Lea Michele is "obsessed" with Gwyneth Paltrow.

The 'Glee' actress struck up a friendship with the blonde beauty when she guested on the musical TV drama series and always turns to her when she needs advice.

She said: "I am obsessed with Gwyneth Paltrow."

Recalling the day they met, when Lea had to rehearse a 'Chicago' dance routine, she added: "I was nervous and said, 'I don't think I can do that dance move.' She said, 'You can do it.' She wasn't afraid of anything.

"I love talking with Gwyneth. She just gives good advice. She said, 'Don't ever read anything about you.' "

Though Lea will leave 'Glee' when her character Rachel Berry graduates at the end of the third season, she insists it won't mean an end to her career and she is keen to return to theatre acting, as well as appearing in films and recording an album.

She told America's Harper's Bazaar magazine: "I don't stop. It's my nature. People have to tell me to slow down. I plan on playing every role on Broadway. I want to do 'Evita'. I want to do 'Sweeney Todd' with ['Glee' co-star] Chris Colfer. We want to do 'Wicked'. I'll be Elphaba and he wants to play 'Guy-linda.' I want to do movies, make music. 'Glee' is only the beginning."

When she isn't working, Lea enjoys a quiet life with her boyfriend, stage actor Theo Stockman.

She added: "I have a small life. We cook dinner, have wine.

"What I do is what I do, and what he does is what he does, and when I come home, we have each other. He doesn't get caught up in it."