Julianne Moore thinks gay marriage is ''important''.

The 52-year-old 'A Single Man' actress is an avid human rights activist and sees herself as a ''feminist'' when it comes to her strong views on equality.

She explained: ''Oh, yeah, absolutely [I'm a feminist]. At one point, 'feminist' became a pejorative term. How did that happen?

''If you're a feminist, you're basically saying you're a humanist. That's why the issue of gay marriage is so important to me. It's about everybody having the same shot at everything, at work, at marriage, at life.''

Julianne - who recently took home the Best Actress in a Television Film Golden Globe for her role in 'Game Change' - is also a mother of two to Caleb, 15, and 10-year-old Liv with husband Bart Freundlich and she loves how supportive her children are of her awards.

She continued to The Sunday Times Style magazine: ''What's so sweet is, they're old enough now to have seen me nominated and lose a few times, but kids generally have a lot invested in people winning. They're always saying, 'Did you win?'

''And I'll say, 'No, but it's ok, I still had fun, it's an honour to be nominated.' The last time I lost a Globe, my daughter made me one in art class. In fact, I think she made me a Bafta as well, because I lost there that year, too.''

The flame-haired beauty is aware that with fame comes attention and although she and her family try to avoid the limelight, she often finds herself regretting her choice of clothing when snapped in a photo.

She added: ''Like any family, there are certain restaurants where we like to go. Then you go somewhere like Hawaii and the paparazzi are everywhere, and I had no idea. I mean, I wouldn't have worn those disgusting shorts otherwise. Right? Let's be serious.''