Monica Bellucci thinks ''true sexiness is in the mind''.

The 51-year-old actress - who appears opposite Daniel Craig in the new Bond movie 'Spectre' - has claimed a woman's age has no bearing on her sexual appeal and insisted it's quite natural for young men to be attracted to older women.

Monica - who has two daughters, Deva, 10, and Leonie, five, with her estranged husband Vincent Cassel - said: ''We should not be worried about age when it comes to love and attraction.

''Just as younger women are attracted to older men, it shouldn't be considered strange that men in their 20s and 30s are drawn to older women. It's the chemistry and energy between men and women that counts ...True sexiness is in the mind, the imagination, not in the age of the body.''

The Italian beauty is the oldest Bond girl in the history of the money-spinning film franchise, but Monica isn't bothered by her age.

She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ''This is a beautiful and rich period from a professional point of view. As far as my private life is concerned, I'm a mother with two daughters, and so I don't have much time to rest!

''But I feel very energised right now and I've gained the kind of wisdom over the years where I'm able to appreciate all the beautiful and small things that are part of everyday life.''

Meanwhile, Monica - who separated from her husband in 2013 - has revealed she's enjoying the freedom of being single.

She shared: ''It's something I'd really never experienced before. I feel very alive.

''The single woman is a free woman, and being single does not mean being alone - it means being free to have a relationship or not.

''This can be scary, but it's also very interesting. Remember it's not that long ago that women only existed in terms of their ­relationships to men.''