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Unassuming actress Laura Linney doesn’t get much press. She’s a solid well known character actress and conducts herself with such grace. Linney’s cover story interview in Prevention this month doesn’t contain anything shocking or particularly revealing. She just lets us know about her rather sensible diet and exercise plan and speaks in positive general terms about her life. It’s all so normal, healthy and refreshing. Compare Linney’s diet and exercise advice with that of say starving rickets-suffering overexerciser Gwyneth Paltrow or “no salt/sugar/meat/bread” Jessica Biel. (Comparatively Biel’s diet isn’t as bad as Goopy’s but that’s not saying much.)
Here’s what my would-be friend Laura Linney, 46, says about getting old, her diet and exercise regime, and her friendship with vegan Alicia Silverstone. She’s promoting her role on Showtime show The Big C, also starring Oliver Platt and Gabourey Sidibe, as a mom with breast cancer. As part of what she’s learned from the role she’s cleaned up her diet and is living a more healthy lifestyle. I love her perspective on aging. She’s not just paying lip service to it, either, and really seems sincere.
Actors say it all the time, but has this role actually changed any aspects of your life?
Absolutely. When the concrete idea that we only have a set amount of time hits you in a different way than just an intellectual idea, it changes you. So I’ve been changing my diet and going to the gym. My level of appreciation of all the basics of life has gone up… You know, I recently heard someone complaining about getting old, and I had such a violent reaction to that. There’s no question that getting old isn’t easy, but it’s a privilege, folks. I’m over people being “woe is me” about getting old.You starred on Broadway in
Time Stands Still [which reopens with Linney on September 23] with famously vegan Alicia Silverstone. Did she help shape your diet?
I love Alicia – she had an enormous influence on me. I burst with pride over her book [The Kind Diet]. And she said, “You don’t have to be one thing or the other, just figure out what’s best for you.” I had been so rigid in my thinking about if I was going to be a vegetarian, if I was going to be a vegan. I don’t have to put that pressure on myself. I”m just trying to learn what the best diet is for me.What kind of changes have you made?
Well, I certainly feel better now that I’m barely eating meat. I don’t feel as heavy, my digestion is better, my skin is better – even my hair is better! And I feel healthier when I don’t eat dairy, but that’s really hard for me – I love cheese. But food is not just nutritional, it’s mental, so you know, if I need a little chocolate every once in a while, I need a little chocolate.Actresses usually tell us about their Pilates or yoga workouts, but you’re into gym workouts. Why?
I’ve always been very flexible – I used to dance as a child – but I’ve never been very strong. I wanted my body to work better. Now I work out with a trainer twice a week and go once or twice on my own. She has me doing balance exercises and weight-bearing stuff. It’s strengthening large muscle groups, making sure I balance myself correctly.Random question time: what’s you’re preferred method of de-stressing?
I’m in love with the steam shower. If I can take a steam for about 20 minutes at my gym, I’m in much better shape.Hanging out with friends can be relaxing. Describe your best friend.
She’s joyous, curious, very alive. We go to the theater, have dinner, hang out with her kids… and talk and talk…What’s your advice for staying positive?
Say yes to things that you might not normally say yes to.Can you give me an example of that?
Meeting my husband [former broker Marc Schauer] 5 years ago was certainly unexpected. I’d always assumed I would be with someone in my business, because who could understand the crazy hours, the demands on our time, the travelling? He wasn’t in the performing arts; normally I would never have given it a chance. But something in side me said, Try something new. If you assume that you know yourself completely, you’ve shut yourself down.
[From Prevention, print edition, August 2010]
I want to hang out with Linney and eat normal healthy food and go to the gym. She sounds so smart without a hint of artifice. I love that she’s not into anything particularly trendy in regards to diet and exercise and that she doesn’t deprive herself. Can we please get her an Oscar already? She’s been nominated three times and it’s about time she won.
Laura at the Tonys on June 13, 2010 and on May 23, 2010. Credit: WENN.
Written by Celebitchy
Posted in Diets, Laura Linney
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40 Responses to “Laura Linney: “getting old is a privilege” so don’t complain about it”
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Man there is something incredibly hot about Laura Linney.
She has always turned my crank, so to speak.
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I’ve always adored LL; and her movies are interesting and she’s always excellent. She married a guy from Telluride, so that made me like her more. She’s a damn fine actress and a gorgeous natural beauty.
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Linney have gorgeous legs… her being sensible and intelligent makes its hard for me to find things to bitch about
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I just realllly love Laura Linney. Haha, I want to hang out with her and go to the gym too!!! She just seems so genuine and without any pretension at all. She is a great actress and a beautiful example of what a woman her age looks like. It takes a lot for me to watch shows that have even a hint of medical or health issues in them but I will definitely be watching her show when it hits the air.
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What a radiant smile!
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She’s even kept her own teeth. No blindingly white veneers.
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A terrific actress who deserves more press than she gets. Love her!
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It’s easy for a 46-year-old woman who looks that great to not complain about aging!
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Now I totally want to go for dinner and to the theatre with her too
@Jackson is right – normally a show about a woman fighting cancer might scare me off as being just too tough to watch, but with Laura Linney in it, you know you’re in for a quality performance.
Anybody else really like ‘You Can Count on Me’ – with her and Mark Ruffalo? That’s one of my favourites of her movies. Though for lighter cinema fare, she was adorably awkward in ‘Love Actually’..
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I like her a lot. She seems like a normal woman who just happens to be a very talented and well respected actress.
Vs. the Goop who obsesses over every calorie and detoxing, and Biel, who seems more concerned with her fame and appearance rather than doing good work.
I’m looking forward to Laura’s new show, I hope it does well.
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We never hear about her, I like that she is so private and down to earth. Great actress too.
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I love her, too. She was great in “The Savages”.
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That was a great interview and it makes her seem like a champion for healthy women. I get the impression sometimes that actresses and models want us to be effed up about ourselves so they can feel superior. At least this one gets that we’re all on the same team.
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she truly is a spectacular woman!!!! Something about her is sexy and real, she gives off that WOW factor in an underrated manner. I bet she is a blast to hang out with. What a treat to read about her this morning….thanks CB!
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Thanks for posting this CB! I love her! She would be your “tell it like it is” friend. Everyone needs one of those.
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‘Oldie but goodie’ LL movies: Primal Fear and Absolute Power. Not fabulous movies, but she makes them better.
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She is so darned cute!
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Wow. A woman over 40 living in Hollywood who has not jacked her face up. Her face actually moves! How about that?
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Just watched her in The Truman Show recently. Great performer.
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great actress
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Simply Stunning!!!
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cobbler – “You can Count on Me” is one of my favorite movies of all time. Both her and Mark are spectacular in it.
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Wow…did anyone else think she was jennifer Anniston at first???
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@padiddle absolutely, me too! It’s such a good movie. And I love the Steve Earle song they used at the end, a brother/sister duet – perfect choice.
Such a quiet and unassuming film, so rewarding to watch.
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“I’m over people being “woe is me” about getting old.”
…and my love for linney continues on unabated.
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This is so good to hear! It goes along with what I’ve said for a number of years: Wrinkles are just a sign that you’ve been alive.
I mean, no, I’m not sitting around saying, “I can’t wait to be wrinkled.” But so much of Hollywood and the U.S. seems to feel as if getting a wrinkle is a crime against humanity.
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I love LL she is really a beautiful, smart woman and apparantly has her head together. The Savages was a great movie, I also loved You Can Count on Me & the Squid and the Whale.
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I love Laura Linney! In a list of my favorite actresses, she’s right there in the #1 spot! She is remarkably talented, and I think it’s about time she won an Oscar!
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I want to BE her when I grow up. She’s phenomenal.
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Cobbler and Padiddle – You Can Count On Me was the first thing I ever saw Laura in, and I fell in love with both her and Marl Ruffalo immediately! The scene with her in the kitchen making sure everything was just right for his visit almost brought me to tears – it was pitch perfect. My little brother and I lost our parents early on, and it was somewhat creepy, yet thrilling, to see how their relationship was so similar to ours. Not only is she a phenomenal actress, but one cool lady. I love, love, love her!
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Lindy Lou – you said it!
Fantastic to see an actress whose face moves! She can show emotion! Take that, Nicole Kidman – Laura is a zillion times more beautiful than Ms. Frostycone, AND a better actor/actress.
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Yes it is totally refreshing to hear an actress talk like that ….
The thing that stands out about her other than the fact that her face actually moves(!) is that she looks happy and content and thats the most anti aging thing that any person can project and it cannot be injected into you….
Good for her…
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a beautiful example for all the other circus acts in hollywood!
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Bravo! Bravo! She is so cool, love her movies, her attitude & outlook on life. We should all be so open to life.
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If you love LL, she was fab in Tales of the City!
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phlyfiremama: Yes she reminded me of Jennifer Aniston. A prettier, infinitely more talented, less fake version of her that is.
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Love her so much it’s ridiculous.
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I simply adore Laura Linney.
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LL is just really great. I loved her in ‘Love Actually’ and in ‘Kinsey.’
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I still don’t know…I think I always found her to be pretentious. But maybe she is really a nice person? However, she went to JUlliard and in this same article talks about how she assumed that she would date/marry another person in her industry (an actor or “artist” would be her choice work, I’m sure) she presents it nicely enough. However, knowing my initial impression of her from prior interviews, I just think this further proves (confirms) she is a snob. Her father was a respected playwright and she is friendly with Jen Garner.
She strikes me as a Gywenth Paltrow type, minus the food obsession.
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