Amy Adams is a changed woman. As she sits down at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, the flame-haired star seems to be more relaxed than ever and she’s the first to admit it.

“I definitely do feel different,” she says. “I used to be very mindful and careful about what I said, particularly during interviews, but now I’ll just say exactly what’s on my mind.”

Things have changed dramatically for the 36-year-old star since she became a mother to Aviana in May.

“My job is important to me and I love it but the consequences don’t seem as dire any more,” Adams says. “I care more what Avi thinks of me now than anybody else.”

Not that Adams need worry. She’s down-to-earth and open and her latest role in The Fighter, for which she is tipped to gain an Oscar nod, seems as far removed from the actor in person as you can get. Her character is the tough-talking bartender Charlene Fleming who helps turn around the life of boxer Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg.

Adams, however, would disagree, because she believes she contains more than a little of her character Charlene.

“Oh, most definitely,” she says. “She’s in there but it depends on the day. I think all women have a little Gisele and a little Charlene in them.

“It just depends on when you catch them. I’m not going to get into a fist fight unless it’s really called for. Just don’t hit my face.”

The “Gisele” Adams is referring to is the role that catapulted her into stardom in 2007, in the box-office smash Enchanted, which grossed more than $340 million.

Before making that film, Adams had thought about leaving Los Angeles and moving to New York. “I thought perhaps I was more suited to doing Broadway than staying in Hollywood and thought about heading east but all of that changed with Junebug and Enchanted,” she says.

Adams was born in Vicenza, Italy, the fourth of seven children. The family settled in Colorado when she was three.

“I guess that’s how I learnt to hold my own,” she says. “When you’re one of seven children, you learn to stand up for yourself.”

Performing in musical dinner theatre, Adams moved to LA in 1999, where she appeared in small television and film roles. Steven Spielberg saw Adams’s potential early on and cast her in his 2002 film Catch Me if You Can as the girl with whom Frank Abagnale jnr (Leonardo DiCaprio) falls in love. Critical success arrived when Adams starred in Junebug in 2005, for which she was nominated for best supporting actress at the Academy Awards. Hollywood was taking notice.

“It felt great, because there was a shift in the way my career was heading and I suddenly felt like, ‘I think this is going to be OK,’ ” she says.

Other successes followed, including Doubt, Julie and Julia and now The Fighter.  Personally and professionally, Adams is on a roll.

“I’m definitely in a good place right now,” she says. “I’m more content and feel more ‘me’ than I ever have.”

Adams has been engaged to Darren Le Gallo since April 2008. The pair met in 2001, when they were in an acting class together. They started dating after appearing together in the short film Pennies.

Describing life at their Hollywood home, Adams says they spend most of their days “just hanging out, reading and playing with Avi. We also take her everywhere with us when we go out.”

Known for her singing voice, thanks to the bubbly Disney princess she played, Adams sings a few songs to her daughter from the famous film.

“Avi really likes Happy Working Song,” she says, laughing. “And she loves it when I trill.”

But it’s not exactly her daughter’s No. 1 choice when it comes to music, particularly if it’s nap time.

“She’s a huge Journey fan and I used to get her to sleep by doing a back-to-back version of Faithfully and Open Arms,” Adams says.

Looking fit and svelte in a dark-green sheath, the star is quick to say she didn’t “snap” back into shape after giving birth.

“I’m constantly striving to be the woman my 40-year-old self will be proud of and someone my daughter will be proud of.

“I’m not sure how I’m going with that,” she says, “but I’m doing my best to get there.”

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