“It’s scary being in a room with producers and saying, ‘Here’s my idea,’ when I’m scared to get shot down.”

I’m not opposed to acting. I do like to act.

I just love music. I think it’s art.

Not every girl who wears makeup feels like, ‘Oh, I’m so ugly without it.’ I wear makeup because it’s fun to put on, and I feel pretty with it on.

I’m obsessed with make-up, but my top tip doesn’t actually involve any products. Beauty starts with glowing skin, and the way to ruin it is with dirty, clogged make-up brushes.

I was home-schooled my whole life, pretty much.

You should realize that there is only one version of yourself in the world and that your flaws make you beautiful.

I hope it never gets to that point that I’m gonna have people around me that are using me. I’m very good with noticing that.

The most beautiful people are those who are truly themselves, and that’s what I want to show my fans.

At the end of the day, if you feel like you’re a good person, and your intentions are good, then that’s all that matters.

I truly believe that diversity is so important, and I hope that I can use my platform to encourage and inspire other aspiring female artists.

I have a very intrusive life, I guess you could say. I think that a lot of people know too much about me, truthfully.

Most of my songs are written about movies or TV shows – they’re not about me.

A lot of people are really focused on me. I always say, ‘Why focus on someone more than yourself?’

I would definitely say I’m predominantly a pop artist, obviously, but my music is different. It’s not just top-40-radio-type music.

We don’t really have any big family traditions; just spending time with each other is the most important part.

I like when my freckles show or when I do shoots and they accentuate them. It’s such a compliment.

Most directors have little lists in their heads of people they really want to work with.

A lot of directors prefer the solitude of the editing process, but I revel in the craziness of what a film set is.

Directors have a tendency to use their hands like orchestra conductors.

Actors aren’t stupid, mostly, and if there’s a sensibility and an aesthetic that a director’s going for, if you’re aware of that too, you can do things to help that.

I think the writer’s quite low down in the hierarchy really. But the fact that they took the piss out of Nicholas [Hynter] who, besides being the director, is also director of the National Theatre is, I’d have thought, slightly more risky.

Exodus is a very large organization. My board of directors is supportive of me as the president of Exodus and are very much involved in my decision-making and those types of things.

It’s really rare for film directors to be that interested in things other than themselves.

I have a final word of advice to our students. If you work very, very hard, this is the kind of actor, writer and director you may turn out to be, and if you work extra hard, this is the kind of person you may turn out to be.