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WHAT’STHE SECRET TO A CALM RELATIONSHIP?
Think before you speak! That’s one of the most important things
I’ve learnt.
THERE WAS BACKLASH LAST YEAR WHEN YOU WERE AT
A PHOTO CALL FORRED SPARROWIN CANNES. THE
MEN WERE RUGGED UP BUT YOU WERE OUT IN THE
COLD IN A STRAPPY DRESS. YOU SPOKE OUT ABOUT IT
THEN; HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT NOW?
I think it’s irresponsible. There’s a real conversation going on
right now about the pay gap between men and women.
Obsessing over that dress – that I chose to wear, just like
I choose everything I wear – sabotages this important cause.
Personally, I see feminism as a fight for economical, political and
social equality. It has nothing to do with what you do or don’t
decide to wear.
HAVE YOU GOTTEN USED TO BEING CONSTANTLY
OBSERVED AND SCRUTINISED?
I don’t know if you can ever get used to it. I try not to place too
much importance on what’s written about me by people who
don’t know me. There are some wonderful people in my life,
I have wonderful friends who really know me. As I get older, I
realise that those are the people that I don’t want to disappoint.
If I disappointed a friend, then yes, I wouldn’t be able to sleep
at night.
HAVE YOU MADE YOUR PEACE WITH THE PAPARAZZI?
Let’s just say that I have tried to let it go. I would like to have the
time to feel and understand the events in my life before the entire
world forms an opinion, but I have no control over that,
and so I have to accept it. The paparazzi are part of the job.
MOTHER WAS AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT FOR
YOU. WERE YOU UPSET BY ITS CRITICAL AND
FINANCIAL FAILURE?
If you had told me back then that the film was going to be so
badly received, I would have made it anyway. It’s my favourite
out of all the films I’ve made. I know it will stand the test of time
because it’s great cinema. I’ve never been so committed to
a role before, never given so much to the camera. On set,
I could feel my body changing just before each take, as though
my knees were giving way a bit under my weight. It was
a spiritual experience. It changed me.
WHAT INCREASES MOST WITH SUCCESS: FEAR OR
SELF-CONFIDENCE?
Fear. There’s more pressure, more people looking at you and
higher expectations.
YOU’RE GOING TO BE THE FACE OF JOY DE DIOR, THE
FIRST NEW DIOR PERFUME SINCE J’ADORE, WHICH
WAS LAUNCHED 20 YEARS AGO. WERE YOU A PART OF
THE CREATIVE PROCESS?
Yes, I went to meet François Demachy [Dior perfumer-creator] in
Paris, in his laboratory, and he made me smell all the different
raw materials he was thinking of using. We decided on
something lemony and floral, with sandalwood in it – it’s
a charming, feminine perfume that’s musky but discreet. I’m really
happy with the result.
WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST PERFUME MEMORIES?
It was a Dior perfume – go figure? My mother wore Miss Dior,
and her pillow, her bathrobes and her clothes all smelled of it.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST PERFUME?
Curious by Britney Spears (laughs). I got it when I was 14,
and until Joy came into my life, it was still my favourite perfume.E