Lesson 1: Don’t neglect your girlfriends
When asked if she has any regrets, the actress replied, “That my friendships suffered from lack of attention… in favour of the time taken up by my family, my career and civic concerns.” Lock in that catch-up coffee today!
Lesson 2: It’s what you do, not what you say
The actress came under fire during a recent press tour for a new movie, Suffragette, when she refused to call herself a feminist – but she soon silenced her critics. “There is a phrase in the film, ‘Deeds not words’, and that is where I stand,” she said. “I let the actions of my life stand for what I am.”
Carey Mulligan and Meryl at the Suffragette Press Conference
Lesson 3: Don’t obsess over the scales
“Don’t waste so much time thinking about how much you weigh,” the actress told a reporter from TimeOut Magazine. “There is no more boring, idiotic, self-destructive diversion from the fun of living.”
Meryl, Carey, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne-Marie Duff at the premiere
Lesson 4: Crushes aren’t just for the young
“I have the biggest crush on Will Ferrell,” Meryl admitted, adding that 35-year-old screen hunk Ryan Gosling simply isn’t her bag. “Ryan Gosling could be my child. I’m not going to have a crush on a child! Will Ferrell is a man.”
Feminist protesters at the Suffragette premiere
Lesson 5: Encourage your kids to be bold
While promoting Ricki and the Flash, in which she stars alongside her daughter, Mamie Gummer, Meryl proudly recalled the two locking horns on set. “I think she enjoyed railing at me,” she quipped of 32-year-old Mamie. “She’s always been fierce and fearless, and has no trouble expressing her feelings!”
Check out our review of Suffragette in the November 23 issue of the Weekly.
WATCH: Suffragette trailer
