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Her children do not know that their mother is a “star” and help her to be herself. The main luxury for her is the opportunity to live according to her choice. And the fragility of life is the main incentive to meet every day with joy. Meeting with Julia Roberts, who believes that chance only outlines the contours of our lives, but we are able to shape ourselves on our own.
She really doesn’t know how to dress – all the tabloids have already noted this, and fifteen years ago. And the gray jacket with long lapels really does not look vintage, but old-fashioned. And the motley blouse does not match his style at all. But still … Of course, we can say that after all she is a star and at forty-five she looks beautiful, that millions still adore her … But this “still” does not suit the woman who sits in front of me in a chair ! Because even her shortcomings do not need indulgence. And not because of her personal achievements, but because of her naturalness, her deep calm about how others see her – I feel it. Because of her obvious willingness to talk to me about important things, and not about blouses, fitness, diet plan or beauty program. She gives me a big head start, so trusting. But it seems to me urgent to start with beauty.
Psychologies: Julia, today you are not only a movie star – you are the face of the Lancôme brand, promoting its new fragrance La vie est belle. What is it like to be the face of luxury in a renewed world that
Julia Roberts: But if you ask a question about luxury, then ask what luxury is for me in general.
And what is luxury for you?
D. R .: Here! And luxury for me, and indeed luxury in the modern world, is the ability to do what you want, do what you want, live according to your own choice and desire. And isn’t this a wonderful perfume or, there, a cream? Wonderful, categorically unnecessary little things – secret keys to freedom. Personal, internal. You know, this is a very outdated theory – that the material is contrary to the spiritual. Some Maoism. Life is harder and better, everything is one in it. I guess I’m a downshifter by nature. Not in the sense of the one who is content with little, but the one who does not want to achieve, who does not recognize the category of goal, who allows himself the luxury of not being aware of the fashion for anything. Who shares the concept of “anti-vacation” – remember, in “Generation X” by Douglas Copeland: you work for a year, earn another year and do nothing at all for a year – you grind grass, you travel around India. This is for me. And then, well, how much do these perfumes cost – $ 50? This is not so much an expensive luxury as sophistication available to many. By the way, I would hardly agree to promote a fragrance with a bottle price of $400. Such an acquisition is simply a lack of self-discipline.
But do you sometimes still allow yourself such an act of denial of discipline?
D. R .: Oh, definitely! But I take solace that I just widened my outlet to freedom.
Dates
- 1967 Born in Smyrna (USA) in the family of vacuum cleaner salesman Walter Roberts and realtor Betty Lou (both amateur actors).
- 1989 Golden Globe for her role in Steel Magnolias by Herbert Ross.
- 1990 “Pretty Woman” Garry Marshall.
- 2000 “Oscar” for his role in the film “Erin Brockovich” by Steven Soderbergh.
- 2002 Marries cinematographer Daniel Moder.
- 2004 Birth of twins Hazel and Finneus.
- 2007 Birth of son Henry.
- 2012 “Snow White: Revenge of the Dwarves” by Tarsem Singh; filmed in the dramedy “August: Osage County” by John Wells.
You were almost forty when you decided to become a mother. Were you afraid that with the birth of children you would have less freedom?
D. R .: Oh no, I was not afraid of anything! Although now it seems to me, no matter what the doctors say, it makes sense to have children as late as possible. Because, becoming a parent in adulthood, you perceive them as … a reward! Not as a huge responsibility, not as a drastic change in life … although this is all true. But the main thing is the feeling that you have received an award, an Olympic medal. Oscars, after all!
Was this life change too dramatic for you?
D. R .: It was. But not sharp, not the word. On the contrary: it is a change from sharpness to smoothness, from speed to duration. It turned out that every day is getting long, long. You have so many worries, so many feelings you experience with a child… It’s like a rapid motion in a movie – the movement in the frame slows down, and you can see the small details, the trajectory of the gesture, the change in the facial expressions of the actor… With the birth of children, life has become slower, longer – because richer. Perhaps that is also why the children I had after 18 years of work were regarded precisely as a reward for these 18 years of stress.
How do you educate them? Are you pampering, perhaps?
D. R .: I wouldn’t say so. We pamper children when we don’t have time for them and we buy them off with toys and gifts. Presence nearby, attention cannot be spoiled, I’m sure. Here recently a friend asked me if the children saw films with me – at least some, the most harmless for children. After all, the elders are eight, it’s time for them to realize who their mother is. And then I realized that when we get together in the evenings, we never watch movies or TV. We read books aloud, discuss the news, cook something together. In a word, we just live in these moments completely together.
But can your kids not know that their mom is a star? How do they feel about it?
D. R .: Somehow we all tried not to draw the attention of children to my profession … Mom is mom. I try to evaluate myself sensibly: as an ordinary woman with an unusual occupation. There is nothing outstanding about me, this profession highlights me in italics. And fortunately, there are people next to me who are always ready to remind that I am an ordinary person. First of all, the closest – husband, for example. So children in general are away from the stellar fuss. Sometimes, however, it takes rather comical forms. I was with the elders in New York, at the zoo. Well, everyone is jumping around the monkey enclosure, and some woman comes up to me so uncertainly and asks: “I’m not mistaken, are you really Julia Roberts?” I am completely lost and whisper: “Yes, but my children do not know about it. You won’t tell them, will you?” Silly, but that’s how it is. There was one episode with twins when we ended up in Canada, in Toronto. Walking down a noisy street – Danny, Hazel, Finn and me. The children were four years old. Well, Danny and I were talking, Hazel, as usual, was in her fantasies, she is a real blonde – romantic and dreamy, and Finn was pulling my hand, he is always rushing somewhere – he is not just fiery red, but generally fiery. So, let’s go, and suddenly some person notices me, then another one, then many people are looking at us. And someone says: “Yes, it’s Julia Roberts!” I shrink inwardly, and then Finn says loudly and life-affirmingly: “Yes, my mother is Julia Robinson!” This is the truth! Some higher truth – I could be Roberts, could be Robinson or Johnson. Because this dimension – fame, fame – is not a dimension of my personality, it has little in common with me as a person. In a way, my children help me to be myself.
In your interviews, you speak rather coldly about aesthetic surgery, about Botox procedures – is this also a desire to be yourself?
D. R .: You see, my children should see in my face when I am happy, when I am sad, when I am embarrassed and confused. That’s why I don’t need Botox. And then, the face, it also tells a story – a story of what has been experienced, experienced, a story of experience. And I want my story to be about this, and not about the skill of a surgeon.
Life is beautiful
Roberts became the face of Lancôme four years ago. And I am grateful to her for … “Ha, they are kind and brave people. Who else would dare to entrust the promotion of their products to a 45-year-old model?” – ironic actress. From her point of view, the new Lancôme fragrance – La vie est belle (“Life is beautiful”), which appeared on the market in September, is also marked by a certain courage: “Everyone and everywhere strives to emphasize belonging to a company, brand, they put names, logos on everything . And on this bottle there is nothing at all – not even the names of the perfumes themselves. It shines with purity and transparency. Its style and meaning are important to the authors.” In the same direction of stylistic boldness, the fragrance’s promotional video directed by Tarsem Singh and starring Roberts also moves. “My character,” notes Roberts, “realizes that she does not want to be part of the mass or part of the system. The emotion that we broadcast is self-confidence and determination to forge our own path.” V. B.
For example, about your apparently wonderful experience of married life? You and your husband Daniel have been together for 10 years…
D. R .: Yes, Danny is my best friend and best… I’d say tell me the truth. And this is the biggest support for me – when you can count on a person to tell you the truth, you can count on him for everything. And besides, Danny has one amazing feature – categorical anti-egoism. Other people are more interesting to him than himself, he doesn’t even like to talk about himself, it seems to him that this is all too clear, prosaic, incurious.
You know, I get a similar impression about you – you don’t talk about the difficult moments of your life, about the tragic, unpleasant.
D. R .: Well, I’m just being proud. No, really, it’s pride. Typical southern pride – I’m from Georgia. And in all of us Southerners lives Scarlett O’Hara: the very fact of failure seems to us humiliating. And we are proudly silent about our failures, we are silent about disappointments. I do not argue: not the best of my traits.
What traits do you like? What led you to success?
D. R .: I don’t even know … We owe too much in life to chance. Good luck. Would I have become an actress and succeeded if I had not been born into a family of actors who continued to do their job, although they had to earn a living for others? If dad hadn’t taken my sister and me to New York in the summer, on vacation, to watch performances? When I was seven, I saw the musical “Hair”, and when I was eight, I saw Yul Brynner in the play “The King and I”, which he played with us in Atlanta.
You were only ten when your father passed away…
D. R .: But I still feel connected to him. And I hope that he, the actor, appreciates my current work. I hope that chance shapes only the outlines of our lives, and not ourselves. That we can shape ourselves. That we must appreciate every day of life. Everything can end in one moment… With age, you begin to feel especially keenly how fragile life is. I think this is enough incentive to meet with joy every new morning.
And do you succeed?
D. R .: I am doing my best! You know, during my first pregnancy, when I was expecting twins, I came across one book with good advice for mothers. For example, do not spare money and buy a slow cooker – it will save time and energy, because the mother of a newborn will only have the strength in the morning to cook dinner, and this is true. It also said that a woman after the birth of a child should take every opportunity to relax, and not rush to wash and iron as soon as he fell asleep. Because all the same, time will always be missed, and what is important for you, you will not have time to do. I think these recommendations apply to life in general. It is very important sometimes to relax, drink tea and recuperate until the next moment when someone needs you.
It’s like meditation…
D. R .: Yes, I am a staunch Hindu.
And do you believe in reincarnation?
D. R .: Certainly.
Who would you like to be reborn as?
D. R .: Oh, I’m so spoiled by my parents, friends, family… When I return, I hope to pay off my debts – in my next life to be someone simple, quiet and helpful. Maybe a cow?