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Jessica Biel
Matt Sayles  /  AP file
Jessica Biel is having the time of her life on the red carpet. “I feel like a kid with saucer eyes, soaking it all in,” she says.
Access Hollywood
updated 7/9/2008 7:01:29 PM ET 2008-07-09T23:01:29

With roles in movies such as “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” and a pop star boyfriend to boot, Jessica Biel is about as cool as it gets — but not according to her.

“I felt for a long time that I wasn’t ballsy enough. Not cool enough,” she said in the August issue of Harper’s Bazaar. “But at this point in my life … I don’t care about that stuff anymore. I’m not going to be the coolest or the most ballsy. And I’m not going to be the most outspoken, and, guess what, that’s cool. That’s okay.”

Those who have seen the bombshell actress showing her action chops in films such as “Blade: Trinity” and “Stealth” might argue with that. But ballsy or not, it’s the red carpet that really gets Biel’s adrenaline flowing.

“I’m fascinated with the fashion world because I feel sort of intimidated,” she told the magazine. “I feel like a kid with saucer eyes, soaking it all in and having the time of my life.”

Since 2007, she’s shared that time with boyfriend Justin Timberlake, though marriage apparently isn’t in the cards any time soon.

“I’ve never been someone who’s like, ‘I have to, have to, have to have it.’” she said. “But the idea of being with somebody I care about, who’s my soul mate, that sounds groovy.”

Even groovier to Biel is the idea of having children.

“It really changes your view of things; it’s something that I feel is a rite of passage as a woman,” she said, though she wouldn’t want to sacrifice everything to be a mom.

“I think when you make a decision to have a family and children, everything else comes second,” she said. “But if I choose to have a family, I would hope to create a balance, because I don’t want to lose my sense of identity, my career and my independence. Why can’t I have both? Why can’t I have everything? So many women do it.”

Of course, a baby bump would mean trading in that famous body — at least for a few months. But that’s one thing Biel’s ballsy about.

“I am the shape that I am,” she said. “I feel no shame in it, you know what I mean? My mother always made me feel just great the way I was.”

For more from Biel, pick up the August issue of Harper’s Bazaar, on stands July 22.

Copyright 2012 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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