CATHERINE ZETA-JONES
Actress Catherine Zeta-jones talks life and love with husband michael douglas, being proud of her children and how she remains so ageless
She’s spent three decades starring in big blockbuster films and still actress Catherine Zeta-jones continues to land some exciting roles.
The star’s latest part is that of prison doctor Vivian Capshaw in series two of the Sky drama Prodigal Son, alongside fellow Welsh actor Michael Sheen.
And when we chat with Catherine, 51, who Zooms in from her home in New
York, she tells us she’s mastered the art of saying words she’s never “uttered before” when it comes to the medical lingo.
“I can reel it off as if I know what I’m talking about, but if you were sick I don’t think you would be coming to me,” she says.
Aside from her glittering acting career, Catherine is mum to Carys Zeta, 18, and 20-year-old Dylan Michael who she shares with husband and Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas, 76. And in our interview she explains that her children are just as creative as their parents.
“Carys plays piano and Dylan plays guitar – and they are really wonderful actors, so I think you may be seeing more of them,” she tells us.
Here, the Welsh Wonder lifts the lid on family life, marriage and her latest business venture...
Hi Catherine. Why did you choose New York for your family home?
When I met my husband, I’d just bought myself a house in LA – but we ended up on the east coast. Everyone thinks that Michael was raised in Hollywood because of his father [Kirk Douglas], but he wasn’t. He was actually raised in Connecticut, which is not far from here. He was raised with his mother [Diana Douglas] and his stepfather [William Darrid], so he knows this whole area. When I married Michael, I moved to New York, which is where he was living. It’s a city that I really love. It’s fantastic.
Did you raise your children in New York?
We wanted to get out of the city when we had kids. At first, we moved out to the Hamptons – but then Michael took me to Bermuda, where his mother was born. His family has been there since the 1600s and it’s only an hour and a half flight from New York. I fell in love with Bermuda immediately and we spent the most amazing 10 years living there full-time, bringing up our children.
What was that experience like?
It was wonderful. The kids went to school in Bermuda and they were able to live away from the craziness of this industry. Sometimes young kids get whipped up into the craziness when their parents are in the public eye, but not in Bermuda. Of course, if
I was working, Michael was there with them. And if Michael was working, I was there with them. We still have a home in Bermuda. I miss that beach life a lot.
How would you describe your children?
They have become two great citizens of the planet. They are very smart and they love to learn. I rest easy that they’re ready to go out into the world. We’re very close and if I had a crystal ball, I would love to see what their futures hold because I’m excited about where they’re going to go, what they’re going to do and what they’re going to see.
Is Carys looking to follow in your footsteps and enter the acting profession. Or perhaps pursue a career in fashion like her mother?
Carys loves fashion. She loves to act. She loves make-up. But she never really wanted to be a designer or a model. She really wants to be an actress, but she happens to be extremely smart. Currently, she is off to school to study politics, international relations and diplomacy.
What about Dylan? Is he a budding actor too?
Well, they’ve both got it. Michael and I would be the first ones to say, “I don’t know, kids – you might want to go down another career path.” But we’ve seen them do so well. They used to go to a Theatre Camp summer camp with all the Broadway kids and I have seen every school production. Carys plays piano and Dylan plays guitar – and they are really wonderful actors, so I think you may be seeing more of them. But right now, they are very happy to be in college, albeit remotely. They are working really hard and learning so much good stuff – and being teenagers the way they should be.
You’ve been married for more than 20 years. What’s the secret to a long and successful marriage?
Every marriage goes through its ups and downs. It wouldn’t be normal without them. It would be very strange. If you can get through the last year with the pseudolockdown, you can get through anything. We’ve got through that very well, so all is good. We are very, very much in love.
What’s your secret to looking so fantastic?
Well, I don’t drink and I don’t smoke, but I love beautiful creams and oils. I am 51-years-old and I’ve always looked after myself – but as you get older, I find you have more of a regime. Now, I cleanse my skin much more gently than I ever did before and I stay active. I work out.
It’s great to see you on TV again, this time playing a prison doctor in Sky One’s Prodigal Son. What attracted you to the show?
What I love about this character is that she’s a doctor and she’s met her match with Michael Sheen’s character, Martin. It’s a very interesting role, but one might wonder what this woman is doing in this place. I mean, is this the best she can get? It’s not necessarily a dream job to be in the bowels of this institution where she’s working with tethered inmates who are killers. On the outside, Martin was a great surgeon and I’m sure she was aware of him and his work. But now he’s on the inside and here she is with one of her peers and contemporaries in a very, very strange and pseudo-dangerous environment. It’s been a lot of fun to work on.
How did you handle the medical jargon in
Prodigal Son?
I’ve now mastered the art of being able to say words that I’ve never uttered before, as well as weird prescription medication that I have to prescribe to inmates. I’ve learned to be able to do that with aplomb. I can reel it off as if I know exactly what I’m talking about, but if you were sick I don’t think you would be coming to me.
Away from your acting work, you’ve also set up a new business venture. Tell us some more about it…
Casa Zeta-jones is my brand and my creative outlet when I am not in front of a camera or in a theatre. I have a very small team of great women who I work with – along with my business partner Daymond John, who is on [the US version of Dragons’ Den] Shark Tank. I have incorporated my love of design into the brand. I started with interiors and now
I am moving to clothing, but I also started a make-up line.
‘my kids have become two great citizens of the planet’