Anna Kendrick covers the new issue of Glamour UK. It’s a terrible photoshoot. I think they were trying to make her look a little tousled and glam and she just looks… inappropriate. Some girls just can’t pull off that kind of styling. Anna references as much in her interview, discussing how she still “looks like a teenager.” Which is true, and not some kind of Ryan Phillippe-esque humble-brag about aging. I would imagine that Anna – who is almost 30 – wants to transition into more adult roles, but she’s stuck playing so many college-aged characters because she seriously looks 19. You can read the Glamour UK piece here, and here are some highlights:
Smiling on command for photographers: “Every year that goes by, I think that my on-camera smile is going to get easier. It’s got worse and worse, to the point where I’m giving that Britney Spears terrified smile, where the lips are upturned, but there’s nothing but fear in the eyes…I’m also the queen of ruining group photos. All my friends will be smiling and looking really pretty, and I’ll be there pretending to pick my nose—or actually picking my nose. It’s a fine line.”
She’s not into the getting pap’d: “Part of it is because I’m dressed really boring in sweatpants and sneakers, so those pictures just don’t sell. You need to be really styled—in the perfect leather jacket and little booties, and have your red lipstick and your coffee—and I haven’t managed that yet. If I’ve got jeans on, it’s a good day.”
She’s going to turn 30 this summer: “I feel like 29 is just total garbage. I’d rather just be 30 for two years. When I say I’m 29, I think I sound like I’m trying to make sure everybody knows I’m not 30. I look like a teenager. I really like ’50s-style dresses, but they make you look childish, and I don’t want to look like one of those people trying to look like a little schoolgirl. I’m trying to give a message to the world that I am a grown up.”
Advice from George Clooney: “I remember Clooney talking about Rosemary Clooney and saying that she was really popular and then suddenly she just wasn’t that hot any more…Nothing changed, she didn’t forget how to sing, but suddenly people just cooled off on her. I’m always sort of prepared for that, so I’m not patting myself on the back for any of the social media stuff. I know that at some point people might just turn around and be like, ‘I hate you.'”
The thing about social media is that different kinds of people are “good” at it. Like, Anna Kendrick is never going to be the lady to rule the red carpet with her amazing style (she just said as much). She’s never going to be the Kardashian-esque famewhore who will do anything for attention. But Anna can develop and stoke her fanbase through social media, and they feel personally invested in her career and life in a different way. She’s sort of a musical-theater nerd and delightfully dorky, which works for her. And hey, her career is going like gangbusters too. I feel like she’s probably The Next Amy Adams, you know?
Photos courtesy of Glamour.
I 💚 all her movies
She has it good, I’ve been looking 30 since I was 17. Mature faces be damned.
Me too… people have trouble guessing who is older between me and my 32 y old sister. I am 25!
I have a fat face so everyone thinks I’m 19. I’m 29. That’s the only good thing about carrying fat in your face.
I must be the only one who thinks she looks her age, if not a little older!?
You’re not the only one. She looks her age. Girl’s hunting for compliments.
Exactly what I popped in to say. Anna has strong features and a thin face, neither of which makes a person look teenager-y.
I absolutely adore her but feel little ehh about the Britney comment, considering how much Britney has been through.
My thoughts exactly, that was a low blow on Britney, I really like Anna but that wasn’t necessary.
Maybe she wants to put it out there that children don’t need to be used for profit etc. I know if a child wants to make mega bucks (Ie parents want to make mega bucks) you need to start early, but come on. Could someone please put the child first!!
Agreed
+1
+2. Why bring up Britney’s troubled past, just to make your point.
Her face doesn’t look like a teenager at all.
She looks 25 IMO.
My first thought exactly. She is not youthful looking — too scrawny. Young girls still have some fullness in the face.
the Skinny Mousiness of her face and the Low hairline say : No sweets, You Look your age real Good
Thank you QQ and Josephine! Finally two comments about her that I completely agree with.
I just don’t get her appeal, at all.
Thank you, QQ and Camille (The Original)!! I, too, do not understand the appeal of this one.
Not to be mean or anything, but I think she looks very mature for her age. Certainly not old, at all, but in her early thirties. Three of my nieces are in their mid twenties, and she looks ten years older than all of them. I agree with Josephine that it’s the sharpness of her features. My nieces all have a soft fullness to their faces that she no longer has. She’s crazy if she thinks she looks like a teenager.
It’s more the being tiny thing. In real life, I think she’s about my size (5’1-5’2) and it doesn’t matter what your face looks like, unless you’re really old and wrinkly, everyone thinks you’re a kid, merely because of your size.
Nah.
Yeah, I think I could see her being confused for younger because of her height and thinness, and if you don’t go too close to her face to analyze it. However, celebrities should probably refrain from saying they look younger than they do (even if it’s true in some cases — Halle Berry?) because then everyone will scrutinize how they look to point out how they do in fact look their ages. Weirdly, I think the photographers for this magazine made her look older than I’ve normally seen her look for these photos.
I did wonder if she misspoke and mean that she acts or feels like a teenager (I’m not saying that as a slam, but I think most of us think and feel “younger” than our chronological ages.)
I still don’t see teenager. I have a house filled with three teenage neices.
Her face looks too mature to be a teenager, as others here have stated.
Yeah, she looks her age in the face. Not that that is bad; as a baby faced 30 year old myself, sometimes I envy those with sharp, defined features like she has.
Yah she doesn’t look like a teenager to me!
I just showed her picture to my husband — who has no idea who she is — and he pegged her at 28. Part of it might be the styling and make-up, though; I have no idea what she looks like on the street in her sweats and t-shirts, and she might look a lot younger.
She doesn’t look like a teenager. It’s a nice thing to think you do
Whats with all these celebs thinking they look so young lately? lol No she doesn’t look like a teen, Reese ex also doesn’t look under 21 and whoever else comes forward in the next few days.
These people are crazy. But then again, everyone seems to think that they look younger than they really are. Even non celebs.
Anna looks her age. I haven’t seen her without makeup though, so she probably looks a bit older.
I dunno, she looks 29 to me.
Yeah, I don’t look at AK and think “teenager”…I think she looks 29 soon to be 30.
Something about this girl’s grin annoys me. She always seems to show too much teeth and it looks like she’s snarling.
That’s what oversized veneers will do for you. You know, ALL of the TEENAGERS have them!
Lol
ROTFL are those Veeners?? it’s driven me crazy forever, to me she looks MAD Rodenty and that’s why I don’t even seek her in Movies
She should get better fitting veneers then. She’s pretty otherwise, but the teeth are awful.
Did she get a nose job too? I saw a picture of her when she actually was a teenager and her nose looked bigger then.
The extreme weight loss is doing a number on her face.
In every womans life there will come a time when you need to choose your butt or your face. I’d say go with the face. She clearly chose the butt.
Oy. She is a pretty girl but looks awful here. I would tell her to enjoy her youth. It is maybe more fleeting than fame.
was she always this scrawny or is that just photoshop?
I think she’s lost weight over the years.
She looks younger, but it has to do with her personality as well. And, does she really need to remind us that she’s not pretty all the time? It’s kinda obvious.
What a terrible photo shoot. She’s very nice and cute, The look they were attempting here does not match her at all.
A friend of mine who is tiny like Anna has the same problem, she is always mistaken for a kid. And she’s in her late 30s!
We need to introduce her to Ryan Phillippe – a match made in delusional heaven!
She doesn’t look like a teenager now and she’d look like one in those Twilight movies. She does look like Alice Cooper in the face especially in that last picture with the mascara. For someone that talks a good game about being happy that they aren’t the conventionally attractive hot girl, she does spend a great deal of time talking about her “looks”just like those hot girl actresses.
She was one of those teenagers in Twilight, Jinni. lol!
I meant to say she didn’t look like a teenager in Twilight. Ugh, I need to proofread before I hit submit.
I am so bad at proofreading, especially before I have my coffee. No judgement here!
Don’t feel bad, Jinni, I was thinking the exact same thing! I’m not a fan of Twilight so I only recognize KStew and the guy she was with. I was thinking of how this girl reminds me of KStew in Twilight! And btw, I like how you spell your name.
@fairytales121: Thanks.
She also lost a lot of weight since Twilight, maybe that’s why she looks younger now.
Yes! That’s exactly my thought too jinni
Yep I feel that she could be the next Amy Adams too. She’s pretty and talented, plus so quirky and funny! I just love her.
Poor Amy Adams is still waiting for “the next Amy Adams” thing to happen. Get in line!
I’m almost 28 and people still think I’m 18. So I get her. It’s annoying. But if at 50 I look 40… then I’m all for looking much younger.
It doesn’t work that way. At 50, people will probably think you’re 50.
If you take care of yourself like Marisa Tomei does I think it’s possible to look younger at 50. But I assume she puts in the necessary effort to look youthful (i.e exercise, eating a certain way, etc), and she probably started putting in the effort when she was much younger and now she probably just maintains.
I think it’s easier to get away with being “lazy” when you’re in your 20s.
Fashions seem less atrocious than they were in the 90s so it might also be easier to look younger nowadays from a fashion standpoint. I’m always taken aback when I see reruns of Beverly Hills 90210, because 40 year olds today do not look like the parents on that show. Those people looked 55 at 40.
On a side note, 10 years ago everybody made a big deal about what Demi Moore looked like at 40, but today looking that way doesn’t seem like an anomaly. Everybody in their 40s in Hollywood looks good now. As long as the person hasn’t done anything seriously weird to the face, the person generally looks good (i.e Amy Adams).
Well, my grandmother always looked 10+ years younger. She always took very good care of her skin. She had great skin to begin with, but she took the effort to make sure it stayed that way (she never got a facelift or similar).
spill your grandma secrets, Cee)
I agree perplexed. I think it depends on how well you take care of yourself. Having a baby face at 30 doesn’t mean you won’t ever look your age, and a lot of women are late bloomers, and look better and younger for their age in their 50s than ever before. I looked very young for my age in my 40s, and think I might in my 60s, but in my 50s I looked in my 50s. I’m just saying it’s not automatic and linear.
I love Anna and she’s a great actress but the next Amy Adams she’s not. Part of Adam’s amazing rise to the top is that she broke out so “late” in terms of Hollywood years and has since maintained a pretty amazing career (5 Oscar noms is nothing to laugh about). Kendrick broke out relatively young and got her first Oscar nom early on for Up in the Air. Plus, Pitch Perfect made her a legitimate star so she’s riding a wave of success that Adams missed out on at that age. In between Pitch Perfect, Stone has been more of an ensemble player and hasn’t had much individual success (she’s not really the stand out star of any of her ensemble features). Adams does a lot of ensemble work too but tends to be singled out and nominated for Oscar after Oscar. Their narratives are very different which makes their career trajectories different. I love them both.
I really like her- re-watched Into the Woods recently- she was so good in that. I don’t think her features are that young-looking either. I can see her petite frame lending to that impression of youthfulness.
She reminds me of Goop when Goop claimed that she had the butt of a 23-year-old. (OH RLY?) Nah, Anna, you look your age. Please stop trying to do the sexy thing. Your face is too pointy to ever be sex-kitten.
lol I’d say goop’s butt is probably better than some of the 23 year olds have
Does anyone else think she could be the answer to the sad actress blind item on Jezbel?
What did they say about the sad actress?
http://jezebel.com/which-sad-and-very-famous-actress-is-seeking-life-advic-1694109558
Some of the details don’t fit, but they are probably red herrings.
For some reason she keeps telling people not to call her pretty? Like, dude, we’re not. Trust us. You are the epitome of average. You don’t look younger or you don’t look older. You’re not butt ugly and you’re not crazy beautiful. You’re not completely devoid of talent nor are you the second coming of Meryl. You are comfortably in the middle, incessantly talking about it just tips the scale towards the negative.
Exactly.
+10000
LOL, brilliant comment. I agree.
Yes
I am the same age as Anna (I am also confused for younger) and I have to say: the average person tends to have poor age perception skills. Granted, people don’t age in a vacuum, but I have noticed that (negative) perceptions of age taint how people judge it. Especially for women, people tend to overestimate how “old” 30 looks, so if you look even mildly youthful, people are just stunned by how “young” you look. Anna’s youthful appearance stems from her height, frame, and probably her voice; I have a babyface. The thing is, if I look at a picture of myself at 20, my face was certainly younger and more taught. To me, my skin elasticity reads late 20’s, but people tend to not notice these things and instead judge on what is most notable to them, as well as their own perceptions of what age is suppose to look like.
Yeah, people are funny when it comes to guessing age. I’m 42 and within the past year I had one person tell me they thought I was in my late 20’s and another person ask if my nieces were my grandchildren. Honestly I probably look my age. I could maybe pass for a few years younger
(late 30’s) because I am slim and wear somewhat youthful clothing but I have expression lines on my face and certainly do not look anywhere close to being in my 20’s (I don’t think I look like a grandmother either!).
interesting. I think she looks more her age than phillippe does.
I think she looks like an old, pale weathered lady from the 70’s. and she seems a tad bitchy. meh. I don’t get the hype.
Um no girl. Sit down. She looks 30. She has one of those faces that ages badley.
Who told her she looks like a teenager? She looks every inch her age and then some, not being snarky. Maybe when the makeup is off she looks younger? Her face is very lean though and the eyes show far too much experience for a teen.
She SOUNDS 18, but definitely looks her age. And if she goes on loosing weight like she did, she will soon be looking older than her years.
http://www.film.com/wp-content/uploads/2002/12/31343549-31343552-large.jpg
I don’t think she was bragging at all. I think it’s a short person thing. I’m 5’1 and people have always thought I was younger and it drives me nuts. Like, I find myself saying my age in the first conversation just so people will treat me like an adult. (And I’m 37 and, trust me, my face is far from young!) People can be so condescending when they think they’re older than you. I told someone last weekend that it was my 7th anniversary and they said, “What, were you one of those child brides?” The freakin rudeness!
I think Rachel Bilson said she gets confused for younger because of her height, particularly when she’s passing through the airport.
I’ve heard Eva Longoria say that, too. It’s funny how people’s mind’s just associate things. Little=young. I had a friend once who was very small, but she smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day and had the voice of a 92 year old smoker. People still made her produce two forms of i.d. every time we went out.
She does not look 19 at all. She looks like your typical 30 year old chick.
Yeah, keep telling yourself you look like a teenager. She has such an angry looking mouth.
My daughter swears she saw her in an airport last year hiding behind large dark glasses and talking on 2 phones. At the same time. As she said, “Who else but a star would be talking on 2 phones and wearing big dark glasses trying to not look like a star?” She said she gave off the “please don’t talk to me” vibe and my daughter, although a big fan, chose to respect her privacy. (Then a couple of months ago, she was on a plane with Mitt Romney and DID ask to say hello but was blown off with “He’s sleeping.” Yeah right. Jerk. How many 19 year Olds wanna say hi to you that you couldn’t be bothered with her?)
Anyway, I do like Anna but she needs roles that stretch her more. Too much brooding.
Kristen Stewart literally never dresses up – she’s a total comfort girl, clearly is just going about her life yet she is always papped. If you are famous and important enough it really doesn’t matter what you wear. Anna, you just are not popular enough.
I’m forty. I look forty. I’ve got the fine lines in all the appropriate places, and my cheeks fell like the week after my fortieth birthday. I don’t look a day younger than I am. But I’m short. People always guess me in my late twenties to early thirties unless they looked at me really well. It’s a short thing.
Another reason she might think she looks so young is that she keeps getting offered roles portraying someone between 16 and 25. They’re still putting her up for characters who aren’t as old as she is. That’s probably a huge part of her misperception.
Horrible photos. She can’t do the heavy eyeliner like that. Blech. I think she’s a lovely woman and I don’t think she was bragging at all.
I just turned 27 and people often think I’m younger. I’m sure some people here on this site would think I look my age. I’m of average height (5’6″) so it has nothing to do with my height. I often get confused for a college student, so people can look confused when I respond with “I already have a master’s.”
I’m 26 and I find it really hard to estimate the age of someone who’s in their twenties. At 20 your face is mostly formed, like you’re not going to suddenly develop sharper cheekbones or fuller lips naturally. So unless someone’s been tanning and smoking and taking terrible care of themselves, I think it’s normal we don’t really see the difference between 21 and 29, especially on women. Men tend to age real fast in their twenties though, because they suddenly can’t eat what they did when they were 18 so they gain weight, some of them lose some hair and few men have learned to take care of their skin. All of this doesn’t apply to women because the ones that have the tendency to gain weight, start controlling their weight at 17 or so, most of us start skin care at about 18, we don’t lose our hair, etc.
Yeah, very rarely can I tell the difference between a 21 year old and 29 year old female. I think most women in their 20s read “young.” It’s only if someone has the presence of Angelina Jolie I might think they’re a bit older, but that has more to do with some kind of aura rather than actually looking older than their peers.
However, I can tell the difference between a 40 year old and a 20 year old in the case of men, even when they’re well moisturized (probably because Ryan Phillipe looks so different from Justin Bieber).
Angelina does look older though and always has. I still can’t believe she is in her late 30s/early 40s, she looks late 40s to be honest, beautiful of course, but older.
She looks like princess Beatrice
I just don’t get the fingers in the mouth pose. That is not sexy. Its more like she got caught eating a booger.
If she gets mistaken for a teenager, I think its probably due to how petite she is.