Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, our very own Hip Slope Mama celebrity, lives in an 1860’s Brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn. She is on the August issue of Marie Claire. You can see the star in the film The Dark Knight, in which she replaces Katie Holmes as Batman’s new leading lady. Here are a few highlights from the article. Pick up the August 2008 Marie Claire today to read more!
Regarding her impressions of beauty and using feminine wiles while growing up: “I always felt there was something dishonest about dying your hair to make it more beautiful”, although she is over that now.
About her picture appearing on a “Worst Dressed” website last May, accompanied by vicious putdowns by bloggers: “I thought I looked great. Sometimes it freaks me out. I’ve been so hurt and felt so bad. People will always say mean thinks about you if you put yourself out there”.
On adapting to her new real-life mommy role: “I’ve spent all my time learning how to be a mother and how to make a home with a child”, adding that when Ramona was first born, “It’s so hard and requires so much work and careful thought. You just get stronger and stronger”.
Her thoughts on the type of example she wants to set for her daughter: “For me, it’s about getting to know my own mind” she says of regularly seeing a shrink. “It makes it easier to grow and to grow-up. I’m always thinking about what I want to take from my mother and what I don’t”.
How her own world-view was shaped by having a feminist working mother: “I was not taught how to run a home, and I don’t think Peter was either. My mother worked and we had babysitters. She taught me that I can do anything –that I’m smart, I’m powerful –and I am so grateful, but I have a big gap in the homemaking area. My mom gave me great books and taught me about politics. These where incredibly important things she gave me. But”, she adds with an affectionate laugh, “she didn’t moisturize”.
