Night Out in 2011

Changing style: The former MTV VJ has experimented with her style over the years. Pictured left at 2012 ARIA Awards and right at Vogue Fashion's Night Out in 2011

She's a hit! The actress's name has been propelled into the spotlight thanks to her starring new role on hit prison comedy, Orange Is The New Black, which debuted last month

She's a hit! The actress's name has been propelled into the spotlight thanks to her starring new role on hit prison comedy, Orange Is The New Black, which debuted last month

It has had more than eight million views.

The breakaway star is engaged to British clothing designer Phoebe Dahl, the granddaughter of famous children's author Roald Dahl.

Ruby is known for her androgynous look and has often been mistaken for Justin Bieber as well as being liken to Leonardo Di Caprio and Angelina Jolie.

Cute couple: The breakaway star is engaged to British clothing designer, Phoebe Dahl, the granddaughter of famous children's author Roald Dahl

Cute couple: The breakaway star is engaged to British clothing designer, Phoebe Dahl, the granddaughter of famous children's author Roald Dahl

Look-a-like: She is known for her androgynous look and has often been mistaken for Justin Bieber as well as being liken to Leonardo Di Caprio and Angelina Jolie

Look-a-like: She is known for her androgynous look and has often been mistaken for Justin Bieber as well as being liken to Leonardo Di Caprio and Angelina Jolie

She told Daily Mail Australia last year: 'I was in Beverly Hills on Rodeo Drive wearing these Calvin Klein's real high and jeans hanging low when I heard someone scream "Justin Bieber!"'

'I was like "Please don't be me" and sure enough these girls came running up and were like "Oh my gosh, we're so sorry, we didn't realise you were a girl".

'I was fine with it and I'm totally down to say I look like a boy, because that's the kind of look I was going for that day.'

Plenty of fans: The brunette beauty, pictured DJing in New York this month, announced on Wednesday that she has landed the role of Wendy in Dark Matter

Plenty of fans: The brunette beauty, pictured DJing in New York this month, announced on Wednesday that she has landed the role of Wendy in Dark Matter

The actress' name has been propelled into the spotlight thanks to her starring new role on hit prison comedy, Orange Is The New Black, which debuted last month.

Hollywood's hot new ticket – whose first taste of stardom came when she was runner up in the Girlfriend model search in 2002 – has also already scored another coveted role.

The brunette beauty announced on Wednesday that she has landed the role of Wendy, an 'entertainment android who charms the ship's crew with her various talents, in Dark Matter. 

She'll make her Dark Matter debut on July 24, on Syfy.

 

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