Sandra Bullock Opens up About How Hollywood Sexism Nearly Made Her Quit Acting

In a new interview, Sandra Bullock got candid about how sexism in Hollywood nearly ended her acting career. It's been three years since she appeared in a movie, and now with Ocean's 8 hitting theaters this weekend, she's sharing that there was a time she thought she'd ditch the big screen altogether.

Sandra's career first began back in the late 1980s, but it really kicked off with her role in Speed back in 1994. "My career has been a domino effect of people who said, 'I would like this person to fill this role,'" she shared with USA Today. "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."

Sandra went on with that mindset for a long time until later in her career, when she realized something wasn't quite right. "'What is this feeling? Why do I feel so [expletive]?'" she asked herself. "'Oh my God, I'm being treated this way because I have a vagina.'"

This moment of realization was shocking for Sandra. "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," the mom-of-two shared. "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."

Aside from being an actress, Sandra is also a mom to two adopted children, Louis, 8, and Laila, 5. She recently shared during an interview with Hoda Kotb that having children really changed her perspective on her career. She said, "I finally realized, 'Oh, this is what I was supposed to do when I grew up. Not be an actress; to be a mom… This is my purpose.'" Here's hoping Sandra will continue to balance motherhood and acting because we'd miss watching her films, that's for sure!