Bborn in New York, Coppola, 51, began her career as an actress, notably playing Mary Corleone in The Godfather III, directed by her father, Francis Ford Coppola. She then became a director and won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Lost in Translation in 2003. Her 2010 film Somewhere won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival, and its remake of seduced him won Best Director at Cannes in 2017. His feature debut, 1999’s The Virgin Suicides, is available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and digital. She is married, has two children and lives in New York.

When were you the happiest?
Driving my convertible over the Bay Bridge when I was 18, listening to Thinking of You by Sister Sledge.

What is your biggest fear?
Being stuck in a project that doesn’t challenge me, or true to my nature.

What is your earliest memory?
The Philippine jungle during the filming of Apocalypse Now.

What trait do you most deplore about yourself?
Being hard on myself. I don’t want to pass this on to my daughters, so I’m trying to quit.

What trait do you deplore the most in others?
Insincerity.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
Make the cover of a magazine at 18 with the slogan: “Has she ruined The Godfather?”

Apart from a property, what is the most expensive thing you own? bought?
A painting by Elizabeth Peyton.

What is your most valuable asset?
A Helmut Newton photo of Charlotte Rampling, autographed by him.

What makes you unhappy?
Yoga pants on the street.

If you could bring something dead back to life, what would it be?
New York’s nightclub district.

What scares you about getting old?
Lose his friends.

Who is your favorite star?
Joe Strummer.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A magazine editor like Diana Vreeland.

Would you choose fame or anonymity?
Anonymity, with just enough notoriety to get a good table reservation.

What’s the last lie you told?
I don’t lie: My dad brainwashed me as a kid to never lie, and somehow it worked.

What do you owe your parents?
A lifetime of creativity.

Who would you most like to say sorry to, and why?
For a girl we were mean to in first grade.

Who or who is the greatest love of your life?
My husband and my vocation.

What words or phrases do you overuse the most?
“Is it too corny?” (When I work.)

When was the last time you cried and why?
Two weeks before filming – after some of our funding was dropped – when the producers said I had to cut a week’s worth of scenes from my script. I was there and away from my girls [currently in middle and high school] who I think needed a mother.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Making movies exactly how I wanted.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
To go your own way and not worry too much about what to do; one thing leads to the next, and you end up where you are meant to be.