Sexy Stamp: Amy Adams

Adams has admitted that she was "disappointed in herself" because she hadn't "grown up".

She said: "I was like, 'I'm 40 and I still care what people think of me; I still don't do laundry so I'm always out of things; I'm just not a grown-up at all.

"And I had this expectation that I would be by this age. It wasn't, 'Oh, I'm getting old and I'm going to lose something vibrant about myself.' It was more that I was just...so disappointed with myself."

Despite her disappointment, the actress has found a positive to take away from the experience.

She told Vogue magazine: "You need to appreciate your life, Amy.

"Every time I get stressed out or anxious, I say to myself, Just live and love. Feel love. I think that's what I took away from my turning-40 meltdown."

Meanwhile, Amy - who has been in a relationship with Darren De Gallo since 2002 - also revealed that the best gift she had ever received was from her fiance and their four-year-old daughter, Aviana.

She said: "My fiance made me a pillow that had my daughter's face on it so when I travel, I could cuddle with her."

Photos: Vanity Fair