2014 was a momentous year for Olivia Wilde. Not only did the gutsy actress turn 30, she also gave birth to Otis, her first child. The January 2015 cover star reveals all.With such success, Olivia Wilde was an obvious choice for our first cover star of the new year. While her film career is on an upward spiral, turning her back on bad**s roles in favour of more meaty films, she’s quick to stress that, “motherhood is a great lesson in selflessness.”
In our January issue Olivia tells Emirates Woman how her life has changed since the birth of her baby boy and how she’s coping with the sleepless nights – gushing how thrilled her and husband Jason Sudeikis are to be able to share this “beautiful and amazing experience.”
Olivia Wilde with husband Jason Sudeikis
A recent photo shoot of her, which included a picture of her breastfeeding her son, gives some insight into Olivia’s fearless nature. Whether it comes to voicing her opinions on political issues, marrying an Italian Count/musician at 18, or funding educational and start-up business ventures in Haiti and Africa (her social activism will always come as second nature), Wilde enjoys the freedom that comes with not worrying about what other people think. That’s why she had no qualms at all when it came to tackling her latest role in the David Gelb helmed thrilled, Lazarus (previously titled Reawakening). While many may balk at the idea of playing a medical student who, along with a group of fellow attendees, discovers a way to bring dead patients back to life, Olivia reveled in the freaky nature of the film.
In our Emirates Woman January 2015 cover story the actress discusses her rise to stardom and her new role as mummy.
How motherhood has already benefited her acting: “It broadens your storytelling ability…I guess I just take my place in the world a little bit more seriously being a mother. I hope I can tell stories that somehow benefit the world that Otis will grow up in.”
A candid Instagram shot of Oliva and Otis
On working with Liam Neeson in Third Person: “I’ve had a crush on him for years ever since I first met him in Ireland where I had been studying acting (she was introduced to Neeson after a screening of Michael Collins -ED). He’s such a warm and loveable man in person. He’s very kind and charming and he has this incredible laugh. It was a wonderful experience being able to spend some time with him making the film. I would love to work with him again.”
Olivia with Liam Neeson at Third Person press conference
On growing up in a circle of artists and intellectuals who frequented her parents‘ home: “I’m sure it was a source of stimulation. I grew up with a lot of untamed energy, and my imagination was incredibly active, and sometimes hard for me to restrain. I sort of existed in many different worlds at once, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, because I would have a running reel of different films in my head, different stories in my head, different characters that I would embody in my imagination.”
Five things you didn’t know about Olivia Wilde
* Her real name is Olivia Jane Cockburn
* She grew up in Ireland and her ancestry includes English, Irish, Scottish, Manx, and German
* She insists that Jason Sudeikis wasn’t interested in her when they first met
* Wilde received a personal phone call from candidate Barack Obama thanking her for participating in his presidential campaign. “I was very professional the whole time we spoke,” she said to Cosmopolitan magazine. “Then I hung up the phone – or so I thought – and started squealing for about 15 seconds.” She later found out that the President heard Wilde’s shrieking and laughed.
* As a teen, Olivia Wilde joined George Clooney for lunch on the set of 1997’s The Peacemaker, for which her parents wrote the screenplay. “Having George Clooney be the first Hollywood actor I met set a pretty high standard,” she said. “He’s genuinely sincere, smart, gracious, and I like his politics, too, which always helps.”
George Clooney at The Peacemaker Premiere
What you will learn from the January issue
- How to improve yourself in 2015 with expert advice on love, family, career, money and facing up to challenges
- That there is a small glimmer of hope in lawless South Sudan where women bear the brunt of male anger, despair and boredom
- Why Givenchy opted for Pretty Woman’s Julia Roberts as the new face for their spring/summer15 campaign
- That stress ‘underload’ is actually worse for you than being overloaded
- How to get Kim Kardashian’s cheekbones courtesy of the master of contour, Mario Dedivanovic
