Balancing FAMILY&FAME
THE OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS FOCUSES NONSTOP ON HER MOST IMPORTANT ROLE — AS A REAL-LIFE MOTHER
At the opening gala of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival in France, Julianne Moore wowed the crowd in a spectacular, one-ofa-kind Givenchy gown adorned with hundreds of tiny scarlet feathers. With her auburn hair pulled back, the Oscar winner, L’Oréal beauty ambassador and star of the acclaimed new film Wonderstruck epitomized old-fashioned Hollywood glamour as she glided down the red carpet and graciously paused to have her photograph taken by the hundreds of shutterbugs calling her name.
Julianne often appears on lists of the world’s most beautiful people, but she’s also a wife and mother who has managed to find harmony between incredible success and devotion to her family. “My life is a constant juggling act, and it’s challenging,” says Julianne, 56, who has two children, Caleb, 19, and Liv, 15, with her husband, director Bart Freundlich, 47. “Part of being a parent means that it’s vital you get the well-being of your kids right, and there’s a high degree of difficulty in that.” Yet she’s succeeding. LeUyen Pham, Julianne’s friend and the illustrator of her Freckleface Strawberry children’s books series, tells Closer: “She’s a normal mom. Normal like beyond normal.”
STILL JULIE
During her youth, “Julie” moved frequently due to her father’s military career, which taught her to value the stability that a strong, supportive family brought to her life. “I knew from very early on that I wanted kids,” says the actress, who chose to raise her children out of the Hollywood limelight in New York instead of Los Angeles.
“She puts her kids first,” notes LeUyen, who confides how Julianne shares parenting tips and proudly shows off photos of her children, like any ordinary parent. “She isn’t the top priority on her own list,” the artist says. “She’s very down-to-earth.”
LeUyen first met Julianne when she was hired to illustrate the actress’ first children’s book, 2007’s Freckleface Strawberry, about a redheaded girl who learns to love her appearance. “Her daughter was a big motivation for her to write it,” confides LeUyen, who praises Julianne for her “natural flair for storytelling and sense of humor. She is easy to work with and a whole lot of fun.”
Those qualities, along with an ability to empathize with others, have made Julianne one of Hollywood’s most accomplished and well-liked actresses. In roles as varied as Boogie Nights’ tragic adult film star and a professor diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s disease for her Oscar-winning role in Still Alice, Julianne’s “intelligence and sensitivity really shows,” raves film critic Joe Neumaier. “It seems as if having a family has fed her career, and having a career has made her family life that much richer.”
As Julianne herself puts it, “My family life is incredibly important to me. I want to be with them as much as I can.” And that’s why, to invoke the title of one of Julianne’s best movies, the kids are all right. — Louise A. Barile, with reporting by Diana Cooper