Shailene Woodley adapted her diet & lifestyle to that of indigenous people

May 2024 · 6 minute read

Last week, we discussed Shailene Woodley’s Marie Claire interview, and how she sounded full of herself and like she had no real gauge of how normal, non-celebrity people lived. I was slightly remorseful for opening the floodgates, because it seemed like about half of you had strong negative feelings about her already and the other half were more generous towards her. For the record, I am willing to give her a break on all of her hippie-granola stuff because I do think that’s who she really is – a really crunchy hippie. But I’m not going to give her a pass just because “she’s a kid.” She’s 21 years old – very young, but she’s old enough to know what she’s saying and how she comes across.

Anyway, Shailene has a new interview in Interview Magazine. The photos are terrible, and they are done by Patrick Demarchelier. Awful. I think Kristen Stewart was talked into several photoshoots like this too – the greasy-haired, sullen, goth-miniskirt thing is really popular these days. The interview was conducted by Emma Stone, and Emma brings out a better side of Shailene. Shailene is still rather full of herself – and it’s really obvious that she thinks that she’s at the same level as Emma, career-wise, which is laughable – but Shailene does explain herself much better here. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:

How Shailene became interested in herbalism: “I was an environmentalist in high school—or, I guess, a self-proclaimed environmentalist—and I started reading about the food system in America and how it’s owned by all of these corporations. I was on a quest to find out what healthy really meant because people were saying that veganism was healthy or that the Paleo diet was healthy, but I really had no idea. So I started researching indigenous people and what their lifestyles were like because I was fascinated by the fact that they could still run in their eighties and still had amazing muscular and nervous systems, whereas in America now, by the time we get to our thirties, it’s really hard for us to lose weight and maintain a healthy body and composition.”

Adapting her diet accordingly: “So I just started adapting my lifestyle to that of indigenous people, and what I realized is that we’re all indigenous creatures on this planet. The whole concept of re-wilding came about through some really good friends of mine, and it’s basically about adapting to your current situation. If you’re in the city, then you can’t go back to hunter-and-gatherer times, so you have to adapt to the lifestyle that’s out there. Herbalism is part of that, and knowing how to heal our bodies naturally and knowing about organic farming. It’s so important and essential to the Earth, to Gaia. We want to continue to live on this planet, and I think we need to break down the associations that we have that we’re different from nature—that we need to protect the Earth and save the Earth—when we are, in fact, part of the Earth. So it all starts with us. If we want to save the planet, then I think we need to start saving ourselves in order to do that. I believe that organic farming, among many other practices, can really start that shift.”

Her night rituals: “It depends. If I’m having a me night, I might do 15 to 45 minutes of yoga. The thing that’s most grounding for me before bed, though, is when I wash my face. To wash my face and nourish my skin and cleanse myself of everything that happened through the day, and then to sit in bed with my journal or a book of poems or a novel and a cup of tea, is the perfect way for me to ensure a good night’s rest.”

Going without makeup on the red carpet sometimes: “It’s important because I saw somebody—what I thought was me—in a magazine once, and I had big red lips that definitely did not belong on my face. I had boobs about three times the size they are in real life. My stomach was completely flat. My skin was also flawless. But the reality is that I do not have those lips and my skin is not flawless and I do have a little bit of a stomach. It was not a proper representation of who I am. I realized that, growing up and looking at magazines, I was comparing myself to images like that—and most of it isn’t real. So (a) I don’t really wear makeup that much anyway, so part of it is just a selfish, lazy thing, and (b) I want to be me. I do think it’s fun sometimes to dress up for the Oscars or for certain events—I get to be like a five-year-old again, wearing my Cinderella dress. But for some events where it’s a more casual vibe, I just want to be me.”

She didn’t know who Alexander Payne was: “When I first booked The Descendants, everybody was very excited about it, but I didn’t really know who Alexander Payne was. I’d seen Sideways [2004], but I was 14 at the time and didn’t really understand it. So I feel very fortunate that I got to know Alexander, the human being, before I got to know him as a director. I’d been acting for a long time, but that was my first feature film, so I didn’t have anything to compare him to at the time.”

George Clooney is her big brother: “It’s interesting, though, because when we were doing press for the film, someone asked George [Clooney] what it was like to work with Alexander, and George said that when you work with directors like the Coen brothers, Steven Soderbergh, Jason Reitman, or Alexander, you just get to do your job. He said, “When we were doing The Descendants, I got to show up every day and do my job. I got to be an actor.” I didn’t really understand what he meant at the time, but now I do. When you work with someone like Alexander, you don’t have to fight for the justification of who the character is or what the movie is about. You don’t have to worry about the script or fight for the humanity or the truth of the project because Alexander does all that for you. And then, as human beings, both George and Alexander have become like big brothers or wise friends. They’ve given me advice not only on the industry, but also on my personal life. Getting that movie was really one of those moments where the stars aligned.”

[From Interview]

When she’s talking about the diet of the “indigenous people” is she referring to Native Americans? Is she saying that she’s studied the diets of 16th century Native Americans and that’s how she eats, how she treats herself medically and how she lives? Sure. No judgment. It just seems like a lot of extra work, though. But yeah, she’s a HUGE hippie. It should get really interesting when everyone expects her to take the lead on promoting Divergent and she gives everyone a 20-minute speech about how she doesn’t want to wear makeup on the red carpet.

Photos courtesy of Interview Magazine.

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