In the past, I have played the roles of subdued, self-sacrificing women. But we need to show our women as bolder individuals. I know this will happen.

I will accept my age gracefully.

I don't have the time to think about my past, and I don't think I need to.

My past has helped me grow as a person.

I felt it was a privilege that I came from such a rich background. I had the best of both worlds. My mother was a Shia Muslim, while my father was a janoi-clad man. He never pretended to be secular.

I didn't belong to the sort of family where the children's classics were laid on. I went to the public library and read everything I could get my hands on.

People forget that there are villages and communities that are still speaking French all over Canada. I went to a bar and spoke with some French people there, and they were saying: 'I went to English school, but at home it was always French, and that's going to be the way it is for my kids.' It's important for them to keep that language alive.

I wasn't born to a wealthy or powerful family - mother from Puerto Rico, dad from the South Bronx.