Hayden Panettiere doesn't have superpowers...but she's got guts!

via Details Magazine

Believe it or not, your favorite stars were once just kids in high-school who went through the regular highs and lows of teenagedom. In the August issue of Details Magazine Hayden Panettiere says that while her Heroes character may be an invincible cheerleader, she was far from invincible in high-school.

She experienced harassment throughout school and was picked on and bullied. In middle school she was even punched in the face! It may seem crazy but it’s not surprising considering middle school students are more than twice as likely as high school students to be affected by school violence.

But Hayden says the worst kind of bullying she experienced was not physical: "I was tortured, emotionally tortured by these girls. Every time I came back from filming, it would be me trying to find my way back into the clique. And they weren't having it," Hayden says of being a student and actress and an outcast all at once.

Tons of Hollywood celebs have told their stories of triumph and defeat with bullies. Demi Lovato admitted on the Ellen DeGeneres Show that she was harassed so badly in middle school that she dropped out! Even the swim trunk hunk Michael Phelps was harassed and bullied for his gangly limbs, big ears, and lisp. Now look at him (what a hotty!) Even Batman (Christian Bale) got beat up on the playground.

So take a stand against bullying! Play musical chairs in your cafeteria and sit next to someone new everyday—especially with people who are picked on. Join the peer mentoring group at your school. Don’t have one? Start your own!