Actress Cate Blanchett told Variety that she's had “many” relationships with women.

The 45-year-old Blanchett stars in the upcoming film Carol opposite Rooney Mara. Based on Patricia Highsmith's (under the pseudonym Claire Morgan) 1952 novel The Price of Salt, the film – set in 1950s New York – revolves around a department-store clerk (played by Mara) who falls for an older, married woman (Blanchett).

Blanchett, who has four children with husband Andrew Upton, an Australian screenwriter-director, told Variety that she relates to her character in the film.

When the interviewer asked whether this was her first turn as a lesbian, Blanchett responded, “On film – or in real life?”

“Pressed for details about whether she's had past relationships with women, she responds: “Yes. Many times,' but doesn't elaborate,” Variety wrote.

“I never thought about it,” she said of labeling her character's sexual orientation. “I don't think Carol thought about it.”

Carol premieres at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend.