In interviews, the first question I get in America is always: 'What do you do to stay young?' I do nothing. I don't think aging is a problem. What irritates me a little is growing fatter. It irritates me that if I eat what I want to eat, it shows.

I was always fascinated by the infinite, strange and ‘scandalous’ ways that insects copulate.

I don’t think a Hollywood actor is safe from acting in the rain: it all depends on the film.

From the time I was a child I wanted to be like my mother. Not necessarily an actress – I never dreamed I’d have the courage. But an active, volatile woman like she was.

In America, they are paranoid about ruining the reputations of people once they are dead and cannot answer back. They have this fascination which to me seems cruel and morbid. I do not want any part of it.

But I don’t really see myself as a role model. I’m not a dictator, or someone who wants to be adored!

I didn’t want to become an actress because the competition with my mother would have been to much to live up to.

Adoption has the dimension of connection – not only to your own tribe, but beyond, widening the scope of what constitutes love, ties and family. It is a larger embrace. By adopting, we stretch past our immediate circles and, by reaching out, find an unexpected sense of belonging with others.

Women who stay true to themselves are always more interesting and beautiful to me: women like Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe and Anna Magnani – women who have style, chic, allure and elegance. They didn’t submit to any standard of beauty – they defined it.

Food is a big part of my culture, so everyone knows how to cook. When I came to America and asked a babysitter to softboil an egg for my son and she didn’t know how, I was shocked.