Cressida Bonas

I'm not really one of those people who's always out. I like being at home.

I just love being in the arts.

I never got to know my grandparents, and I am envious of my friends who have a special relationship with theirs.

Martin Joyce is a beautiful dancer and an amazing choreographer. He choreographed the Mulberry dance film I was in, 'From London with Love.' A truly talented man.

If I ever feel like, 'Oh, my life!' or get upset by silly things like a photographer, or if someone has written something nasty that's upset me, I just think, 'Worse things happen at sea.'

My older sisters and brother are all amazing beings and inspiring people. They are my best friends and have guided and taught me consistently throughout my life.

I don't really understand it: in real life, I'm often so shy - paralysingly so - but when I'm performing, it's totally different. I feel free.

I love that theatre can be political. You can go watch a play; it sends out messages, and you can go away thinking differently to the way you thought about it before.

I'm a strong, independent woman.

I'm much more confident performing than I am in social situations.

It was on a trip to Africa with my family - I was eight - and an angry baboon jumped through the window of our parked car. As my siblings escaped, my foot got stuck in the seat. I froze and watched it steal the whole contents of our car around me.

I have always loved creating and entertaining. It started with music, singing. I grew up in a household filled with music - not pop but old-school stuff, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong.