Venezuelan actress/model Patricia Velasquez has "come out" as a lesbian, revealing her secret relationship with comedienne Sandra Bernhard.

The Mummy Returns actress, 44, has written a new memoir, titled Straight Walk, in which she opens up for the first time about her relationship with a woman.

In excerpts obtained by the New York Post, Velasquez admits she felt compelled to come clean about her sexuality because of the anti-gay prejudice in the Latin community, and wanted to "start a dialogue" about the issue, insisting "the tide is changing".

Velasquez recalls how her entire life changed the moment she met Bernhard backstage at a fashion show, and how she felt an instant connection with the bisexual star.

Velasquez writes, "I'd never kissed a girl... I was deeply in love with Sandra, in a way I'd never experienced before.

"In my head I thought, 'I just wanted to prove one thing, and I did'. There was no middle ground for me - a person was gay or not gay. Being gay was not for me."

And while she doesn't go into detail about her romance with the comedienne, she admits that when the relationship ended, she "cried for two years over Sandra".

Straight Walk hits shelves on 10 February (15).