She is impressing viewers everywhere with her amazing performance as one of cinema’s most greatest stars, but Renée Zellweger says she can also relate to Judy Garland and her struggles.

The 50-year-old recently sat down with Herald Square and first revealed why she spent six years away from the big screen before making her return. “I wanted to consider my own humanity for a little while and go to the coffee shop and be a lady ordering a coffee,” the actress told the outlet, before explaining that she feels for The Wizard of Oz star and all the obstacles she encountered in the industry.

Renee Zellweger
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“I’m sure that there a was certain amount of empathy that comes from having similar experiences,” the Oscar-winner said. “A lot of the result of her life came from decisions that were made on her behalf by people who were quite ignorant about the path that they were choosing for her and deciding things that I guess were on the surface presumed to be helpful.”

This is not the first time that the star has opened up about stepping away from Hollywood because of certain struggles. She once spoke about dealing with her depression as one of the reasons for her hiatus. “I wasn’t healthy. I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was the last thing on my list of priorities,” she confessed to Vulture, adding that she decided to see a therapist for the first time ever.

“He recognized that I spent 99 percent of my life as the public persona and just a microscopic crumb of a fraction in my real life,” Renée recalled. “I needed to not have something to do all the time, to not know what I’m going to be doing for the next two years in advance … I wanted to allow for some accidents. There had to be some quiet for the ideas to slip in.” Renée also made sure to steer clear from the media while she was out of the public eye.

Renee Zellweger
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“One of the fears that maybe, as artists, we all share — because we have this public experience of being criticized not just for our work but as human beings — is when it gets to be too much, when you learn that your skin is not quite as thick as you need it to be, what is that gonna feel like?” she said. “Well, now I know. I got the hardest kick. And it ain’t the end.”

Judy is currently playing in theaters everywhere.