Shailene Woodley opens up about her 'super f****d up family'

Shailene Woodley revealed her parents made her and her brother hug for hours in the front yard if they fought. Photo / AP

Actress Shailene Woodley has opened up about her "f****d up" upbringing in a "revolving door" household.

The Divergent star said her psychologist dad and counsellor mum always let people in hardship - including teenage runaways and women escaping domestic violence - stay with them.

"I came home to things that weren't great. My family is super f****d up in many ways, but they are also my everything," the 24-year-old told Net-a-Porter's digital magazine, The Edit.

The young actress also revealed her parents made her and her brother hug for hours in the front yard if they fought.

"The whole time you're just seething, you're disliking this person with so much energy, but if you let go you have to stay there for an extra hour. That was the kind of reverse, manipulative psychology my parents were into," she said.

"And there were times in school, when someone said something really mean, it would hurt my feelings, and my parents weren't on my side. They would be like, 'I'm so sorry you're feeling this way, but what do you think that person was feeling?' Oh, I hated it.

"Now, of course, I understand; it enabled me to recognise that no-one's evil, they're probably hurting and can't express themselves, get no love at home, so it's repeated. It gave me a broader outlook: just put yourself in another person's shoes."

Despite all that so-called "f****d up" stuff, Woodley said wouldn't trade her family for the world.

"They would do anything for me, and I would do anything for them. That's a lot more than most people can say about their families. I'm grateful for the s**t that happened," she said.

Woodley will next star as Lindsay Mills, the girlfriend of NSA leaker Edward Snowden, who is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in the movie Snowden.