Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946) is an English actress, author, and entrepreneur, who achieved early fame as a child actress, and has worked extensively in film and TV throughout her career.
Listening to my regular favourites - Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and so on - I always feel, quite misguidedly, that nothing can be too bad if such beauty and brilliance exists in the world.
My mum taught me that redheads shouldn't wear pink, red or orange, but if you choose the right shade, such as a bright orange or a cherry red, it can look fabulous.
Spreadable butter is wonderful for cake-making: it's much easier to cream than the block type and slightly lighter because it's blended with oil.
I think one wants lots of different lives.
An actor's job is about putting across the author's intention; I don't think of myself on the same level as a creator.
I'm a creature of habit, so I like going to boutiques, rather than larger stores, where I know I'll find something that suits me every time.
Having cakes as a business certainly changes things for me - I don't now sit at home doing a cake for the fun of it anymore. But it's an extremely happy and pleasureable business to run because people are generally buying cakes for celebrations.
Acting has been very useful to me.
I adore food and always have.
As a child, I wanted to marry a farmer, but no doubt the reality would have been very different to the idyll in my head.
I do find modern jazz quite tricky.
We get a lot of overseas people wanting to order cakes.
Of all the things I do, acting is the thing that grabs most, but there's another level on which it strikes me as being a little silly. In the end you're dressing up and deciding to be somebody.
I don't agree with the whole 'my mother's my friend' approach, because you're their mum and there has to be a difference between the generations.
The things you leave school knowing - some dates and long division - so much of it has been of no use to me. Schools should teach the basics of cookery, first aid, how to look after your money and how to speak foreign languages. Useful things.
I do enjoy fashion - a lot of runway clothes are pretty unwearable, but if moderated, the trends can be worn by just about anyone.
I swim more or less every day.
The rehearsal time is almost my favourite part of being an actress, particularly if you're working on a play that hasn't been done before.
My parents were not theatrical at all.
I learned basic cookery from my mom, taught myself cake techniques and then got fed up with my own cakes not looking as good as the ones in the shops.