Bankrate: You were in your first film before you were old enough to drive. Did you dream of a career as an actress, or did you fall into it through your sister Margaux?

Hemingway: I was not old enough to drive when I made "Lipstick," but I was driving nonetheless. In Idaho, my parents just didn't want to drive me the six miles into town all the time, so I was taught to drive at 11 and seemed to get away with local town driving for years without a hitch. I was extremely careful until I got my license at 16, and that very day I sideswiped two cars. I thought having my license meant I didn't have to be careful anymore.

I fell into acting by being Margaux's sister, and then I got the role in "Manhattan" and that was it, I was in love with acting. But prior to that, at the ripe old age of 13, I wanted to be an architect or a marine biologist. Hmmm ...

Bankrate: Your Oscar-nominated performance in "Manhattan" brought you fame at a young age. Were you prepared to handle the financial success at that point in your life?

Hemingway: Ironically, I didn't gain financial wealth back then, the way some young stars do today. Those kinds of big paydays didn't happen back then, especially for girls, and Woody Allen didn't pay AT ALL. But the money I did make, which was moderate, I invested in a piece of land in Salmon, Idaho, and I built my dream cabin. I wish, in retrospect, that I had bought more land when I was young, but honestly, where I would have bought seemed too pricey for me.

Bankrate: You seem to follow your own path in choosing film roles. Despite the fact that "Manhattan" and "Star 80" were applauded, audiences preferred to identify you with the lesbian character of Chris Cahill in "Personal Best." How much of an obstacle was that in your career?

Hemingway: I have never looked back on anything as detrimental to my career. I would have to say that "Personal Best" gave me a big connection to the gay and lesbian community. I think that it was a film that was instrumental in giving some girls the courage to come out of the closet. I am not sure I was stereotyped from that film -- I did "Star 80" after that and the character of Dorothy Stratten was the antithesis of Chris Cahill. I think that I had always been on the cutting edge of films that made people think.

I didn't feel stereotyped by my film choices because they were, indeed, all different. I think what affected my career more was being a Hemingway and having that linked to being a celebrity and not an artist, which could sometimes get in the way of transforming as an actress. That said, I have no regrets. My journey has gotten me here and I am in a place where healthy living is my passion and where all the adventures in my life have lead me toward self exploration. I have the four elements of health and healing that are powerful, and part of my journey is to lead others to find balance in their own lives.