Vanessa Paradis has all the attributes of her astrological sign, the Capricorn, she is head-strong, ambitious, talented, wild, but especially, she's equipped wih an exemplary amount of patience. The young 20-year-old singer has caused much jealousy in France and had thus taken refuge in New York where she could find peace and anonymity in the company of the American musician Lenny Kravitz, who she holds dear to her heart. She returns us finally, more serene than ever before. What did you do after your recent tour, vacation or work? I kind of get bored very quickly. I need to be active all the time. When I stopped the tour I did some traveling, gave interviews, occupied myself with the release of my live album, took my mother and my sister on vacation... but no concerts, no music, no films. I also moved into my first apartment on my own. I went to buy my chairs, my forks, my knives, all alone. It was good to be like everyone else, all the stuff I haven't done for so many years now. And while you are in New York, you live differently? In New York, I wake up early and I walk. I spend my time looking at people. And if I happen to be recognized, it's not the same as here, in Paris. Over there, everyone talks, conversations are easier than in Paris. I'm not ashamed, I don't want to hide. It's been said that the filming of Noce Blanche was rather difficult. What really happened? The filming of Noce Blanche was truly hell. In the beginning, everything went fine, but then, when things began to disintegrate, the director turned the crew against me, and I spent a month and a half with 30 people who didn't talk to me, who didn't even say hello. Horrible anecdotes about me were spread. The producer and the makeup artist were the only ones who talked to me. The others took me for the lowliest of bitches. At a certain time, to hate you what the thing to do...... Yes, there was a time when it was definitely the thing to do! People wanted me to come out of the experience warped. Actually, I've come out very balanced. Nowadays, I've very much exorcised all that, in extreme cases, when I meet people in the street, I feel like they almost want to apologize! What type of relationship do you have with your parents? Even when I was little, when there was a problem or a decision to make at home, my parents always asked me what I thought about it. I don't often see parents act like that. Mine always wanted to know what I thought, even when I was six! That's better than throwing your children to the lions all at once, the day when they're supposed to become adults. And what kind of adult have you become, you who had to grow up quicker than others? I'm wary, but at the same time I have a glimmer of hope. I tell myself: "I do what I do for the good people, the honest people." So, you want to speak, to let you yourself go, open your heart. You speak to people with the impression that they listen to you and more importantly that they understand you. Sometimes, I speak before I think... and every time, it comes back to me! Lastly, very often in any case... with all I've done, I've always required that someone "open the door" for me, to have things fall into my lap. If it interests me, I keep it. If it doesn't interest me, I throw it away. I have a need to feel wanted, that's sure. I seldem seek out people, with the exception of Lenny Kravitz. Your "sex-symbol" role, it fits you well? It really makes me laugh when people tell me I'm a sex-symbol. Sex-symbols don't really exist. Except in the eyes of others. It's a really unpleasant shock to see yourself on the big screen. I don't see how you can be moved by looking at a film you've just made. Maybe you can be ten years later, but immediately afterward, you look at it like the result of a job and work. Me, I was sick to my stomack after viewing White Wedding. And on stage, do you feel uneasy there? The media, the press, the critics judge you less harshly than you judge yourself. Since I started, I thought of only one thing: to have two hours of vivid vis-a-vis with the unknown. It was something that had been done between me and myself. Initially, perfoming onstage is like having a big mirror returning your pitilessly overblown image. Do you think of leaving music for awhile, to devote yourself exclusively to film? With White Wedding, even if it was a frightful experience, I discovered that I love to act. It's a way of escaping from yourself for several months. That's what surprised me. I've never done theater, never took an acting class. Even if the character of Mathilde was a little disturbed, it made me happy to be somebody else. But since that stage in my life, I've matured a lot. I haven't really become an adult, but I've progressed. I've traveled, met people, learned English. I've made new friends. In short, I've lived. Yes there's Vanessa the actress, but the singer is always there, with the recent release of a live album of her French tour. As for the actress, she's will soon return to the big screen next to Gerard Depardieu in Elisa, where she plays the difficult role of a girl in search of the father she never knew. The film is directed by Jean Becker, who had no made anything since The Fatal Summer with Isabelle Adjani. He need a spark of inspiration to return to work, and Vanessa gave him that desire for working again. Between them, everything was more than perfect, but today, Vanessa waits for the verdit of the public with a light concern. Her faithful friend Lenny Kravitz is there to support her.