Now comfortably in her 50’s, Kim Catrall sees no reason to slow down. Kim Cattrall looks so good it should be illegal. Her skin is completely wrinkle-free – even on her chest, arms, and around her mouth.

Dressed in an YSL silk spaghetti strap dress and matching Christian Louboutin strappy heels, she exudes a warmer, less sexual persona than I had expected, but she is without a doubt feisty, confident and yes, definitely sexy.

We meet at the Mandarin Oriental in New York to celebrate the opening of the movie version of the hit television show, Sex in the City. Here was a show that shook up everything we knew about women past a certain age. They were happy. They didn’t need a man to complete them. Life didn’t stop at 25. The show made Kim an icon and an unofficial spokesperson for all things sexual for the mature woman.

Kim’s most memorable roles have undoubtedly been the sexually overt ones, such as Honeywell, the sex-starved coach in Porky’s (1982) and the unforgettable Cadet Karen Thompson in Police Academy (1984). Kim, who initially and repeatedly turned down the role of Samantha because she ‘wasn’t sure she could pull off the femme fatale status’, has written several books and been married three times. She is currently dating a younger man and seems to be very much in control of her life.

When you turned 50 how did it affect your life?

It is such a huge number. I remember waking up the day after my 50th birthday, which was almost two years ago now, and not feeling any different. I thought I would, or at least should. I even thought that maybe I should stop doing things. Then I thought, well, why should I stop doing things? I feel healthy. I haven’t lost my sense of humour. I haven’t lost my figure. I’m going to go out there and do everything that I’ve always done.

Have you ever had an out-of-control guilty pleasure?

We all have guilty pleasures – whether it’s sex or food or shopping. You just need to be wise enough to know when enough is enough, and to look at a behaviour and say, “Why is this a pattern?” For some a solution to deciphering the pattern is therapy, for others it is AA, or just self-talk. Whatever works for you. It’s a balance of knowing when enough is enough.

Is it realistic for a mature woman to be sexual and single?

I look back on the ’60s and ’70s, which was my generation and when I was becoming sexually aware. It was much freer. If I look at the last 20 years, things have definitely changed, and much of this obviously has to do with Aids. But there is still a way to be sexual and smart and incorporate this important part of being human into your life. There are highs and lows to being single and to being a woman today, and we have to talk to each other about it.

You live with a chef, Alan Wyse – how do you stay in shape?

He loves to cook for me. It’s an expression of love for him. When I started to have to diet for work he was quite hurt that I had to turn certain things away. He’s very tricky. He says to me that he doesn’t put butter in things and I know he does (laughs). It’s challenging, but he has a passion for food like I do for acting, so we understand each other.

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