Kate Beckinsale covers the January/February issue of Women’s Health, on stands 12/31. Inside, the 46-year-old actress talks about her sensible diet, near-daily workouts, and the double standards women are facing today when it comes to dating and having fun.
On communicating to people what she’s really like through Instagram:
“I’m not a social media person, but it’s nice to have this little corner that’s my vibe.”
On what she puts in her body – including absolutely no caffeine and no alcohol:
“I think some people’s systems are just a bit sensitive to things. If you told me you had nausea yesterday, I might start throwing up myself. If I ate too much dark chocolate, it would be like someone else taking cocaine.”
On being connected to her body:
“I’m very connected to my body, so if I’m going to experience stress, I’m probably going to experience it physically. So it’s usually a good idea for me to go do something physical to get rid of it. I kind of have to think of myself as a horse or something – time for a run around the paddock.”
On being asked to lose weight for her role in 2001’s Pearl Harbor:
“It wasn’t great. It didn’t make me feel good, and in general, I think women are body-shamed 100 million percent more than men. But on this particular project, I wasn’t. Ben [Affleck], who’d already done a movie with the director, was like, ‘This happened to me. They made me get new teeth.’ And I was like ‘Cool, at least I get to hang on to my teeth.’”
On working out six mornings a week with trainer Brad Siskind of Gunnar Peterson’s gym:
“Now exercise is almost more important to me moodwise. The other aspects feel like a great side effect.”
On a few of her favorite workouts:
“I haven’t been injured while doing an action movie, and I think it’s partially from practicing yoga. But as well as that, I just got into trampolining and it’s the great thing…it makes you feel kind of jolly.”
On marriage, relationships, and craving alone time:
“I think more people would do well married if they didn’t have to live in the same house. Being married is kind of easy, but the living-with-the-person thing is a lot. I also think that for women especially – and this is generalizing – but I think it’s common for us to mentally subjugate our needs to whoever else is in the room. So if you’ve got a husband, a boyfriend, kids, or parents, it’s so easy to come in with an idea of what you’d like to do, and then end up going, ‘Oh no, no, no, it’s fine.’ And it’s quite nice to not always have to negotiate that.”
On the challenges of singledom and relationships in the public eye:
“If everyone’s shitting on you, it can make you kind of ugh for a minute – especially if there’s really nothing wrong. If you’re strangling a squirrel or hurting someone, I get it, but living one’s life in a reasonably respectful manner shouldn’t invite anyone to get too excited.”
On the double standard of women having fun past a certain age:
“It can feel like a little bit of a political act to be a woman over 32 who is having any fun at all. And by that, I don’t mean doing drugs and drinking and partying – because I never am – but being goofy, and going out, and not going ‘Omigod I’m going to sit home and anticipate menopause while crocheting.’ Unless you’re doing that, it somehow seems to be risqué, which is just kind of ridiculous to me. And I witness men constantly doing whatever they like – whether that’s in relationships, or deciding to buy a motorbike, and getting a tattoo. It has not been interpreted as ‘Why hasn’t he had more children?’ or ‘Is he ever going to decide to become a parent?’ or ‘Why has he had so many girlfriends.’”
On describing her role in her upcoming project, the dark comedy Jolt.
“I explain, ‘It’s this woman who’s got this rage disorder. And every single woman has said, ‘Oh. Me.’ Women are really f**king angry right now. It was quite a nice thing to get to do that with a female director.”