The daughter of a drama coach and professional singer, New York-born Diane Lane found fame early in life. After prestigious theatre work, she made her screen debut opposite Laurence Olivier in A Little Romance (1979). Subsequent roles came in The Outsiders, Streets Of Fire, The Cotton Club, and Judge Dredd. In 2003 she was Oscar-nominated for her performance in Unfaithful. Divorced from Christopher Lambert, the 39-year-old actress has one daughter.

Is there an element of wish fulfilment to your character's finding happiness in Tuscany in Under The Tuscan Sun?

Oh sure. But I think the truth is that most of us have a life that forbids us from abandoning it without betraying somebody. But it's just another expression of my character's pathetic-ness at the start of the film. She's obviously invested so much in her marriage that once it's over, she can go anywhere she cares to go.

Is there a vicarious release in playing out some of those big emotions in a role?

Definitely. That's another reason why this film was a gift to me, I didn't have to leave a whole lot of myself behind to play this character, or take on a bunch of things that were hard for me to fathom. Her emotional life could be informed by my emotional life, so that was extra comfortable because I felt that was part of the universality of the story too. Sometimes I buy men's magazines to find out what interests them, just to get a sense of how they deal with things. Are they really so different from us? I could see this being a guy, because guys go through it too.

As someone who has more than her share of websites in her honour, are you a fan of the internet?

I can't believe anything I read on it: that I have a shoe fetish and I'm making movies with Al Pacino that I don't know about.

What would you say if your daughter told you she wanted to follow in your footsteps and become an actress?

I would say: hit the boards. There's no alternative to learning your craft in the theatre. It's another world. For a pretty girl to walk into movie-making without the spine of self possession that comes from being tested on the stage, I wouldn't wish it on anybody. It's so much every person for themself in cinema. By comparison theatre is a team sport.

Having been in the business for so many years, do you still get starstruck?

Sometimes. I think it's a trick of the brain, we haven't adapted yet to this camera being invented and what it's done to us.

The trappings of fame have been yours since your teens. Do you enjoy all that limo lifestyle, and flying first class everywhere?

I don't fly first class if I'm paying for it - a penny saved is a penny earned! I used to, so I could say to myself that I did but after proving my point I decided to save the money.