Jodie Foster has become less competitive in later life

Speaking in the press room after the awards ceremony, she is quoted by People as saying: "It is really, you pay attention as a golden age for people, right?

"Because something, at least for women, I think something happens. There's an organism that gets released into the bloodstream.

"I'm not a doctor, so don't follow me on that one, but it just feels like there's a hormone that happens, or suddenly you go, 'Oh, I don't really care about things anymore. I'm not going to compete for myself.'"

The Oscar-winning star - who started her career as a child actress with roles in films such as 'Taxi Driver' and the original version of 'Freaky Friday' - is "excited" about what is to come in the future and, to her surprise, has found that her sixties have been the "most contended" decade so far.

Jodie - who has sons Charles, 26, and 23-year-old Kit with her former partner Cydney Bernard but has been married to Alexandra Hedison since 2014 - said: "I'm excited about what's left of my life and who I've become that I can bring to the table. So for me, this is the most contented moment in my career, and I never would've known that. I just never would've known that. But something happened the day I turned 60."