Olivia’s kitchen sink drama
I don’t care if critics don’t like the size of my bum, says nation’s leading lady
IT’S not exactly afternoon tea in the palace gardens.
But, in her blue satin gown and Cartier jewels, Olivia Colman brings more than a touch of regal elegance to next month’s issue of US Vogue.
The actress, 45, who plays the Queen in the next series of The Crown, secured her place at Hollywood’s high table by landing the prestigious cover shoot – and turns the pages of the fashion bible blue in a frank interview.
After giving V-signs when officials tried to curtail her Oscars speech this year, she brushed off critics in the body-obsessed film industry, saying: ‘If someone doesn’t like me because of the size of my bum, they can **** off.’
She admitted she is glad to have found fame as an actress later in life, and is happier now the ‘pounds have gone on’ in her middle age. ‘To be the ingenue and to keep working is rare because once people see you as that, they don’t like the process of ageing,’ she said. ‘Which is ******* ridiculous! I grew to my place.’ The mother- of- three, from Norfolk, added: ‘I look up pictures of myself as a teenager and I think I was gorgeous.
‘But I didn’t feel that. All those little comments through those precious years can have longlasting negative effects.
‘Over the years, pounds have gone on, and my body has changed; I’ve had children.’
And certainly her new-found confidence shows in the October edition spread, shot by Annie Leibovitz, in which Miss Colman can be seen in a Dolce & Gabbana cape and trousers and a Ralph Lauren shirt. She wears the blue gown by Zac Posen as she sips tea beside a kitchen sink. Miss Colman revealed she has struggled with red carpet appearances, adding: ‘A lot of people take on a pretend persona, but I’m crippled by it. I feel embarrassed.’ A ‘breakthrough’ moment came at the Venice Film Festival, when she wore a black cape dress by Stella McCartney.
‘I’d always used clothes as a sort of mask. I discovered that they can make you feel strong and powerful.’ Miss Colman may have won an Oscar for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite, but her attitude to life and fame is still one of modesty.
‘Appreciating what’s happening when it’s happening, I think, is quite good and healthy,’ she said. ‘When the kids do badly with exams... I want them to know that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. Life’s that big. I just want to try to keep them buoyant and happy.’
Miss Colman is an unconventional choice for the cover of US Vogue, as the magazine writes: ‘It is customary for Vogue to choose its cover stars from emerging young talent and soaring celebrity leaders.
‘At 45, Colman is a cover woman for a new era: Proof of the glamour of slowly and devotedly building one’s life and craft; a reminder that, for a rising generation of powerful women, it is possible to reach success and mastery while remaining honest, patient, healthy, whole.’