'I was called a half-caste... I couldn't deal with all the bullying': Love Child's Miranda Tapsell says she became a victim of racism because of her mixed ancestry

Love child actress Miranda Tapsell has spoken about the haunting racial abuse she suffered growing up in Jabiru in the Northern Territory.

The 27-year-old star, who has two Logie awards to her name, was the victim of taunts and labelled a 'half-cast' by schoolmates because her mother is of Aboriginal descent while her father is not.

Recounting one particular incident with a boy that led to weeks of continued jibes, Tapsell told BuzzFeed Australia: 'He asked why I called myself Aboriginal because my dad wasn’t Aboriginal and my mum was and asked me why I chose my Aboriginal side over my non-indigenous side'.

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Speaking out: Love child actress Miranda Tapsell has spoken about the haunting racial abuse she suffered growing up in Jabiru in the Northern Territory 

'He naively thought that calling me half-caste was right when I grew up knowing that was a bad name for Aboriginal people,' she went on.

At the time only 16-years-old, the actress was compelled to speak out against the highly offensive name that has strong associations to heartache of the Stolen Generation. 

Addressing her high school class she asked why she needed to be defined by her ancestry and not anything else, a stand that resulted in weeks of bullying. 

'I got called a half-cast and that's actually quite derogatory so I had to correct someone in class and say well actually you can't call me that and it caused such a huge reaction,' she added in a new I Am Fearless campaign for Libra.

Taking a stand: Miranda appears in a new I Am Fearless campaign for Libra and opens up about her experiences with racism 

Opening up: A drawn out stint of being jeered, taunted and teased ensued, lead her to seriously question why she felt it important to speak out in the first place 

Reminiscent: Miranda says she regretted speaking out at the time because of the negative backlash, but in hindsight she is glad she took a stand 

A drawn out stint of being jeered, taunted and teased ensued, lead her to seriously question why she felt it important to speak out in the first place.

'At the time I deeply regretted it because I couldn't deal with all the bullying that was coming out of it,' she said.

'But now I look back on it and I don't regret it at all.'  

Tapsell, who stars as an unwed mother alongside Jessica Marais in television drama Love Child, said the ongoing abuse left her with feelings of depression that she was only able to properly deal with when she started acting.

Television star: Miranda is a main cast member on Love Child, pictured here with her onscreen mother 

Coping: Miranda said the ongoing abuse left her with feelings of depression that she was only able to properly deal with when she started acting

Still an issue that holds painful memories, Tapsell stars in the campaign that addresses women's fears alongside jazz singer Megan Washington.

As part of it she explains: 'It's an exciting time to be an actor with an Aboriginal background.

'We've had wonderful things come out like The Sapphires and Redfern Now and it's lead on to such great things for me like being cast in a show like Love Child where it's mainstream and the fact that I'm Aboriginal is just the icing on the cake'.  

Proud: Earlier this year Miranda mentioned in her Logies acceptance speech that she was glad to see more diversity in Australian television, and hoped for it to progress even further 

Miranda grew up in Kakadu National Park as a Larrakia woman and began performing at the tender age of seven, before winning the Bell Shakespeare Company regional scholarship age 16.

At the 2015 Logie Awards in May she used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to highlight the lack of racial diversity on Australian TV screens.

'Put more beautiful people of colour on TV and connect viewers in ways which transcend race and unite us,' she said from the stage.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia shortly after, Miranda said: 'I was so grateful that I could use that platform to talk about actors of colour being deserving of more challenging roles'.  

Her roots: Miranda grew up in Kakadu National Park as a Larrakia woman and began performing at the tender age of seven, before winning the Bell Shakespeare Company regional scholarship age 16 

Star on the rise: The actress starred in The Sapphires and Redfern Now before being cast in Love Child