She might constantly play a manic pixie dream girl and therefore come across as a sort of halfwit designed only to attract boys who like comic books, but, actually, Zooey Deschanel has her head screwed on far tighter than any episode of New Girl would bely.
The actress and sometime singer in twee band She & Him, who used to be married to Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard, explained in a new interview why she hates talking kids: 'When I was married, that was the first thing people wanted to know.'
'Like every woman is dying to give birth! I don't think so. Nobody asks a guy that,' she told InStyle, who you think might be careful who they ask about kids from now on, 'And you go into a supermarket and every tabloid is like, "Pregnant and Alone!" Stuck in this 1950s ideal of how a woman should live her life. That's not something that defines me at all.'
Which is hugely right-on in a very accessible way, and we totally respect her for saying it. We also respect her views on celebrity and staying grounded amid her mounting fame, which all comes about from being bullied as a child: 'Seventh grade was the ultimate rock bottom low — someone spitting in your face while you are on your way to your locker. Having to fight your way through those years makes you ready for the future.'
'I can snap back, I can make fun of myself before they do —I can do all of it. There's no way I can ever be as sensitive as I used to be, and it's sad to lose any sensitivity because it generally makes people very good at art.'
She's learned from observation to not become into a Jekyll & Hyde-like character: 'I've seen a lot of people turn – sometimes it unlocks who they really are. They turn into celebrities are who are separate from themselves. That's OK, but I just don't want to be like that.'
'I have to be normal. My mother wouldn't let me be any other way.'
Ok, even if you're not one for Zooey's 'adorkable' cutesie schtick, you've got to admit she's got it right when it comes to approaching the fame game. We're sure her level-headed success is exactly how to show all the high-school haters how awful they were.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.