Of the honour, the beauty told the magazine: ‘No, really. I just said, ”That’s ridiculous.” I’ve told no one.

‘I’ve never been a great beauty. I’ve never been a bombshell that was coveted. In an odd way, that made growing older a lot easier in this business. I guess I am doing it on my own terms, and this is my wish for everybody.’

While in Hollywood beauty is often measured – hence an annual list which this year saw almost 200 women labelled with the coveted adjective – the Oscar winner said it is something that cannot be seen.

‘Real beauty is quiet. Especially in this town, it’s just so hard not to say, ”Oh, I need to look like that.” No, be a good person, be a good mom, do a good job with the lunch, let someone cut in front of you who looks like they’re in a bigger hurry.

‘The people I find most beautiful are the ones who aren’t trying.’

As for the most beautiful qualities a woman can have she said: ‘The same qualities I find beautiful in a man – vulnerability and honesty. Kindness is the most important and the ability to laugh at yourself.’

While she may be People Magazine’s top pick, the Gravity star said there were many other woman out there far more beautiful than her.

‘I’m surrounded by some of the most beautiful women. My sister is absolutely gorgeous. Her kindness and sweetness are beyond compare; she is irritatingly smart, unwaveringly open-minded and loves me like nobody’s business.

‘If you are struggling the women in my life descend like paratroopers en mass and will not leave your side until they know you are standing on your own two feet again. No judgement, just support.’

While she might not think she is deserving of the title of World’s Most Beautiful, one person in her life certainly thinks she is – five-year-old son Louis.

The light of her life and true focus, the little boy also gives a mean compliment.

‘I was putting him to bed and told him that even when I’m old and grey and more wrinkly than I am now, I’ll still love him and want to tuck him in.

‘And he asked why I have wrinkles, and I said, ”Well, I hope some of them are from laughing so much.” And he touched my face and said, ”You’re not old, you’re just happy.”’

Louis may also be a source of those of some of those wrinkles as Sandra confesses while he is her greatest blessing, he is also her biggest worry.

When asked what she worries about, the star said: ‘Am I the mother my son deserves? And am I living my authentic life, am I good enough, working hard enough, am I able to keep my son safe? Did I pick up all the dog poo before the playdate?’

Sandra – whose only marriage ended badly when her husband of five years Jessie James was revealed to have cheated on her – said now she has true love and understands it thanks to her little boy.

 

‘Everything I have learned about love, I’ve learned from Louis, and that is there is no such thing as being done loving. We have a lot of it.’

Teaching Louie to love and love right is also a constant activity for Sandra – who lists being Louis’ mom as her most beautiful quality.

‘This week I was listening to him tell me why he was going to marry his girlfriend. But then we were having Sunday dinner, and he said he changed his mind. I just told him, ”Always love those who want to love you back and are nice to you.” Then we moved back to Legos and ”Why are you making me eat broccoli?”’

‘I want him to be a good man who is good to women and is really in touch with how he feels.’

The star says it is this role more than any other in her life that has made her feel beautiful.

I don’t feel beautiful in anything I’ve acted in. I don’t mind aging on film, I just don’t feel beautiful. If I see myself on TV, I flip right by it – I do not stop.

‘Louis doesn’t know what I do… He thought I was an astronaut for a while. I want it to be so inconsequential and such a nonissue. I want him to be embarrassed by me like all other parents.’

While she may not put much stock in her own physical beauty, Sandra does her best to look after herself.

While she confesses her vice is Twizzlers candy, she also drinks green juices which she makes daily from her garden which she planted full of kale and beets.

‘My sweet tooth is still there, but I’d like to live to a healthy 90, and raw cookie dough isn’t the right ingredient for that on a daily basis.’