Vanessa has filed away her Lolita past in the closet with her teddy bears. In movie theaters, she plays Depardieu's daughter in Elisa, the new Jean Becker film. And for Max, she's finally become... a woman!

The worst thing that's happened to you, was it being spit at?

No, there are things "even worse" than that. People can treat you like shit: if you deserve it, it'll be hard for you to accept it but you know why it's so. But I remember one day, I was going to meet the scriptwriter Joon Boorman. There were traffic jams in Paris, I was late, so I finished on foot. I passed in front of the fucking Warwick hotel, where New Kids on the Block was staying, and so were their fans, between 12 and 18 years old. They were facing the front door, so I discreetly switched sidewalks, and all of the sudden they come at me like mad dogs, it was monstrous. Do you know what it's like to have people running after you to tear off your hair and spit in your face? There had to be 200 of them. That scared me. I asked two cops to help me but they didn't give a fuck about me, they left me in my mess. You ask yourself, "But what have I done to deserve that?"

You have a very glamorous, desirable image. That undoubtedly explains the excessive reactions of the public.

What are you trying to say? That I shouldn't let myself be photographed like that, that I should forget that side of me? That I should stop wearing miniskirts because people call me a bitch? There's the paradox: people's reactions, it drives me crazy but at the same time it doesn't drive me crazy. There is definitely a misunderstanding with the public that stems in part from me, because I am glamorous and normal at the same time. Compare two polls, one about Jean Marie Le Pen and one about me, and you'll see that people are much more aggressive with me. However, all I do is make music and films! Reactions are overblown, especially those from women!

Because they're afraid that you're going to steal their husband, like Bardot before you?

That's ridiculous. But I never considered, even during deep depression, to do something else for a living. And yet I told myself 150 times: "It's obvious, I'll stop, I can't anymore..." Yesterday I walked in the street, wanting to have a walk just like anyone, and I became aware of the disequilibria between this activity and being live on the stage, in front of 7,000 people, without understanding how you got there. When I started, I thought I'd get used to this distortion. Eight years later, I'm still not at that place. But whatever, you can't have it all.

The exile in New York, it was because of that?

And other reasons. New York opened my eyes and my body. It was an escape, a wish to live the way I am and not the way I'm represented. There I discovered the pleasure of meeting people who didn't have preconceived ideas about me. It's unbearable to have to perpetually justify yourself as a human being. My goal is to be recognized, not as a sex-symbol, but as somebody who does interesting things.

Why did you wait for Becker's film for your return to film?

When Noce Blanche came out, people in the film world were surprised. They weren't expecting an actress, they were expecting a Top 50 singer. Then, very quickly, everybody proposed tons of projects to me. But nobody really insisted... I don't think they took it too seriously, except Jacques Doillon who seemed to truly want to work with me. All these projects never went very far. And I passed on all the horrible scripts they threw at me...

The "lost junkie" roles?

No, the kinds of movies where I was naked from beginning to end.

People were talking about a project with Bertand Blier, that could have been explosive...

It's been considered, but nothing's in writing.

After Noce Blanche, you said you didn't like making movies very much. Have things improved after Elisa?

It's true that in regard to Noce Blanche, and not just during the nude scenes, but that's difficult to say about Elisa. Noce Blanche is such a bad memory for me that it's hard for me to like it. On the other hand, Elisa was one of the most pleasing experiences I've ever had, including the experiences I've had in music. I've watched Elisa several times.

Do they stay with you, your roles?

None of them! I only miss one thing, the contact with the actors and the production team. The first days of filming were on the Ile de Sein, where we were stuck together. Returning to Paris, the liveliness wasn't lost. That's very rare! Jean Becker wrote the script with a picture of me in front of his eyes, then he made me go to each casting...

Is the film world healthier, less "showbiz" than music?

Much less showbiz!

What was the most difficult for you on set: to wake up early, to cry, to laugh, to stand on your tiptoes, to put your arms around Depardieu?

For Noce Blanche, we filmed in a Saint-Etienne school with 30 real schoolkids of which the majority wanted to spit at me. Things like that didn't happen during Elisa. Even the hardest things were done happily. Nothing was difficult (she reflects)... Nope, sorry, I don't recall.

After three albums, where each time more was said about the author than about you, when will you be able to finally express your personality, to make a Paradis disc, not a Kravitz disc or Gainsbourg disc?

That will come the day I write my own songs.

Now, you can choose to work with such and such person, a way of keeping control...

It's hard for me to speak about music today, the tour was a big shock for me. That was something very very strong and I didn't know how strong because someone like Tina Turner has been touring for like 30 years. I assumed it would be easy, and I was surprised and I suffered. After that, to start again and to put as much love and sincerity into it, I did not have the strength. That didn't drain me, that didn't block me, because I have more good than bad memories, but it's like... I don't know, like an accident! Once you're shocked, it takes you a while to start driving again. And then I really wanted to become an actress, to learn how to do that, and you learn by making movies.

In your music, you often make reference to the past. Do you feel that it's all been done before?

It's obvious that after the Beatles, the Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley, it's very difficult to surprise and to do greater things. There hasn't been a musician equal to them since. Not me in any case!

What French music do you like?

Hmm... Pfuuu! Souchon makes beautiful songs, I really like his last album... Bashung... In France, after Serge's albums... What I listen to at home is Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins, Al Green, the four I told you about a moment ago, people like that.

Interviews, do they bore you?

Yes. It's painful. Especially for someone who has difficulty explaining herself.

Even for a film you love?

When you're a singer or an actor, what you make resides in concrete things: the movie, the CD. It's difficult to explain, you don't want to betray, damage, mislead. The most horrible question is "Tell me the story of Elisa." Tell the story of the story? Impossible! My job is not to explain. Especially since I'm not very gifted at that...

With interviews, are you most annoyed with the questions asked of you about society, unemployment, politics?

Yes, I find it unbearable that people ask me my opinion on the misery and all that goes on in the world. It tires me that all these artists go on TV to talk about it -- what does that change? The other day I was interviewed and for three hours the guy talked to me about people who slept in the street, about AIDS, about this and that... But what can I say? Keep the hope? To put a bullet in your head immediately? Now, when you speak to artists, it's not enough anymore to know about their movie, their CD. It's necessary to know who they vote for, etc. Me, it bores the hell out of me to talk about that.

The scandal sheets don't annoy you much at the moment?

Huh? Have you read Voici for a month? I'm in there every week with different photographs and different boyfriends. I'm definitely a huge slut, I change partners all the time! I'm on my fourth lawsuit. Every time I get 50,000 francs, I pay my lawyer, and then it starts all over again. When they printed the photo of the president's daughter, all the world recoiled and said: "What gives you the right not to respect her private life?" Us artists have to accept that we're treated like that. A guy can't touch me, can't put his hand on my shoulder, without the guy being my boyfriend the next week. I really pass for a harlot!

Have you read the biography that's been written about you?

Someone read it for me. It's full of untrue things about my height, my weight, the color of my eyes. It was made with quotes from magazines! It's badly done, with old ugly photographs. They do that kind of thing about important people. Apparently, I'm important right now!