Australian actress Cate Blanchett has an amazing career - and a happy family life. So what's her secret?

She's beautiful, talented, intelligent, a devoted mum and she has one of the most loving, loyal marriages in showbiz. A true rarity in the world of celebrity, the Australian actress is inspired by roles that challenge her rather than simply chasing success at the box office. The 38-year-old star is also happy to put her career aside for the sake of her family.

It doesn't matter that she's made an impressive 33 films in the past 11 years and is one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, her life with her scriptwriter husband Andrew Upton and sons Dashiell and Roman always comes first! In January, she'll start a new role and a nine-to-five job, running the Sydney Theatre Company as co-artistic director with Andrew. Her elder son Dashiell is also starting school, and she couldn't imagine him being educated anywhere else than in Australia. 'He's five now and he needs to be settled, and I respect that,' she says. Cate has a clause in her theatre contract that will allow her to take on one major film or theatre role a year. She explains: 'If I'm lucky enough to be offered a good job theatrically or a film role and it would fit in with my schedule, then I'd consider it.'

Few actresses would turn their backs on the amazing opportunities that have come Cate's way. But would they be able to stay out of the limelight as she has done? At the couple's home in the UK - which was recently sold - the neighbours didn't even realise it was the Oscar winner nipping to the corner shop for newspapers until the family had been there for eight months. A neighbour reveals: 'Someone said there was a famous actress living here and I said: 'No, you've got the wrong street.' Then we realised who she was. 'You couldn't meet anyone less starry,' the neighbour adds. 'We'd see her out taking the boys for a walk and she'd always be so sweet to my little ones, remembering their names. Being mum is her most important job - you can tell that a mile off. 'She has obviously got her priorities right,' the source says. 'We'd occasionally see her and her husband walking arm-in-arm on the seafront, and they looked so besotted with each other.'

Cate met scriptwriter Andrew in 1996 and they married a year later. At first there was no attraction between the pair.
Cate remembers: 'He thought I was aloof, and I thought he was arrogant. It just shows how wrong you can be. But once he kissed me, that was that. 'I was - and am - swept away,' she adds of her husband. 'I'm happily married and deeply in love. I can't even go into the depth of my adoration for Andrew.' Younger son Roman is now three, and Cate has more than hinted that her return to Australia includes a plan to extend their family. She's made no secret of the fact she'd like 'another couple maybe'. When asked about when she and Andrew plan to give Dashiell and Roman a sibling, she answers with a twinkle: 'We're not going to wait forever. God, I'd love it to be now. I'd love it to be next week.

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Cate Blanchett has an incredible career and an equally successful marriage. Here's what sets the actress apart. She is:

PRIVATE: She recently asked for a body double because she didn't want to reveal her bum: 'Only my husband sees my bottom!' she said.

LOYAL: Well known in Hollywood circles is that Cate will never say a word against her husband Andrew. 'She'd defend him to the death,' a friend says.

SEXY: Though often exhausted from her work and family commitments, Cate always looks great on the red carpet and has a style all her own.

MODEST: She'll probably get an Oscar for her Bob Dylan portrayal in her new movie I'm Not There, but says: 'I still don't know that I pulled it off.'

HARDWORKING: The director of the movie Elizabeth says: 'Cate has incredible discipline. It's what makes her an unbeatable actress.' Also, her Bob Dylan part could have flopped spectacularly, but Cate took the risk. Calling the role 'another crazy idea', she said: 'I just strapped those breasts down and went for it.'

HUMBLE: Cate's friends know she thanks her lucky stars for her family and frequently wonders what she has done to deserve them. Of her two young sons she says: 'They're shiny, shiny boys. They've got sparkly little eyes.'

SENSITIVE: A bit-part actress who met Cate when they both starred in the movie Pushing Tin says Cate helped her conquer her severe nerves.

FUNNY: She jokes about playing Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, saying: 'To be honest, I took the part because I wanted to wear the pointy ears.'

NATURAL: She's opposed to plastic surgery, and says: 'I see someone's face, or someone's body who has had children, and I think they're the songlines of your experience. Why would you want to eradicate that?'

GIVING: Cate has turned her back on potentially brilliant roles because she's prepared to put her family first.