(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Lea Michele was told she wasn’t “pretty enough” to make it before she landed a role on Glee.

The star plays ambitious high school student Rachel Berry in the popular US show about a group of musical misfits, but admits she previously struggled to win TV parts.

Although Lea enjoyed success as a theatre star and has now been nominated for an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Rachel, she hasn’t always been well-received.

When she decided to leave Broadway and try to make it on the small screen she was met with harsh criticism which knocked her confidence.

"I came out [to LA] with the hopes of taking a break from New York and the stage and maybe get a little guest spot," Lea revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. "I was always told I was too ethnic, or not pretty enough, or too much this or not enough of that.”

Lea says her big breakthrough came when she met Ryan Murphy in 2007. Ryan went on to create Glee and Lea left such a lasting impression he wrote the character of Rachel just for her.

"I was working on Broadway in New York, and the [Broadway strike] happened, and my co-star was working on a pilot with Ryan Murphy out here in LA," Lea explained. "I met Ryan and we just had a great night talking about Barbra Streisand and our shared love for her, and musical theatre and what not – and I never saw him ever again.

“Glee was the first audition I went on and Ryan was there, and I went, 'Do you remember me?' and he was like, 'Of course I remember you.' After going through the studio and the network, he then told me that he had written it with me in mind." (C) Cover Media