DIANE LANE " I'M THE PERSON I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BECOME

Diane Lane is the first one to tell you: There was a time in her life when she was all bluster and bravado. She put up walls and seldom came out from behind them. But thanks to her husband, Josh Brolin, her kids, her own hard work — and Richard Gere — she has grown into the woman she always knew she could be.
By David Hochman

Special Offer "Did you ever have one of those days?" Diane Lane says with a cheerful sigh. She has just arrived at a favorite neighborhood Italian joint near her home in Los Angeles. "I couldn't find my car keys, I got stuck in traffic, and a little home-improvement project we're doing just turned into a major home-improvement project. I'm making my office into a serenity room, something like I imagine Oprah has. A place where you can go and pull the covers up over your head. But as one room gets upgraded, you have to do the next...." She slaps her forehead and giggles. "Sometimes you just want to wave the white flag!"

Not that she will. After nearly four decades in the spotlight, and four years of marriage and blending families with 40-year-old actor Josh Brolin (Diane has a 15-year-old daughter, Eleanor, with her former husband, actor Christopher Lambert; Josh has a son, Trevor, 20, and a daughter, Eden, 15, from his marriage to actress Alice Adair), Diane knows that resilience can be its own reward. "I think the secret to happiness is having a Teflon soul," she says. "Whatever comes your way, you either let it slide or you cook with it