Actress Thandie Newton has graced our screens for almost two decades. However, her latest controversial role as bar madam Maeve in Westworld has catapulted her back into the limelight. It has also meant the beautiful actress has spent a lot of time naked on set. Speaking openly she says: “It was my choice. Totally my choice. And it was the first time I felt in control of my body at work.”
Anger Can Be A Positive Energy
- Thandie Newton has suffered from bulimia. She told The Guardian that she had scars on her knuckles from “ramming my fingers so hard down my throat… I was so thin. I was lying in bed and I remember feeling my heart against my rib cage. Because my ribs were so close to my skin, it was like my heart was coming out. I thought: ‘I’m going to die.’” However through intensive therapy she came to terms and is able to manage the disorder. Therapy enabled her to understand the root of this disorder – the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her ex-boyfriend.
- The actress has suffered from endometriosis, an often-painful condition in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus grows outside it. This, she thinks, is due to the fury and anger she carries around with her.
- Newton says she is always angry. “I wake up angry. There is a lot to be angry about.” However, she believes her anger “is a positive energy”.
- In July 2011, Newton delivered a TED Talk on “Embracing otherness, embracing myself.” She discussed finding her “otherness” as a child growing up in two distinct cultures, and as an actress playing many different selves. https://www.ted.com/talks/thandie_newton_embracing_ otherness_embracing_myself
Living a Vegan Lifestyle
- She lives a vegan lifestyle, and was one of a number of A-list celebrities (which included Jessica Chastain, Woody Harrelson, Joaquin Phoenix and Natalie Portman) who had a special vegetarian and vegan menu at the 2016 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards.
- Newton feels we are being conned by the food industry – and speaks out about it. In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, she explained that kale is so hardy, “it’s basically a weed”. She adds: “ that’s why we’ve all been sold it as this incredible super food that’s going to save the universe – because you just can’t stop it growing.” And don’t get her started on pomegranates. “Pomegranates are everywhere. That’s because they grow practically overnight and are sold for 500% more than it costs to cultivate them.
Breast Is Best
- She believes breast is best, and breastfed her son Booker until he was two. In July last year, she proudly shared a photo on Instagram of her breastfeeding at a music festival, with the caption: “Perfect happiness @latitudefest. This is what my body is made for. And the rest is my choice,” hashtagging it #Freedom.
- Newton turns to yoga for exercise. She tries to get in at least four sessions a week, and it helps to keep her looking and feeling fantastic.
- Her secret anti-aging weapon is turmeric. She has described this spice as “extraordinary”, adding it to a glass of water or a tinted moisturizer for its amazing health and anti-aging benefits.
- She has a blog with make-up artist Kay Montano: thandiekay.com. “It’s a beauty blog, because that is how you get people to look at it, but it’s about lots of things, including cultures and how we adorn ourselves.”
“We want to look at how we define beauty and to try to re-imagine what that term means. We were keen to be real and to create an authentic place for individuals who shun those hideous identity boxes: ‘black’, ‘white’, ‘other’.” She adds: “It was my response to mainstream publications that have been slow to recognise ethnic diversity, and is possibly the creation that is closest to my heart – outside my children.”