Carrie-Anne Moss: ‘Being Skinny Is Not Beautiful To Me’
Carrie-Anne Moss stars in the new Netflix series Jessica Jones. (Photo: Netflix)
Carrie-Anne Moss shot to fame in 1999 as Trinity in the Matrix trilogy, and has portrayed strong, badass woman on-screen ever since. On November 20, Moss debuts in the Netflix Marvel series Jessica Jones, playing Jeryn Hogarth, a ruthless lawyer who was actually a male character in the comic books. We caught up with the 48-year-old actress, mom, and wellness coach to uncover the source of her confidence, her beauty philosophy, and how she stays so zen.
Joanna Douglas: On-screen you come across as very tough and confident. Have you always been confident in real life?
Carrie-Anne Moss: Yeah, I’d say that I’ve always been pretty confident. Not to say that I haven’t had moments of great insecurity, but overall, any time I’ve felt insecure or kind of less than, did ultimately inspire me to rise up higher.
Sometimes a few beauty products can help with confidence, too. What do you rely on to enhance your appearance?
I love a line called Living Libations. It’s this woman in Canada and she makes these amazing oils. I use oils on my face to wash my face and to moisturize my face. I use her essential oils if I get a headache, I use it to uplift my energy, for immunity. For my face, I take really good care of my skin. I don’t wear makeup unless I’m working. I think your skin is such a reflection of if you’re eating well, getting enough sleep, you’re drinking enough, so really look to your skin to tell you what you need.
What is your philosophy on beauty?
I know that when I feel really good about myself and my life, I radiate beauty. When we see someone who is really truly beautiful, it’s not because they have perfect features or they don’t have wrinkles — it’s because their soul is coming through. What I’m striving for is really being authentic.
So much of media is about making money off us feeling crappy about ourselves, so I think that we have to re-educate ourselves about what really is beautiful. For a long time I felt like everyone was so skinny, and working out like a crazy woman. Believe me, I love working out and being in good shape, and I have a whole plan to do more. It’s not like I’ve lost that. But being skinny is not beautiful to me. I was kind of in that hamster wheel of thinking, sure, it’s easier to get dressed because things fit you. But it’s not the be-all and end-all. Real beauty comes from eating high-fat foods. I think women, especially have to eat fat. They have to eat avocados and olive oil and things that have fat in them.
Your role in Jessica Jones was changed from a male character in the comics to a female character for the screen. Can you tell me a little bit about your character?
I play Jeryn Hogarth. She is the partner in a law firm and she is pretty ruthless, and very strong, and very successful. She will do whatever it takes to win, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get what she wants. Her and Jessica both need each other, but they hate each other, and they hate that they need each other. She’s pretty shallow and pretty narcissistic, which is fun to play.
Do you gravitate towards playing strong women on-screen?
Well, first of all, I’m tall. I’m 5’9” — I’m not outrageously tall, but I’m a strong person. I think that playing strong women looks many different ways. It can be very vulnerable, it can be very wounded, it can be troubled. It doesn’t just have to be these fierce, strong women. I remember being in acting class when I was younger and the teacher asked all of us to look at ourselves and saying, “What do you have? What is your thing that you offer as an actor?” I remember thinking, I’m really strong and I’m very vulnerable. That’s kind of a great combo and worked for me instead of trying to be Julia Roberts, or women at the time that I looked up to. It’s so easy to look to other actors and idolize their career and wonder what they’re doing, but only I can play the role the way I can play it.
Carrie-Anne Moss practices yoga and meditation and teaches classes through her website, Annapurna Living. (Photo: Instagram)
With your tough roles and hectic schedule and being a mother, how do you balance it all?
Oh my god, I could never do what I do as an actress, as a woman, as a mother living a life today if I didn’t have the foundation of my spiritual practice, my yoga practice, my meditation practice, my general attitude. Annapurna Living is my website that I created for women to uplift and inspire them. I was looking for something like that when I first had kids — I felt like it was pretty isolating being a mom, and I felt like I couldn’t find my tribe anywhere, so I created it because I wanted to share with women some of the tools and some of the other women I had found along the way who had uplifted and inspired me. The platform is only a year old, and it’s all from my heart.
What are some of the classes like?
I want to demystify meditation, so I try to help women understand that sitting for three to five minutes a day to get to the center can make a huge difference in their lives. The feedback I get from a lot of women is that they wanted to but didn’t know how, that they didn’t think they could fit it into their lives. Every course I teach is something I’m going through and I’m interested in. It’s not like I’m sitting there saying, “oh, I’m so good that this.” I need this too. These are hard times we’re living in. Everybody is challenged.
When did you get into yoga and meditation?
I’m from Vancouver, and I moved to LA when I was 25 and I didn’t know anyone. I met people here who introduced me to kundalini yoga, and I’ve been doing that ever since. When I was younger, those dark moments would come at night, and I’d feel that I’d never feel better. But, the sun always rises, and you wake up in the morning and things pass. Part of being a creative person is that you’re going to have moments like that, but they no longer paralyze me.
What’s one piece of advice you’ve received that has stayed with you over the years?
One of my best friends is an actress — Kathleen Quinlan — and she told me to keep the drama in my work, not my life.
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