Amber Heard is open about her sexuality because she wouldn't be able to sleep if she hid her true feelings.

The 27-year-old actress - who is dating Johnny Depp after splitting from girlfriend Tasya van Ree - insists she feels a responsibility to herself not to hide her feelings from anyone because she is proud of the fact she is bisexual.

She said: ''I couldn't sleep at night if I feel I'm part of the problem. I'm attuned to the responsibilities I have to myself. I haven't always done what's right, but I've tried to do that.

''I've had many relationships throughout my adult life, and I've never been ashamed of any of them. I'm not hiding from anyone.''

The 'Rum Diary' star travelled the world when she was 17 years old because she was desperate to get out of the ''deeply conservative Southern ideals'' of rural Texas, and she was delighted to escape to Los Angeles, where she felt able to express her individuality.

She told i-D magazine: ''Texas wasn't the ideal place to express individualism. I was always told what a woman should be.

''I realised I was alone, that I didn't belong there. I felt like I was dying creatively.

''I craved a place where I could express myself. By the time I got to Los Angeles, I knew nobody, had no money, I could carry all my possessions on my back.

''When I think of it now, it seems scary. But I loved it. I had no responsibilities, and I felt incredibly liberated. That was 10 years ago.''