LIFE OF LARA
Model mogul Lara Worthington on loving life and looking to the future.
LARA WORTHINGTON HAS BARELY HAD ANY SLEEP.
Not because of some Hollywood party or fashionably late catch-up with famous friends. In fact, a middle-of-the-night bathroom run resulting in a blind tumble over a misplaced chair is to blame. With her husband away working and her boys sound asleep, Worthington spent the early hours of the morning lying awake, concerned that her nose (having taken the full brunt of the fall) might swell ahead of today’s cover shoot. It hasn’t. A faint red mark is just visible across the bridge, which is centred perfectly in the middle of an otherwise remarkably unblemished face. In the light of day she can laugh about it, flashing her signature megawatt grin and instantly disarming the entire crew. She’s happy to be here. “Any time to shoot is like a little holiday for me! It’s nice. I used to think it was work and now it’s like a little escape,” she laughs.
Life is non-stop for the Sydney-born model and entrepreneur, who relocated to LA from New York last year with husband, actor Sam Worthington, and sons, Rocket, 3, and Racer, 2. She’ll be taking the family to Canada shortly to join Sam who is there working, before director James Cameron’s
Avatar sequels takes them on to New Zealand. “We travel so much. That’s the type of people we are, we love to be at home but then we love to leave. While [the boys] are young I think it’s just fine... no ipad, get out in the real world, it’s good,” she says. Consistency, though, has been key in the past 18 months. “My main focus has been on my children and I just slot in my work and my ideas where I can. I feel like the balance of both is really important for me to be able to be a great mum and a great wife – still having a sense of yourself is important.”
Worthington is kept busy as CEO of her beauty brand, The Base, which, after launching in 2014, is evolving with her into its next phase. As of December, the business becomes Share The Base, a non-profit organisation which, for now, concentrates on just one iconic product, the LB Cream. Upon check-out, customers can choose between three causes, with 100 per cent of net profits donated to their chosen charity. “The main gift I’ve taken from starting The Base is the connection with customers and supporters,” explains Worthington. “They’re mostly women and that for me has been a super uplifting experience. When I launched The Base it was a different time in my life. Since then, so much has changed, not only within my little world but globally as a society, as women today. It’s exciting, because I’m the type of person that moves with the times as well, I like to evolve. So I’m continuing The Base and evolving it to support other people in the community.”
It’s taken Worthington over a year to work through the details, meeting with more than 20 charities to decide which could most benefit from her support. It was important they were based in Australia (“to keep it in my own backyard”), supporting causes her customers would be invested in and close to her own heart. To start, Share The Base will support the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, a children’s charity that purchases essential medical equipment for sick and injured children, Bowel Cancer Australia, an organisation Worthington has worked with since her father passed away from the disease in 2008, and the World Wide Fund For Nature.
Meeting with each charity was a watershed moment for Worthington, and in the case of the World Wide Fund For Nature, a way to improve her understanding around increasingly important issues in her family’s life. “I love the awareness they bring to the conversation of life on this planet. I sat with them and learnt so much,” she says. Sam’s choice to wear a “Climate Change Is Real” hoodie when they attended the Australians in Film Awards in October made the couple’s stance on the future of the environment clear, and his work with Cameron, who carries the message of respect for nature through the Avatar franchise, has brought home the need for real change .“Day to day we do as much as we can, wherever we can. It can be challenging to be completely green but we do our absolute best. Being on set with James, there are no water bottles, Sam’s trailer is all solar powered, so many things run off a better system. Talking to him, I go away and I go, ‘What am I doing with my life!’ He makes me think about the bigger picture,” says Worthington. “Our families are very close, we spend a lot of time at their house, it rubs off on you. It can’t not.”
In her own work, she chooses to align herself with brands like Tiffany & Co., who are known for their track record in sustainability and supporting conservation of natural environments like the Great Barrier Reef. You could say nature is Worthington’s lifeblood, and crucial to the upbringing she wants for her own children. The now 31-year-old spent her childhood at the beach with her dad, a landscape gardener, and has fond memories of watching him surf. Her family spent most of their time outdoors and grew their own fresh produce in the backyard. “Growing up in Australia has instilled that carefree simple lifestyle into my life and my husband’s as well, as he grew up in Perth. You never forget where you come from.” The fresh air, sunshine and an ocean swim are still the first thing Worthington seeks out after a long flight to Australia. “I think I need the sun and the beach to feel like myself.”
Nostalgia for home aside, Worthington is only interested in looking forward. There’s an air of self-assurance around her. A woman content, confident and comfortable in her own skin. And despite the dramatic start to her day, the cover shoot is one she’s incredibly proud of, having known and worked with photographer Darren Mcdonald since they were in their teens. “It’s probably one of my favourites ones, just because it’s so natural and not much makeup and my hair is back – I always have my bloody hair out!” she laughs. “I feel like this is new and exciting for me. Not that I care what anyone else thinks but, I really love it... It’s of the times. I feel like it’s super empowering.”
“I’m the type of person that moves with the times… I like to evolve”