Jessica Chastain has an extensive profile in Modern Luxury magazine, which is localized to cities like Los Angeles, Washington DC, Miami, etc. You can see some of her covers below, they’re unique, she has a different expression on each and yet they all capture her quiet appeal. You can read the full article on Modern Living’s site, it’s well worth reading for a look into her life, which is rare to see. She lives in New York with her Italian fashion executive boyfriend, and she doesn’t go into detail about him but she does gush about her dog, a sweet three-legged little rescue mutt. Chastain also explains why she’s vegan, which she’s talked about before but I never realized that about her. She keeps her private life tamped down and she’s not one to tout her diet or exercise routine. (She does yoga, I checked.) Also, Jessica’s mom is a vegan chef and Jessica bought her a food truck a couple of years ago! Anyway back to the interview, which was full of gems from Jessica. She’s promoting The Huntsmen: Winter’s War, which isn’t doing too well at the box office but she has plenty of other movies in the pipeline.
On her new production company
I’m not necessarily going to be in them, but I’m going to make movies that I want to see, that showcase voices that usually we don’t hear.Getting involved in acting changed her life
I didn’t do well in school. I was kind of awkward and strange, didn’t have a lot of friends. I had a terrible perm. I fried my hair and had a red ’fro. I wore cowboy boots in school. I was not a cool kid at all…[She went to the theater with her grandmother] I saw this little girl onstage, narrating the show, and I thought: Oh, my god; that’s her job? I want that to be my job. That’s who I am. … As soon as I had the vocabulary for it, I understood what I was.
Why she moved to NY
I had been in a one-year relationship with someone who lives in Italy, and I knew that if I remained in California it would be harder to see each other.On becoming vegan for health reasons
I was sick and couldn’t figure out how to get well. Someone told me to try vegan for two weeks, and it completely changed my life.On her sweet rescue dog, Chaplin
He had been hit by a car when he was a puppy. Basically he was on death watch. His pelvis was broken; he lost a leg. Whenever I’m feeling down at all, I just look at Chaplin, who always has the best smile on his face, and I’m like, ‘What is wrong with me? Look at this beautiful bit of sunshine here who is just so happy to be alive.She won’t say whom she’s voting for
I don’t necessarily think voters should be swayed by a celebrity.Her sister committed suicide a few days before Chastain graduated from Juilliard
She had struggled a long time with drug abuse, and she had a lot of attempted suicides, but you never really think this is going to happen, even though, in your mind, you know it can happen. And when you get the call, it’s… shocking.On how her character in Zero Dark Thirty changed her approach to life
Now, I really fight if I have an opinion. I make sure that I’m not too scared to say it. I don’t want someone to silence me. I want to participate in this life.
Chastain is a class act. I love how she deflects the politics question. If I was famous I wouldn’t have the same reserve, but she does speak out about issues that matter to her. (She’s been very vocal about the lack of women in decision making roles in the film industry. I do not think she’s the Guardian’s secret actress.) At that point the writer adds that while Chastain won’t talk politics she “does advocate compassion and support for those suffering from depression, addiction, self-injury and thoughts of suicide.” That’s likely because she lost her sister to suicide. She’s talked about her sister’s suicide before although I don’t think she’s mentioned it much, which is very understandable. It must be hard for her to even think about it. I came away from this interview feeling like I knew Chastain a little better, and like I understand why she’s so down to earth and thoughtful. She went through a lot and came out the other side.
Here are bonus pics of Chastain, her hot boyfriend and her adorable dog! These are from 2014 and 2013. She barely ever gets papped.
photos credit: WENN.com, Fame Flynet and Modern Luxury Brian Bowen Smith
How sad about her sister. I admire that she won’t discuss politics. Now if I could just get over how like Bryce Dallas Howard she looks…
I’m forever getting those two confused.
She and Bryce often joke about how much they resemble one another and how people confuse them.
I never noticed the resemblance until I came across this video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ipObSiFHpyY
Other than the fact that they’re both redheads, I still just don’t see the resemblance. Their features could not be more different-Bryce’s face and features are very round, Jessica is all angles.
I think Chastain is gorgeous and seems like a very sweet person. I like her and I know that better films than The Huntsman have to be coming soon.
I love her and I’m almost considering watching The Huntsman for her. Almost.
Very nice interview.
I respect celebrities that won’t discuss politics their views are theirs and really non of our business.
A little political activism is good sometimes. Especially if celebs are fighting for important causes like marriage equality or equal pay.
But equal pay is tricky to address when you’re already wealthy. I know so many people who dismissed Jennifer Lawrence’s complaints about pay outright because, to them, she was a rich girl complaining about getting, say, ONLY 5 million dollars as opposed to 6 or 7 million. She’s not relatable to the vast majority of women, so they tend to not listen. Lawrence might get paid less, but her lesser pay doesn’t dramatically impact her – she’s still rich and she’s going to stay rich. Equal pay means far more to somebody in the lower or middle class, where that extra money could mean a better house, school tuition for your kid, better security or savings, etc. When it comes to economic matters, there is a tendency to dismiss the wealthy and to write them off as out of touch. So in that sense, they’re better off saying nothing or by simply putting their money into campaigns that actually work for the people who are most impacted.
Yes but she and all celebrities have a right to privacy on who they vote for and people shouldn’t be looking to celebs to help make these decisions because their interests are different you need to read up on canidates and be informed.
I don’t have to answer who I vote for at my career neither should an actor or athlete. If they want to get involved in a cause they can but they shouldn’t have to. And let’s be real they are going to be slammed no matter what. But NO ONE should have to say who they are voting for are elections are private.
Same. There are people who will buy anything or do anything if a celebrity mentions a liking for it. Who runs our country should not at all be influenced by people who are starry-eyed over their favorite celeb.
I don’t believe any adult is influenced by a celebrity and who they vote for.
Now regarding the youth, just hitting voting age, I would think maybe pop stars might have an influence, or rock stars, on them, But what is interesting is a lot of the youth vote is for Bernie Sanders. He’s big at colleges.
Gaga came out in support of Hillary, and the majority of her young fanbase in the threads I read on a pop site seemed very upset that was who she was voting for, and not Bernie, and didn’t understand it. She was criticized heavily in debates about her choice of candidate on the threads. She didn’t even sway her adoring Little Monsters.
You don’t think they are swayed by a celebrity? Have you noticed that in the last 15 years almost every product is celebrity endorsed? And while we all know Beyonce and Jlo don’t color their own hair, apparently this advertising strategy works. Celebs are on the cover of fashion mags like Vogue every month. That didn’t used to be true.
I think you may be giving people too much credit.
On a positive note I think this woman is a class act. AND unlike her doppelganger Bryce Dallas Howard, she isn’t the child of a celebrity.
I agree. The mixing of pop culture celebrity / fame for fame’s sake and actual political accountability is really strange. It’s sad when people like Katy Perry feel like they need to get involved to get people interested, hey, because Katy’s interested. The importance of being aware and informed about politics as a voter speaks for itself, doesn’t it? Perhaps only when you have a decently funded public ed system.
I love Jessica, btw.
Shallow comment: she’s very pretty.
I didn’t know that about her sister.
I’ve always liked her. I’ve heard people say she’s boring but I like that she’s not trying to grab headlines or be a faux-intellectual.
What a sweet little fluffy dog!
Wow she really did come across as a class act, as someone who knew nothing about her before this interview I’m impressed. So sorry to hear about her sister though.
It’s a mixed bag when it comes to celebs and politics. I think everyone has the right to share but I do agree with how she phrased her comment. Voters SHOULDN’T be swayed by celebrities, but well you can’t stop that. Still smart way to answer that question.
I never thought much about her, but that she was talented. But when she was videoed at a Madonna concert overseas being pulled up on stage to dance to Bitch, I’m Madonna and was such a good sport, I saw a different side. Then when she was on Ellen recently and Ellen showed the clip of her dancing away on stage at the Madonna concert, Jessica got the giggles and was so cute on Ellen, and showed someone that is more known for serious roles but not afraid to show her goofy side on a talk show. Then I liked her even more.
“I had been in a one-year relationship with someone who lives in Italy, and I knew that if I remained in California it would be harder to see each other. ”
I really hope the younger generation of women does not base their life and work decisions on a guy. its sad to still hear those words in 2016.
But yet she did not move to Italy. They chose to compromise and she gets plenty of work out of New York.
Wow.
I think celebrities should stay out of politics. I wouldn’t mind it so much if the media didn’t put so much stock into what they say and think. They’re not famous for their intelligence or political knowledge.
Ironically enough, the celebrities whose opinions I wanna know most are usually the ones who keep quiet.
Excellent interview! And the header picture is absolutely stunning.
Great interview. I like her a lot. She has a kind of quiet gravitas about her. She also seems fairly versatile as an actress. So yeah, I’ll honk for her.
Jessica is a very sweet woman and she’s been preaching about gender and racial equality in Hollywood before it became a thing
I do like a lot of the things she said. The only thing that bothers me is the amount of celebrities who were awkward and outcasts and had no friends. i don’t believe she was on the fringe of social school scene.
She is a beauty, I love the pics.
I can’t imagine my life without my sister, so reading that about her sister made me tear up. She’s already lovely, but now we learn she’s been through quite a lot.
I met her once at a screening of her film in NYC and she’s the nicest, most humble celebrity ever (imho). She was gracious, talked to my friend and I without airs and kept asking us questions about ourselves, was genuinely interested – not aloof nor condescending. Her boyfriend was there too and he stood quietly at the side, didn’t seem like the type of person who wanted to be papped.