Australian Madison June 2005

Cate Blanchett

Whoever said success corrupts has not met this actor. Acknowledged as one of the greatest of her time, she has achieved her goals without forfeiting self-respect... or a life.

By Wendy Squires.

Many actresses begrudge photo shoots. Tired of the primping and preening that goes with their day jobs, they hardly want to front up and do it all over again for publicity on what would otherwise be a day off. Trying to fit an entire magazine shoot into a day isn't easy, and when each part of the process-- hair, make-up, and lighting -- are made to feel like they're imposing, the atmosphere can turn icy.

Cate, however, is very laidback about it all, happy to chat, laugh and make the most of the exquisite day. It is only later we lean she had flown in from London late the previous night and was suffering jet lag plus a nasty cold.

Once prepared, she reclines on an overstuffed lounge looking every inch a modern-day Grace Kelly in the simple cream knit and linen pants she helped select. The actress knows all abut cameras and angels yet there is never a sense that she is posing.

Several outfit changes later, we break for lunch. Cate grabs a plat laden with hearty meatballs and salad. While she eats, we steal away for a quiet chat, one that winds up as easy and entertaining as a catch up with a close girlfriend -- albeit one with a really interesting job.

I remind Cate that the last time I interviewed her she has just finished filming Elizabeth, her standout ole as England's virgin queen and for which, most critics will agree, she was robbed of an Oscar (Gwyneth Paltrow won that year for Shakespeare in Love).

"Oh God, that was ages ago," she says, as though she's just been shown a braces shot from a school yearbook. Then again, a lot has happened to the Melbourne-born, NIDA-trained actress since then. And most, she would happily agree, has been spectacularly good.

There's been her career - which has included challenges ranging from singing Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Herat" in the comedy Bandits to portraying heroines Charlotte Gray, Veronica Guerin and the ethereal Elf Queen Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The day after our shoot, she flies to Morocco to film Babel with Brad Pitt, she's worked with directors such as Martin Scorsese, Jim Jarmusch and Ron Howard and shared camera time with Jude Law, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ralph Fiennes and Leonardo DiCaprio, to name a few.

Oh yeah, and then there's the Oscar she most deservedly took home earlier this year for her role as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator. "It was amazing to work with Marty [Scorsese] .. I was close to saying no when he called and asked me to play Hepburn, " she says. "I thought it was career suicide to take on someone who is so beloved within the film community. But i couldn't say no to Marty and definitely wouldn't have attempted it for anyone but him."

While Cate believes she has  been "very lucky, in the right place at the right time" in her career, it's the birth o her two children, Dashiell, three and a half, and Roman, one, of which she is most proud.

A devoted mother, who would "love to have four", Cate is one of the few actresses today who has managed to guard her family's privacy. This is a piece of her life she keeps sacred and protects with a steely determination. "I have a clear idea of a bottom line and  healthy sense of self-respect," she says. "It's so important. [Some] people just give themselves away [to the media] and I think, 'What are you after? Where is that going to get you in five years and what will you have left?"

Despite guarding details of her family life from the world, she ahs no such hesitations in the small enclave gathered today. Worn photos of her boys are pulled from an overstuffed diary and passed around, with Cate narrating the story behind each one as though it's the first time she's paused to recall the moment.

"I am very happy," she says, actually blushing. Much of Cate's bliss is credit to her writer and producer husband, Andrew Upton, whom she married in 1997. When I remind her of how abuzz she was with the magic of it all when I met her as a newlywed, she grins. "It's still the same... amazing. It's the deal."

The key to keeping family and career in perspective, Cate explains, is compromise. For her it is family first and career a distant second. She claims she has never had a specific goal as an actress, rather an "ambition for experience". "I'm not prepared to do anything that would sabotage my relationship," she asserts. "People think that making compromises is  a sign of weakness, but by sacrificing things, you realize what is important to you. The thing about life, ageing, developing and growing is that you have to accept you can't do it all."

Another key to sustaining a private life which remains that -- private -- is to develop a healthy Teflon coating when it comes to the bullshit aspects of Hollywood: the sycophants, hangers-on and celebrity-obsessed media.

For Cate, it is a matter of shutting out the "white noise", a term she uses often to describe the infatuation the media and public have with celebrity and the banality that emanates from the shallows of such superficiality, which is then packaged as entertainment.

"In the time that I've been doing this, which isn't very long, it's become increasingly moronic and there's so much of it," says Cate. "Early on, you need to have a clear sense of who you're going to listen to. There's a group of four or five people who will ask, 'What did you think of that? Tell me honestly.' As my husband says, I'll ask 100 people until I get a negative response and that's what I'll fixate on. Because so much positive is said, you want someone to be honest and say they didn't like some aspect [of a performance] so you can keep developing. Someone saying 'no darling, you're wonderful' is a waste of time. You just have to be tough on yourself.

You can tell Cate has worked hard to keep real in an environment where stars are actually regarded as stellar and she's excited by the prospect of the roles yet to come her way. "When I decide I'm giving up [acting], I get seduced back into it when another extraordinary opportunity presents itself," she says. "Then I think, 'Oh just another year..."

With that, Cate steps out before a camera once more, no doubt trying to keep the white noise down to a low hum.

Cate on...

Clothes "They [the couture gowns] are nice. Nice! What a stupid word. They're magnificent. When you meet a designer and you're allowed to workshop with them, it's fantastic, because you are creating something together. And to have the excuse to wear those things, its wonderful."

Vanity "[Seeing yourself on the big screen] is weird. Completely weird. I try not to do it. But usually I am not cringing at the way I look. I don't have a vanity ... well, obviously, personally I do, but if I'm playing a recovering heroin addict [as in her upcoming Australian film Little Fish], you can't go in there with lipstick and long lashes. You have to de-mask. You can't be vain about it at all. I think if you watch yourself too much, your natural human self-consciousness would creep in."

America "We filmed The Missing just after America had invaded [Iraq] and I thought, 'What have I done to my family?' I didn't want to be there, especially as it [the location] was in the centre of the country's nuclear weapons production area. Then we met the most extraordinary people, who were so positive and warm about the dilemma that a lot of thinking Americans face."

Movies "The industry is in dire straights. Look at the slates most studios are doing. It's all remakes or cartoons, takes of Hogan's Heroes from television. They [studios] think that when something works, it's the formula, but there is no formula."

Australian Film "We have to accept when you embrace big studio importations, with a population as small as we've got, you can't stand up to the economics and the facilities afforded to them by the fat that they're an oligarchy. I think we're a cottage industry and need government assistance."

Winning Oscar "I remember just going blank. People were asking, "How do you feel?' and I said, 'I feel nothing'. It hit me the next day. I think the elation would have been stronger, higher and more intense if Marty [Scorsese] had won. If Marty had won for best director, everyone would have been on cloud nine."

Paparazzi "I have no problems at all. They seem to leave me alone. You can't see them anyway."

Reviews "I stopped reading [reviews] four or five years ago but I saw one once where I thought, 'He's right, he's absolutely right!' I had to deal with what he said because he was completely and utterly correct. That was really positive for me."

Interviews "It depends completely on your mood, how premenstrual you are, who you are reacting against and also how many preconceptions they [the journalist] come with. It depends if you want to combat those preconceptions. Sometimes I can't be bothered to think, 'I just let you think that's who I am.'"

Get Cate's Skin...

"There's a lot to be said for looking after yourself," says Cate, who swears by a beauty regimen of SK-II products. "And then when I see a woman who is ageing gracefully, I think, 'You're someone I'd love to talk to - you've had an interesting life.'"

Cate's complexion, even up close, appears flawless. Her pores are so refined they barely visible and her tone is one of creamy buttermilk.

However, she insists that what you see now is not what her skin was like several years ago - it has actually improved with age. The reason, she believes, is thanks to the SK-II products she has used for several years. In fact, Cate was so impressed with the range she agreed to become the brand's Australian ambassador.

One of the reasons, she explains, is that there is "proven scientific evidence" to back up its claims. SK-II was born when scientist on a tour of a Japanese brewery noticed the faces of the workers were wrinkled while their hands which were in constant touch with the sake fermentation process, were smooth and young in appearance.

After five years of research, the scientist isolated the nutrient-rich liquid responsible for the youthful effect the sake had on skin and made it the cornerstone of SK-II's range.

"Being as white as I am, I was  pariah in high school.,"

Cate explains of her search for the perfect product. "I used to cover myself in baby oil and had a lot of skin damage as a result. It was improved since I started using SK-II whitening source., which was recommended to me by a make-up artist friend.:"

Cate now has a  daily routine of SK-II products she sticks by religiously:

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence -- known as "miracle water", it's the basis of the range and boost skin moisture while promoting healing.

SK-II Facial Treatment Mask -- a 10 - to 15- minute restoration mask.

SK-II Facial Treatment Repair C -- an intense serum that reduces the appearance of fine lines.

SK-II Facial Treatment Aqua Pack --  a daily gel moisturizer used in the shower.

SK-II Facial Signs Treatment -- A moisturizer to counter skin dullness.

"My mother cracked down on me when I was young so I've been moisturizing since the age of 10," says Cate. "She's always told me not to ignore the back of my hands. So mum, who is also quote pale, has been a big influence over the years.

"As an actress, going through awards seasons and having to be on set every day, getting make-up put on and taken off, your skin goes through a lot of wear and tear. Since I've had a consistent regimen over the past four years, my skin's been a lot better and I have had fewer breakouts. But I've also been quite happy."