Southern ‘House of Cards’ actress knew early on she wasn’t ‘the marrying kind’
Patricia Clarkson has survived Hollywood.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Clarkson, 65, talked about her own real-life experiences that her latest movie "Lilly" brought to the surface for her.
The movie is "based on the remarkable true story of a working-class hero, Lilly Ledbetter, a hard-working Alabama tire factory supervisor whose singular goal is to lift her family into the middle class," the movie's website states.
"I'm not a 25-year-old woman. I've lived through a lot in my life. I've survived Hollywood, okay. I'm a New Orleanian who now lives in New York," Clarkson said.
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"For me, Lilly's journey was a deeply emotional journey, a journey filled with strife and struggle and ultimately triumph, but how I've toiled, how I have labored to have a career and still have a career at 65, is a loss of love. Loss of leaving my family behind in New Orleans."
The movie sparked memories of Clarkson's "struggles" in her life, but she's proud to still "be here" and making a mark in the entertainment industry.
Taking on the role of Lilly was a personal choice for Clarkson. She told Fox News Digital that Lilly Ledbetter was a personal hero of her mother who passed away.
WATCH: Patricia Clarkson drew from her real life experiences when preparing for role in 'Lilly'
"Sadly, my mother passed and was not able to see this film, which is heartbreaking to me because my mother was a powerhouse. She ran this city [New Orleans] and Lily Ledbetter was one of her heroes. Of course, she raised five daughters. My mother raised five daughters, and we're all working women and my sisters are very accomplished people.
"I'm just a lowly actress. They all have real careers and real lives," Clarkson said with a laugh.
Over several decades in Hollywood, the "House of Cards" actress recognizes that women are treated much differently in the industry than when she first started in the late '80s.
WATCH: Patricia Clarkson explained the special connection her new role shares with her mother
"Oh, it's exponentially grown. When I first started out, my very first movie I did was ‘The Untouchables.’ Even my make-up artist was a man. I was the only woman for miles. Miles. And I was paid scale.
"The industry, it's grown by leaps and bounds and women finally really now, we don't have a full seat at the table, but we're very, very, close. I think people are starting to realize that women, we can make you money. We can win you awards. We can make your life better if you employ us, and you pay us," Clarkson said.
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Clarkson has previously described herself as a "single, straight, Southern woman" who's never married or had children.
During her interview with Fox News Digital, she explained that her choice to stay single started at a young age.
WATCH: 'Lilly' star Patricia Clarkson knew she 'wasn't the marrying kind' from a young age
"It's interesting, and you know, it's quite shocking, but not really. I was a fiercely independent child. I knew very early on I wasn't the marrying kind. I love to work, I'm a workhorse.
"I've had remarkable men in my life. Not all of them, but quite a few that have just made me a better person, and I'm very thankful to some of the remarkable men I've dated in my life," Clarkson said. "A lot of them needed a wife and I knew I wasn't that."
Clarkson told Fox News Digital that she has 10 nieces and nephews who she "worships" and they have gone on to have their own children.
"One of my greatest joys in my whole life is being their aunt. And now they all have these gorgeous children that you can eat on a spoon. And that's enough for me. I do love other people's children. But I think I'm best single," Clarkson said.
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Clarkson said there was one man that made her consider marriage, but looking at where he is now, she's confident that the relationship wouldn't work out. She didn't name the man she was referring to.
"Lilly" debuts in theaters on May 9.