Zooey Deschanel used to grow her nails so she could scratch her older sister.

The 'New Girl' actress' elder sibling Emily - who is also an actress, appearing in 'My Sister's Keeper' and TV series 'Bones' - and admits she used to fight dirty against her during their childhood fights.

She told Marie Claire magazine: ''She's tall and I'm smaller, so it was kind of unfair. I would have to grow my nails so I could scratch her.''

Zooey's mother, Mary Jo Deschanel, says she always felt her youngest daughter was different to other kids.

Mary Jo said: ''She was born with something unusual. It was almost like she could hear a different voice in her head. She would just see or think something different from everybody else. I think she had a hard time fitting in with other children, with people in general.''

Zooey, now 33, admits she has always felt like the odd one out, adding: ''I always felt like a bit of an outsider, and now I'm an outsider who's a satellite for outsiders? All of a sudden I'm on the inside, and it feels weird. Because I always saw myself as sort of not mainstream.''