Actress Cate Blanchett plays the role of a lesbian in her latest film "Carol." It is the latest mainstream film that deals with same-sex romantic drama which preceded Abdellatif Kechiche's "Blue is the Warmest Color," which won the Palme d' Or two years ago.

During the press conference for the film "Carol" at the Cannes Film Festival, the multi-awarded actress was asked if she ever had relationships with women. The question about her sexuality stemmed from an interview she gave last week to Variety Magazine where she appeared to have said that she had many relationships with women in the past.

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The legendary actress, whose profile gained international prominence in the 1998 Shekhar Kapur's film "Elizabeth," said her words had been taken out of context. Blanchett, who has four children with playwright and screenwriter Andrew Upton, clarified what she had said in the interview. She said that when she was asked if she had any sexual relationships with women, Blanchett stressed that she had explicitly answered, "No."

During the press conference for "Carol," Blanchett said that the film is a private affair in its sexuality. "The characters in the film speak about the sex lives only sparingly. What often happens these days is if you're a homosexual you have to talk about it constantly, the only thing, before your work. We're living in a deeply conservative time."

The 46-year-old actress said that she had made countless research involving lesbian romance novels written in the middle of the last century, and "Carol" appeared to be "the only one with a happy ending".

"Carol," directed by Todd Haynes, is set in the 1950's New York where a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman. It was culled from the novel of Patricia Highsmith while Phyllis Nagi wrote the screenplay.

TagsCate Blanchett, Carol, lesbian