Penelope Cruz covers the June issue of Red. It seems like a filler interview they were sitting on for months, or maybe it just sounds like that because Penelope isn’t great at giving new quotes for each interview she does. Penelope talks about her relatively quiet life with her husband (Javier Bardem) and children (Leo and Luna) and how she needs a good seven hours of sleep. Which sounds bonkers to me right now. Some highlights:
Time for herself: ‘I’m not so good at it because I’m a very nurturing person by nature, I have to keep reminding myself to also create time for myself. It’s not something that comes to me naturally, I tend to do the opposite, but I’m working on it!’
How she feels good: ‘Feeling good is not about getting your hair and make-up done. It’s about being healthy, strong, feeling nourished and giving your body and mind what it needs. If I don’t have these things covered, it’s hard for me to feel centred. It’s very important for me to eat well, eat clean and eat healthily.’
She needs seven hours of sleep every night, non-negotiable: ‘If I don’t have at least seven hours, I feel it later. I can lose focus, I can get moody. It is one of the toughest things about having children – you have to wake up earlier. I say to myself, “Go to dinner or go to bed? If I go out, how am I going to feel tomorrow?” Sleep always wins. I prefer to prioritise the rest so that I can be focused and strong later.’
She’s never been into drugs or alcohol: ‘The great thing is, I’ve never been interested in drugs or alcohol…I went to Guy Oseary’s [Oscar] party. It was great and I saw lots of friends. A lot of them said, “Wow, I can’t believe it’s 2am and you’re still here!” But, I do that once every two years!’
How she feels when someone calls her beautiful: ‘Uncomfortable. I don’t think of myself in those terms. I was not too confident [about my looks when I was younger] but I didn’t grow up too focused on them. I wouldn’t change the way I feel now for the way I felt when I was 20. There were some insecurities about things that you later realize are not important.’
[From Red & The Daily Mail]
It really is one of the biggest tricks of ageing and confidence that when we are (arguably) at our peak of beauty (say, 18 to 35) is when we’re also hampered with low self-esteem and an inability to recognize how pretty we are. Just when we start to feel confident and we care less about what people say or think about us, that’s when the bottom drops out and suddenly there are “crow’s feet” and “saggy jowls” and “weird chin hair.” As for her sleep stuff… I think people who manage to consistently sleep seven or eight hours every night are bonkers. HOW? And how do you do that as a parent? I am childfree and I can’t do that. I can manage one night where I sleep eight hours and then for the rest of the week, I have to make do with five or six hours of sleep at most.
Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of Red.
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