Are there any similarities between you and Elle Woods, your character in Legally Blonde II?
I think there is a certain aspect of my personality there. I try to see the positive in people. I try to understand the motivations behind things people do even when I'm really disappointed in their personal choices. It's kind of hard in Hollywood sometimes, to spin things that way. But I think I am just a real optimist in the same sense she is.

Are you a shopaholic like Elle?
No, I wouldn't say that. I do like a nice pair of shoes, but I'm more of a collector. I like to squirrel them away and then I'll wear the same pair of trainers every day. I have a lot of shoes. I inherited all of Elle's shoes from both films. I would say I have probably 150 pairs...

There is a strong animal rights message in Legally Blonde II. Was that your input?
We had a lot of discussion about which cause Elle would champion - I see these people on TV talking about anti-fur and animal rights and I always think there are bigger issues, you know? What about the national debt and children dying all over the world? But there has to be a champion for everything. Even though (animals) don't seem like a big deal for a lot of people it seems like a very specific Elle Woods kind of concern.

Do you have any dogs yourself?
I do - an English bulldog, a French bulldog, and a Chihuahua. My dogs have a dog walker who comes for three hours a day and makes them go on hikes. I have to have a walker because they get fat. My English bulldog is really fat.

You're already a working mum with one daughter, and you're pregnant again. How is the pregnancy going?
It's going great. It's funny because with the first baby you count every week. And you get 'What to Expect When You Are Expecting' and read 'Week 19...what's going on?' Now I am like, 'How pregnant am I? I forget...' I still don't know my due date.

How will you combine work with having two kids?
I plan to take a good amount of time off as I did with Ava. I don't know how long.

Did you find it easy to get your figure back after the first baby?
I had to exercise a lot. The first movie I did after having Ava was Legally Blonde and I had to wear a bikini. That's when I had to hire the serious professional trainer person who really helped me get back into shape.

Any cravings in the middle of the night?
Not really. I have had a few crying fits... a few moments where I can't stop crying over silly stuff.

You're combining this pregnancy with shooting Vanity Fair. How is that working?
Well, I called up Mira Nair (the director) when I found out I was pregnant and I said, 'We have a situation to deal with'. She had the script re-written by Julian Fellows and he incorporated a pregnancy into it because in the book Becky Sharp has a child. For the rest of it, there's a lot of cloth and a lot of hiding behind staircases and bookcases and tables.

You're living in London during the shoot. How are you enjoying it?
It's great. It's good for us because we have been here three years in a row, every summer and we're kind of used to the culture and the people. It is fantastic for me because there just isn't as much focus on my own life. Ryan and I can really go anywhere in peace. We have had a really great experience here so far.

How did you break the news of your second pregnancy to Ryan? (Ryan Phillippe, her husband)
Oh, he was easy. He's the happiest one about it. He is such a great Dad.

Do you have an arrangement where one of you cooks and the other cleans?
No, Ryan cooks too. He's a pretty good cook. Neither one of us likes to clean very much. But we do it anyway...

Don't you have people for that?
We don't like to have a lot of people we don't know around us.

Is it true that someone found out about the pregnancy because a tabloid reporter was digging through your rubbish?
That's speculation, but I think there might be a little bit of truth to it. The disconcerting thing is it happens all the time. It's perfectly legal to go through somebody's garbage.

Do you ever get sick of the media attention?
Sure. I have days when I am being followed to Ava's nursery and she is three years old and she is asking, 'Who is that man over there in the ski mask taking pictures of us?'

Ski masks?
Yes. They literally act like criminals. And they treat you like you are a criminal too. Sometimes I am followed so much that I feel like I am one of the FBI's '10 Most Wanted'. Then the pictures that come out are of me pushing a shopping cart into the grocery store and smelling vegetables. I think, 'This is riveting.' I just think sometimes when your life isn't that sensational they try to spin something interesting. I have read all sorts of interesting things about myself, like I hate America, I am moving to Europe... Then I read somewhere that I have a million mansion in New York...

You don't?
No. I don't know where it is! But, you make a choice in life whether you are going to bellyache about the state of things or whether you are gonna just get on with it. This is my life.