Cate Blanchett unveils stunning post-baby figure at Cannes FOUR WEEKS after giving birth

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She may have been feeling the pressure more than most new mothers to regain her figure after giving birth four weeks ago.

But it was worth it as actress Cate Blanchett looked stunning as she graced the red carpet at the opening ceremony at Cannes Film Festival last night.

Dressed in a pale peach coloured, ruffled Armani Prive gown, Cate - who celebrated her 39th birthday last night - cut a typically elegant figure at what was her first red carpet event since giving birth to son Ignatius Martin.

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Red carpet ready: Mother of three Cate Blanchett reveals her stunning post-baby figure on the red carpet at the 61st Cannes Festival in France last night

Australian Cate is in France for what is expected to be the biggest show in town - the highly-anticipated world premiere of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," on May 18.

She stars alongside Harrison Ford, 69, as the whip-wielding archaeologist in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" directed again by Steven Spielberg.

She said she was ecstatic when the revered filmmaker approached her to play villain Irina Spalko in the fourth film in the Indiana Jones franchise, which she loved as a child.

Cate said: "I've always wanted to do something with lots of action in it. So when Steven Spielberg says, 'Be a part of Indiana Jones', I could hardly say no. I grew up with these films; they're part of cinematic landscape."

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Just peachy: Cate looked hot to trot just four weeks after giving birth to her third son, in an Armani prive peach coloured ruffled gown

The Oscar-winning actress gave birth to her third child in Sydney on April 13th. Cate and her playwright husband Andrew Upton already have two sons: Dashiell John, aged six, and Roman Robert, aged three.

Although she rarely speaks about how she maintains her svelte figure she has shared her thoughts on why she would never submit to plastic surgery.

The mother-of-three insists she is proud of her imperfections and would never consider turning to surgery to fix them.

She has told Glamour magazine: "I see someone's face, someone's body who has had children, and I think they're the song lines of your experience, and why would you want to eradicate that?

"Death is not going to be any easier just because your face can't move."

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Glamour: Starlets young and old, including Mischa Barton and Faye Dunaway, flocked to Cannes to be a part of one of the film world's highest profile events

Meanwhile, Cate was joined on the red carpet by fellow Hollywood luminaries Julianne Moore, Gillian Anderson and Natalie Portman. Television star Eva Longoria put in an appearance, as did young Hollywood starlet Mischa Barton.

A sombre Brazilian drama about society's descent into anarchy launched the Cannes film festival last night and politics dominated the opening news conference held by jury president Sean Penn.

'Blindness', starring Julianne Moore, was a sombre start to 12 days of movies, publicity stunts and late-night revelry in the Riviera town, which prides itself on welcoming tough cinema as well as rolling out the red carpet for Hollywood royalty.

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Goddess gowns: Julianne Moore starred in the film chosen to open the festival, Fernando Meirelles directed feature 'Blindness'. She was joined on the red carpet by Israeli model Bar Refaeli

Jewel in the gown: Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria looks sleek and polished in a fabulous jewel coloured turquoise gown

Cannes delight: Rachida Brakni, Eva Longoria Parker and Aishwarya Rai delight the assembled crowds and the banks of photographer as they make their way down the red carpet

Directed by Brazil's Fernando Meirelles, of 'City of God' fame, English-language 'Blindness' is an adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning writer Jose Saramago's novel, and tells the story of a plague of blindness sweeping the world.

Moore plays a doctor's wife, who, like the film's audience, sees death, cruelty, degradation as well as dignity around her.

The movie had its premiere in the evening, with Dennis Hopper, and Faye Dunaway among the stars joining cast and jury in front of hundreds of fans.

Penn, who heads the nine-member jury that decides which of 22 entries in the main competition receives the coveted Palme d'Or for best film, hinted that the winner was likely to be one that tackled contemporary issues.

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You the jury: A serious Sean Penn is president of the jury at this year's competition for the coveted Palm D'Or, actress Natalie Portman and Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron are jury members

Purple patch: Natalie Portman opts for a vibrant purple cocktail dress for the night's ceremonies

"Whatever we select for the Palme d'Or, I think that we all are in sync that we're going to feel very confident that the ... maker of that film was very aware of the times in which he lives," the U.S. actor said.

Penn, a vocal opponent of George W. Bush, renewed his criticism of the U.S. president.

"When somebody operates without a brain and without a heart they kill hundreds of thousands of people around the world," he told a news briefing during which he lit a cigarette in defiance of French anti-smoking laws.

Among the other entries in competition is "Waltz With Bashir", the animated documentary about the 1982 Sabra and Shatila camp massacres which also screened late last night.

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Cocktail cuties: Gillian Anderson and Eva Longoria opt for revealing cocktail dresses at the opening ceremony dinner

It is up against Clint Eastwood's "Changeling", starring Angelina Jolie who confirmed on Wednesday in an interview in Cannes that she was expecting twins with Brad Pitt.

Steven Soderbergh presents "Che", a two-part, four-and-a-half hour epic on Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara with Benicio del Toro in the title role.

The other two U.S. entries are James Gray's "Two Lovers", featuring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix, and Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York" with Philip Seymour Hoffman.

 

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