Hathaway was presented with a Human Rights Campaign award (Getty)

Anne Hathaway sent out a moving message to a young transgender girl during her speech at a charity event.

Speaking at a Human Rights Campaign gala, the Academy Award-winning actress responded to a letter from a 10-year-old girl called Ella, named after Hathaway’s character in Ella Enchanted.

The actress received the HRC National Equality Award for her LGBT+ activism.

“Ella sweetie, I want to make something absolutely clear to you, it takes zero courage to love you,” Hathaway said.

“I think I’m probably walking around like most people right now. I’m pretty shell shocked by what I see every day, what I hear everyday. And I really don’t like to admit this, but I get scared,” she said.

“You guys just gave me my heart back,” Hathaway added.

“It is important to acknowledge with the exception of being a cisgender male, everything about how I was born has put me at the current centre of a damaging and widely-accepted myth,” she said.

“That myth is that gayness orbits around straightness, transgender orbits around cisgender, and that all races orbit around whiteness.”

Hathaway explained she learned to reject this myth after spending time with the LGBT+ community. Her older brother Michael is gay.

“I appreciate this community because together we are not going to just question this myth, we are going to destroy it,” she told the crowd.

“Let’s tear this world apart and build a better one.”

HRC President Chad Griffin said: “Through her incredible talent and bold activism, Anne Hathaway uses her global platform to stand up for the LGBTQ community.

“From speaking out against discriminatory legislation targeting the LGBTQ community to her leadership on workplace equality for women, Anne is making a real difference in the lives of countless people around the globe.

“HRC is proud to honor Anne Hathaway with the HRC National Equality Award at our 22nd annual HRC National Dinner.”