With learning lines, before I had Alfie, I'd put it off and think, 'Oh, I'll just have a glass of wine and then do it later,' but when you've finally got a child to bed and you know you've only got an hour, then you achieve so much.

I do get clocked in the street. People say, 'You're an actress, aren't you?' But they don't know my name. Nine times out of 10, they don't know what I've been in.

I'm very lucky because I don't half get some juicy jobs. But I can't tell you the number I've turned down in the past 20 years because I wanted to be at home, looking after my son. There was never any question about that. Alfie and I are dead close. I can't bear it when he's away.

I have been devoted to my son, and there have been lots of jobs in the past that I haven't done because I didn't want to be away from him.

I started my career counting diamonds and schlepping gold jewelry around the world. The jewelry business is a very, very tough business - tougher than the computer business. You truly have to understand how to take care of your customers.

You know, Tupac is very near and dear to my heart. He started my career as an actor.

Taking care of your mental and physical health is just as important as any career move or responsibility.

My first job was at Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, my second job was at a pharmaceutical company in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. My third job was at Palmolive. And I realized, three jobs in three years, maybe it wasn't the job. It had to be me.