Cherie Lunghi
Cherie Lunghi
Cherie Mary Lunghiis an English film, television and theatre actress, known for her roles in many British TV dramas. Her international fame stems from her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur. Her long list of screen, stage and TV credits include football manageress Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and a series of adverts for Kenco coffee. She also competed in the 2008 series of Strictly Come Dancing. She is the mother of the actress...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth4 April 1952
I'm lucky to have very good genes. My mother was so tiny she was almost bird-like, and my father was tall and lean. Both lived until their early 80s.
There isn't anything I don't eat, although I'm not too keen on creepy crawly things. Other than that, I'm quite adventurous. I like all types of red meat, and I'm not a fussy eater at all.
I am simply not such a slave to my vanity, and I don't want to be, because as you get older you really have to start accepting the inevitable.
I have that precious commodity - freedom. I can live my life a day at a time, and I am open to whatever the next day brings. I know I sound as if I have been off with some guru in India, but I haven't. I've come to realise the value of being able to decide for oneself.
There is so much pressure to be thin, and you constantly compare yourself to others. But confidence is something that comes with age and experience - it has to be earned along the way.
I'm pretty good at getting things out of the way, especially paperwork. I hate it sitting about, as it somehow weighs me down.
People ask me how I manage without a man in the same tone they might ask someone how they're doing with just one lung, but it's not like that at all.
I grew up in the Fifties, and the majority of people in my class had fathers living at home. I was very aware that I was in the minority. I had a foreign name, and my daddy didn't come and pick me up from school. I felt like an outsider, which probably helped me as an actress.
Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, the higher your profile, the more castable you are in TV dramas.
I've got an overactive, analytical brain. I get frustrated, impatient, angry with myself. I swear at myself a lot.
Be yourself - it's the inner beauty that counts. You are your own best friend, the key to your own happiness, and as soon as you understand that - and it takes a few heartbreaks - you can be happy.
I've been a single parent for a long time. It reminds me of being a waitress. As you walk back to the kitchen, requests come at you from all sides. You're doing the job of two - you have to be highly organised.
To keep my back from getting stiff, I have a strict regime every morning of stretching and do yoga once a week and Pilates. 'Strictly Come Dancing' in 2008 was great for my fitness.
I didn't get attached to Botox. It is costly, and you have to remember to keep doing it.