The downsides of being a trophy wife

Alicia Silverstone (left) stars in American Woman, a drama about a 1970s Beverly Hills housewife whose life takes an unexpected turn. The actress talks about her character’s seemingly charmed life.

From the outside looking in, Hollywood Hills housewife Bonnie Nolan has an enviable life.

She resides in a swanky mansion, has two gorgeous children, wears beautiful clothes and can afford a gardener, a housekeeper and a pool boy. While her husband works, Bonnie entertains her friends at home and enjoys the sunshine.

Bonnie, played by Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Batman & Robin), is the central character in American Woman, a new drama set in the 70s.

“Her job is to be a trophy wife,” says Silverstone, 41, of her character. “Her job is to look amazing for her husband when he walks in the door, to make him a beautiful drink, to seduce him all the time.

“That’s her job and she’s agreed to that job. And she accepts it and loves it to a degree, but there’s some little voice in the back of her head that comes up when she can’t buy a watch for him for a (birthday) party because she’s a woman and she doesn’t have a bank account.”

But Bonnie is forced to take control of her financial situation when she splits from her cheating husband. However, supporting herself and her two children doesn’t come easy.

American Woman was inspired by the upbringing of Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards, who was also a child actress on Little House On The Prairie.

Richards, who is the aunt of socialite Paris Hilton, remembers

how challenging life was for her own mother who was, for a time, a single parent.

“Whenever she would pay the bills, she would sit at the table and I could see the stress on her,” says Richards.

“And she would be chainsmoking. I knew, once that cheque book was out and that cigarette was going, she was not going to be in a good mood. She was so stressed and overwhelmed. I couldn’t really appreciate that until I was an adult and a mother myself.”

Richards is an executive producer on American Woman which, broadly speaking, looks at the changing role of women and how that sometimes clashes with everyday sexism.

The series also stars Mena Suvari (American Beauty) as Kathleen, a talent agent who goes into business with her boyfriend, while Jennifer Bartels plays a bank loans officer with a creepy boss. Streams on Lightbox from August 24.