In a revealing interview with Variety, Australian actress Cate Blanchett has admitted that she has had relationships with women in the past.
The actress, who has been married to husband Andrew Upton for more than 18 years, was photographed by Variety in promotion for her new film, Carol, but the interview ended up being about more than just her acting chops.
The film, which is based on popular 1952 book The Price of Salt, is centred around Cate Blanchett’s character, Carol, who leaves her husband to enter into a relationship with a female department store clerk, played by Rooney Mara.
On playing the role of a lesbian, Variety asked the 45-year-old if this was her ‘first turn as a lesbian’.
“On film,” the actress replied cheekily, “Or in real life?”
When the interviewer asked if that meant she had been in relationships with women before, Blanchett coyly replied, “Yes. Many times.”
But the actress kept her lips sealed after that, refusing to comment further.
When asked if she would consequently define herself as bisexual, Cate replied that she’d “never thought about it”.
“I don’t think Carol [her character] thought about it.”
The mother-of-four (Cate and husband, Andrew, recently adopted their fourth child, Edith) also shared her thoughts on gender inequality in film.
“We have to push forward. What industry has parity pay for women? None. Why would we expect this industry to be any different?” She says of the pay gap in film, “It’s not serving the audience. People want to see good films. We should have equal access to the multiplexes.”
Carol will premiere on May 17th at Cannes Film Festival.
