Quotes from Emilia Fox

I'd really like to visit India and South America. I think India will be a great mix of sightseeing and relaxing, and I've got a feeling it will also be good for one's soul and spirit. And I'd love to go backpacking around South America at some point. I did that in Australia when I was younger, and the camaraderie was great fun.

I didn't realise my upbringing was unusual until my teens. As the child of two actors, I presumed that visiting film sets and being surrounded by colourful characters was normal.

I've always believed in trying to be as open as possible. I think it almost comes with the job - if you can bare your emotions, it makes for better acting.

My mother was very ill when I was 18. She had a brain operation and then a nervous breakdown. It's very strange when you see your parents, who have always been your pillars of strength, suddenly become vulnerable. You don't know whether to be angry that they are not strong or devastated.

I'm the joke of the family with cooking because I've never done it - primarily because I've been surrounded by people who are so good at it. Mum's brilliant. Boyfriends have always been good at it. I'm waiting for my inner chef to be released.

On my own or with a friend, I'm a shopaholic, and I particularly love the cleaning aisle in the supermarket. But when I'm with my husband, I'm shop shy because he can't bear it. It always ends up with us making a huge scene on the High Street and then going off in a huff in separate directions.

My parents never pressured me except to advise me against acting.

I have a heart tattoo on the inside of my middle finger on my left hand.

The difficulty with film is you always have to consign a story to being a certain length, whereas with a book you don't have budget constraints; you can cast it yourself.

I was an only child for 15 years and then this lovely present, Fred, came along. It was great - it meant I had my teenage years with a little one around.

My grandmother, Angela, was the Fox family matriarch. She was magnetic but also wicked. She had this huge life force and was great fun, but she would play each member of the family off against each other, which could make for extremely dramatic Christmases.

I am too much of a control freak to be a drinker.

I love the instantaneous nature of filming rather than the repetition of working in the theatre, but that maybe because I haven't had great experiences working in the theatre.

When I was growing up, I wanted to be my half-sister Lucy. She was 14 years older than me and was impossibly glamorous. I grew up in awe of her.

Older men are wiser and that is much cooler to me. I've never been one for going out clubbing or getting off my head, so I always gravitated to men who were similar. They just tended to be older. I think you have more of an adventure with an older man. And a happier journey.

Every day I fantasise about situations and little themes I see in front of me that would make a good beginning of a story. But one has to be disciplined and just sit down and do it.

I was quite shy when I was younger, but I'm not one of those people who can complain of a bad childhood or any trauma. There was none in my life. I had a wonderfully happy childhood.

My parents instilled a really good work ethic from when I was little - if you want to have money to spend on holidays, you earn it. So I've always been someone who wanted to be able to survive by myself, but I think you have to let down the barriers a little bit - let other people in.

I'm not very good at time off. I'm happier when I'm working. It's something to do with not knowing what the next job is, so you appreciate it while it's there. I thrive on it, actually. But now I do it to please myself.

I never feel lonely if I've got a book - they're like old friends. Even if you're not reading them over and over again, you know they are there. And they're part of your history. They sort of tell a story about your journey through life.

I made it to Oxford, but it is not that I am particularly clever, much more that I am a worker bee.

I've always been brought up to stand on my own two feet and not rely too heavily on everyone else around me.

I'm not crazy about having lots of time to myself. Whenever I come back from filming away, I immediately want to go and see my friends and my family and re-establish my life. I can fill time when I'm alone, but I love being around other people.

I am a single mother - that is the reality.