The Carol actor says she wants to retire so she can do other things in her life
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY DREAMSTIME
Cate Blanchett, beloved by sapphic audiences since she starred in lesbian film Carol, has said she wants to hang up her acting boots and call it quits. The actor said she has a lot of other things she wants to do and that it might be time to retire from acting.
“I am serious about giving up acting,” Cate told Radio Times. “[There are] a lot of things I want to do with my life.”
Cate has had an incredibly successful career on screen. She has won two Oscars – Best Actress for Blue Jasmine and Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator – and been nominated for countless more. Several of her roles have been sapphic, including Carol Aird in the 2015 period drama Carol, who falls in love with a younger woman despite it being forbidden in 1950s New York, and Lydia Tár in 2022’s Tár, who is a queer music conductor.
But, despite her success, Cate has said she is uncomfortable with her celebrity. “I’ve always felt like I’m on the periphery of things, so I’m always surprised when I belong anywhere.” She added that she doesn’t go anywhere expecting to be accepted or welcomed and has “spent a lifetime getting comfortable with the feeling of being uncomfortable”.
She continued: “No one is more boring to me than myself and I find other people much more interesting.” As such, she wants to do more things with the rest of her life that will keep her feeling present and interested in herself. She added that one of the few places she feels present is when she’s submerged in cold water because it makes you listen to the world around you. “I have to really focus on bringing the same quality of listening into my life.”
DIVA magazine celebrates 31 years in print in 2025. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
