Quotes from Marie Helvin

As a girl, I lived in jeans, and my love-affair with them continues. Since I turned 50, jeans have become something of a uniform, whether it's a slouchy boyfriend fit for daytime or a leaner, fitted jean in a darker denim for evening.

I haven't eaten meat since I was 17, so I take Vitamin C, a B complex, Omegas-3-6-9, glucosamine, and antioxidants to make sure my body stays healthy.

We are constantly driven to believe that women should look a set age or be a certain body size, which is fuelling an obsession with ever more dramatic and invasive steps.

I wouldn't mind being in a relationship, but there's no reason to marry.

I like living on my own. I'm happy for a man to come over. I'll cook for him; he can spend the night occasionally, but then I want him to leave. I'm too independent.

The fact is, after a certain age, high heels can feel as painful as someone sticking hot pins into the soles of your feet.

Although I eat healthily, I do enjoy a greasy fry-up, but usually only once a year. I've also got a big Kit-Kat addiction and buy them in bulk.

I hate Botox, but a fabulous-looking friend of mine told me her secret was this gadget that uses electrical impulses to tone your facial muscles. It works!

The two times I have cut my hair shorter, I've ended up out of work - so short hair is not an option.

I love to lounge, and I particularly love to eat outdoors. It's a throwback to my childhood in Hawaii. I have memories of coming out of the sea and eating corn chips with a strawberry vanilla slush.

I loved Le Taha'a private resort in Tahiti. It's accessible only by private boat or helicopter, and it sits on a tiny strip of land just big enough for one hotel. It's extraordinary and faces the Vanilla Island where Tahitians grow vanilla.

I am a vegetarian. I don't want to have anything injected into me that I can't eat. I am a real health nut. I look after myself well.

I don't wear mini-skirts or shorts because I have thread veins on my legs and cellulite, and I won't wear tights.

It would be nice to see a fashion range that is geared towards a vibrant, sexual, confident 50-something.

If I'm on holiday, I travel light, but if it is a work trip, I take everything but the kitchen sink.

There are loads of women that don't want children. What does it matter? I'm still a woman.

I don't do a lot of looking back; I tend to look ahead.