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Stephanie Beatriz says she kept her sexual identity “hidden for a really long time” out of fear for her career and relationships.
“I thought, ‘Oh it may affect my career, it might have an effect on some of my relationships,’” the “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star, who identifies as bisexual, exclusively told Page Six at the Tribeca Film Festival Saturday.
“And it did, and probably does.”
In honor of Pride Month – which is dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride — Beatriz said that the month of June is all about “being proud” of who you are.
“[And] saying to the world, ‘This is me, all of me. Take it or leave it, baby,’” she added. “And, ‘I’m here, sharing the same space as you. So what’s up.’”
Beatriz – who shares 1-year-old daughter Rosaline with husband Brad Hoss – also noted that while “no one really has to come out” with their sexual identity, she personally wanted to do it to be loud and proud about who she is.
“I think as a bisexual woman who is currently married to a man, what was important to me was that the world knew that I wanted to be open about who I was,” she gushed.
Beatriz spoke to Page Six while promoting her new movie, “Bucky F*kin’ Dent.” In the David Duchovny-directed film, she plays grief counselor Mariana, who forms a romantic connection with Yankee Stadium vendor Teddy (played by Logan Marshall-Green).
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“My dad was a huge baseball fan. That was part of why I wanted to do the film,” Beatriz, who was born in Argentina, told us.
“He loved the New York Yankees. He grew up in Colombia, so they would listen to the games on the radio. And [that] was one of the first times that I remember him talking about wanting to move to the US.”
As previously reported, Beatriz recalled in a 2018 interview that she first realized she was bisexual when she was 11 years old.
“My mom took us to see this Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Houston Museum of Art when I was, like, 11. And all I did was stare at the boobs. There were boobs everywhere,” the “Modern Family” star told New York Magazine.
“[Later in life] it was a slow progression of coming out to some friends, to my sister, and then publicly, and having my parents react with the public coming out, which hasn’t been an easy road, but I think they’re OK.”
In June 2018, Beatriz also explained that her sexual identity at times made her feel like an “invisible part of the LGBTQIA community.”
“Speaking from personal experience, it feels so f–king good to be out. It’s still scary sometimes — I feel like an outsider so often,” she wrote in a personal essay for GQ.
“But those moments of discomfort are worth it, because living authentically gives me so much joy and feels so honest and good.”
