ESTELLA WARREN ON FOOD, FILMS AND FEMALE EMPOWERMENT

by Laura Prudom

It's fair to say that there are many misconceptions about models in Hollywood; beauty and brains are often thought to be mutually exclusive commodities, and, as far as the media is concerned, models are expected to be seen and not heard. That notion is changing, however, thanks to the efforts of that peculiar breed, the model-turned-actress. Strong, empowered women like Halle Berry, Charlize Theron and our February cover star, Estella Warren, are slowly turning the tide against those who think a pretty face precludes a keen intellect, and it's about time.

"I wouldn't want to go back and be in my twenties again," Warren muses, talking to me by phone from the breezy Los Angeles home she shares with her partner Brett and her nine year old Labrador-mix, Smasher. "I look at the things that I was so worried about in my twenties and they don't mean anything in the big picture, but I spent so much time worrying about them. It's great to be over thirty - I feel that I've come into my own skin and I'm enjoying it."

For a woman that spent the better part of her twenties gracing every list from Maxim's Hottest Women (they ranked her #1 in 2000) to FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World (#61 in 2005), Warren was no stranger to trading on her looks for career stability, but it was a position that she never felt truly comfortable in. "When I was younger, there was more of a stigma of, ‘do I want to be a sex symbol? Can I still be looked at as a viable actress?' and now I think I've proved myself to be a good, solid actor, so my looks are less of an issue." Needless to say, as she's grown older, Warren's opinions on that label have changed. "To be called a sex symbol at 31 is great!" she laughs, "if I can continue to be called a sex symbol for the next ten years, I'll definitely take it!"

Born in Peterborough, Ontario to a used car salesman father and a music teacher/school principal mother, Estella initially gained recognition as a world class synchronized swimmer who spent much of her childhood participating in national competitions. Her Olympic hopes were dashed when the committee removed Warren's events, solo and duet swimming, and after coming second to a Russian girl at the World Aquatic Championships, the statuesque Canadian began to think twice about her intended career path.

"[The Russian] was going to continue for another four years, so I thought I would take a shot at modelling, because when I was younger everyone would tell me ‘you should be a model, you should be a model' - and after the Olympics thing happened, I decided it was a good opportunity," she explains. Warren took to modelling like - pardon the pun - a fish to water, and high profile campaigns for Cacharel's Eau d'Eden and Chanel No. 5 soon followed. She held the coveted Chanel job for seven years, the longest campaign run in history, but Warren still felt unfulfilled.

"I found it really lonely, and very one note," she reflects soberly. "There's only so far I think you can change and grow as a model. I'm sure you can go further than even I did, but as an actor you're constantly learning and constantly getting to evolve; I think that's why it was so much more fulfilling to be to be an actor than to just be a model."

Luckily, her modelling experience segued smoothly into an acting career after auteur Luc Besson directed Warren in a Chanel commercial. "Luc said to me, ‘Listen, Estella, you've really got to try out acting, because you have a knack for this,'" she recounts, obviously still surprised by her own luck as she describes landing three enviable roles within her first three months of moving to Los Angeles. Although proud of her work in Perfume, Driven and Planet of the Apes, Warren knew she still had room for improvement, taking time off from her newfound career to pursue acting classes with respected coach Howard Fine, who has instructed stars such as Gerard Butler and Brad Pitt.

It is clear from talking to the vivacious Ontario native that Warren respects her passions enough to want to work at them; in addition to acting, the 31-year-old is an avid chef. She is currently developing her own cooking show and is set to begin lessons at the Los Angeles-based offshoot of the renowned Cordon Bleu culinary school in-between movie roles. "A lot of people don't know how much I love to cook," she confides, voice lighting up with enthusiasm. "I love entertaining, I love having dinner parties. My idea of a great night is not going out to the clubs but just having people come over to my house and help me in the kitchen and cook and have wine and listen to music. I feel like it's the best way you actually get to know other people."

Warren doesn't have a favorite recipe in particular, she insists - she prefers simple foods like "risottos and pastas and roast chicken and shrimp tacos," but her trick is to make the main ingredient stand out. "It's always pretty simple, pretty healthy for the most part - except for my brownies!" she giggles brightly.

In addition to producing, Warren says that she's been dabbling in scriptwriting over the past few years, but admits she has never felt the urge to become a director. "Directors are the hardest working people on any set; it takes an incredible amount of something that I don't have - right now, anyway." Her burgeoning desire to move behind the scenes is indicative not only of the actress' maturity, but also of Warren's grasp of the industry she belongs to. "As I've become a more seasoned actor, I've realized that, to get the kind of roles that you want, you have to produce them; you have to find the projects, whether you hire a writer to write the story that you want to act in, or whether you write them yourself, and hopefully you get the projects made that you want to make." She cites women like Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Aniston who have their own production companies as vanguards of a new wave of Hollywood women; "they're bringing very strong female characters to the big screen, because they're facilitators, and I think that's what you have to start doing at a certain point in your career."

Being able to portray strong female characters is one of Warren's main concerns; her upcoming movie roles epitomize female empowerment. Her portrayal of Belle in SyFy's remake of Beauty and the Beast promises a kick-ass version of the fairytale princess; Warren has no interest in being a damsel in distress. In February she will embark on the journey of a biker chick opposite Peter Fonda in Devil's Pride, a role that Warren finds more than a little daunting. "I've never desired to be on a motorcycle," she admits with a self-deprecating laugh. "I've always found it to be a little bit unsafe - but slowly but surely I'm learning how to do it, I've got my permit and I'm on my bike as often as possible. It's a really big bike, it's a Harley and I've already dropped it twice; I feel so bad because it's the director's girlfriend's bike - but I'm doin' my best!"

Warren has also recently completed Transparency with Lou Diamond Phillips, a powerful portrait of human trafficking in the United States. "I play a woman's activist for these women who have been brought over from Russia to be used as sex slaves," Warren explains, clearly moved and troubled by the truth behind her portrayal. "I harbour them and give them a safe haven. It's more of a learning experience for the viewer for what's actually happening because in these situations there really is no winner, there is no clean finish or happy ending. That was the point we were trying to get across and I think we succeeded in that."

As for the future, Warren never foresees a day when she won't be in front of the camera in some capacity. "I love acting, it's my primary passion. And maybe with a baby or two..." she laughs, wryly contemplating how Hollywood has changed in regards to its view of women, "thankfully, there's been a change in the industry; women can have babies and still continue to have a successful career. We'll see if they call me a sex symbol after that!" Somehow, we imagine they still will.

PHOTOGRAPHED AND STYLED BY HELLIN KAY
MAKEUP BY RIKU CAMPO
HAIR BY MATT ADAMS