Cate Blanchett speaks about her sexuality in Variety interview 13/05/15, 9:37 AM

Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton. Photo: Danielle Smith

Cate Blanchett has hinted at past lesbian romances in an interview with Variety.

The actress, who has been married to Andrew Upton for 18 years, plays a bisexual in a new film Carol.

In the interview with Variety, the 45-year-old was asked whether her movie role was her first lesbian experience, she smiled and coyly asked, "On film — or in real life?"


Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett star in Carol.

When asked to confirm whether she's had past relationships with women, she said: "Yes. Many times".

The two-time Oscar winner refused to be drawn further, but doesn't necessarily define sexual orientation with labels.

"I never thought about it," she says, when asked why her character never "came out". "I don't think Carol thought about it."

Cate Blanchett on the cover of Variety.

She did, however think about how to best get into the role of Carol, based on a controversial 1952 book The Price Of Salt.

"I read a lot of girl-on-girl books from the period," said Blanchett, who plays opposite Rooney Mara in the film.

As for the response to Blanchett's revelation, the mother-of-four is unlikely to find out.

She told Variety that she'll never join Twitter.

"I think I'd end up in rehab," she joked. "That stuff is addictive."

She doesn't Google herself either.

She told the magazine she finds out if she's made headlines when she walks her kids to school and the crossing guard tells her, "What they said about you - that was terrible!"

She takes the penetrating gaze of the public lightly though. "We need to get into people's private lives now," she said. "If they are hiding something, they are dishonest."

Blanchett's new film will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17.

In the meantime, Blanchett and her family are gearing up to move to New York or San Francisco, once husband Upton has finished his tenure at Sydney Theatre Company.

Blanchett and Upton have three boys - Dashiell, 13, Roman, 10 and Ignatius, six.

The couple also recently adopted a baby daughter, Edith Vivian Patricia Upton.

"It's extraordinary," Blanchett told Fairfax about becoming a mother again. "It's been an absolute gift and we're utterly besotted."

Fairfax Media