from time to time the publicity department sends me inane questions to answer which then get published in various mags, newspapers, whatever. invariably i never see the end result. occasionally my mom or someone will whip out something they’ve saved to show me.
i probably shouldn’t post this here as it’s only being published in august, but seeing that i get so little traffic and that it is my writing, i don’t think it matters.

1. How do you feel empowered as a woman

Having financial security.

Reading fashion magazines, but not buying into the prescribed standard they set for what is regarded as beauty.

Being an example for other women of someone who is resilient, resourceful and can turn a pile of lemons into a kick-ass lemon-meringue-pie!

2. What is your greatest accomplishment as a woman?

Being one of the first women in my family to graduate from university.

Surviving Hollywood and resisting the urge to run off to the closest and best plastic surgeon as I watch the years trample their way across my face. I try to remind myself that I’ve earned every line and that invariably, when I look at before and after pix of women who’ve had “work done”, I invariably prefer the before.

3. What do you think is an essential piece of advice for young women today?

Build a career based on your brain and not your looks, because it takes a lot of surgery to maintain looks and only a bit of use to maintain your brain.

Take the word can’t. Make a CAN of T out of it. Drink the T. Lose the can’t and keep the CAN because you can. You’ll be astonished to see what you can achieve when you put your mind to it.

4. Who is the most inspirational woman in your life?

My niece Ashleigh who inspires me to be someone she can aspire to be.

5. Dr Jennifer Adams (your Binnelanders character) is a very driven woman, who struggles to strike a balance between her career and her female instincts (such as being a mother) – what advice would you give her, if you could?

My main advice would probably be for Jen to follow her heart rather than listening to her sometimes too rational head.

6. What, to you, embodies the meaning of femininity? (Like a piece of clothing, a cocktail, anything!)

I’m not huge on femininity – I’ll take funky over frilly every time, but nice French lingerie is never a bad thing!

7. What is your favourite item of clothing in your wardrobe?

My orange tutu. It makes people smile everytime I wear it.

8. What is the most special place you’ve visited in the world?

This is a hard one as I’ve had the privilege of traveling to many places. One I wouldn’t mind going back to, is St. Thomas. I don’t think I’ve seen water quite as aquamarine or sand as white. But I think I’d have to say Black Rock City, in the Nevada Desert, not so much for the place, as for the incredible people and art.

9. What makes you get up in the morning / what keeps you motivated?

I don’t have a choice about getting up in the morning. My dogs make it very clear when they want me to let them out.That and the need to pay for their very expensive food as well as the rising interest rates pushing up my mortgage repayments.

10. What famous female character would you most like to play one day?

The oscar/emmy-worthy role which has probably yet to be written.