10 minutes with Julia Peyton-Jones
Do you have any superstitions?
When I was a child I used to hold my breath whenever I passed by a graveyard.
What last made you cry?
Mo Farah winning the 10,000 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow.
What’s the funniest thing you’ve read about yourself?
I often get likened to a head girl. That still makes me laugh.
What has been your greatest mistake?
I’ve regretted not pursuing a career in the performing arts.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Julianne Moore — it’s a bit feeble to say it’s because of the hair. She is a marvellous actress.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Working in a bookshop opposite The British Museum. They wanted to sack me on a daily basis.
What’s been your biggest fashion mistake?
Everything I wore in the 1980s — big hair and shoulder pads. It makes me shudder just thinking about it.
Do you have any tattoos?
No, but I am very fascinated by people who do.
What’s your desert island boxset?
Breaking Bad. Utterly compulsive viewing. I’m hooked.
What could you not live without?
My dog, Charlie. Through her I have a completely different relationship with the landscape.
What’s your karaoke song?
‘A Hard Day’s Night’ by The Beatles.
What would you eat for your last supper?
Oysters from Maine; steak from Sydney; vegetables from my aunt’s garden; Chocolate Nemesis from The River Café.
What’s your best Serpentine summer party memory?
When the Princess of Wales was our patron, she came to one party in that extraordinary black dress that became one of the iconic images of the 1990s.
Is there a book that has changed the way you thought about things?
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an extraordinary book that made me think about what it must be like to be an immigrant and among a minority.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Reading trashy magazines.
Diesel hosts the DieselReboot x Serpentine Future Contemporaries Party, an annual fundraiser for the gallery’s young patrons, on 16 September in the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013
