From Princess to Powerhouse
Robin Wright isn’t afraid to act her age as she dominates House of Cards and Hollywood.
By Michelle Talsma Everson
Very few actresses in Hollywood can say they’ve enjoyed the type of long-term success that has sustained Robin Wright’s career. From the cult classic The Princess Bride to this year’s superhero hit Wonder Woman, Wright has worked hard to stay on top in roles on both the small and big screens.
Women in powerful positions know a thing or two about holding their own. In addition to playing politician Claire Underwood on the critically acclaimed Netflix political-drama series House of Cards, the 51-year-old mother of two has starred in a plethora of films, including The Princess Bride, Forrest Gump and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, among others. And she doesn’t show signs of slowing down, her latest film, Blade Runner 2049, is just one of many in the pipeline.
According to a recent article in New Beauty magazine. “The Golden Globe–award winner (she’s also received five consecutive Emmy nominations) has also earned as much recognition for her outspoken voice on female equal pay and other feminist rights as she has for her ability to command the big screen. Robin also made her directorial debut on House of Cards in 2014, and launched a socially conscious sleepwear line, Pour Les Femmes, with clothing designer Karen Fowler later that year.”
Like all Hollywood stars, Wright has had to deal with the pressures of continuing to look youthful in an industry that pretends women don’t age. In her interview with New Beauty though, she shares that there’s no magical secret to looking young.
“I don’t think there are secrets,” she shares with the magazine. “I think we all know the more you eat right, exercise, sleep well, and don’t have so much stress in your life, you’re going to look better and younger and feel better. I have a very stressful life, and then I acquire a peaceful break. You’re never going to not have stress. So, it’s about finding the balance.”
When she was asked in the New Beauty interview what she’s noticed has changed the most about her looks over the years, the talented actress was refreshingly honest.
“I look older (laughing). You find that when you look at old pictures and then hold them up to current pictures, the baby fat falls away and you see more severe lines in your features. It’s like your cheekbones become more prominent, your cheeks aren’t as full, your nose isn’t as pug and there’s not as much flesh. And clearly more wrinkles, obviously.”
Still, countless media outlets praise the former Mrs. Sean Penn (they have two children and had an on-again-off-again relationship for years) for her stunning looks and “all natural” approach to aging gracefully––minus a few “Botox sprinkles” that she admits to.
Parade magazine recently summarized the eclectic actress’ career in just a few sentences.
“Robin Wright was Buttercup in The Princess Bride, Jenny in Forrest Gump, Antiope in Wonder Woman, and plays cutthroat Claire in House of Cards,” describes the magazine. “Now Robin Wright, 51, rocks the future as Lieutenant Joshi in Blade Runner 2049, set 30 years after the first film, in which an LAPD officer (Ryan Gosling) finds a long-lost secret that threatens to plunge what’s left of society into even more calamity and chaos.”
Blade Runner 2049 is now in theaters and multiple media outlets are praising Wright for her multifaceted role.
“In Blade Runner 2049, Robin Wright plays a hard-nosed LAPD lieutenant––the latest memorable performance from an actress who’s been everyone from a princess, to a president,” according to KING 5, a broadcast media company and NBC affiliate based in Seattle.
In an interview with Kim Holcomb of KING 5, Wright shares some of her thoughts on the new film.
“… It’s multi-layered. It’s thought provoking. But really, the sensitivity and vulnerability to it that Denis Villeneuve brings to it as a director, is that delicate balance between humanity and technology. How you want to hold on to connection and maintain love, as we know it today?”
In addition to her busy career, Wright is also well known for her philanthropic efforts. She has worked with The Gordie Foundation in Texas, which provides young people with the skills needed to navigate away from drug and alcohol addiction. She is also an activist for human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to a recent article in WWD, Wright is the cofounder of Pour Les Femmes, a line of pajamas she creates with a friend whose proceeds benefit women in the Congo.
“I started a sleepwear line because I wasn’t making enough noise, by going to D.C. and going ‘we need to pass this legislation,’” Wright told WWD recently. “Ten years I’ve been on this bandwagon trying to help these women who are brutally raped every day. I said, ‘I’m going to make something that I love doing.’ Something that represents comfort and security: pajamas. It’s soft and it’s yummy and it’s our basic right to get into bed and feel safe every night. And they don’t have that basic right. So I wanted to bring the consumer in because women love purchasing something knowing they’re helping another woman.”
In addition to international women’s issues, Wright has been vocal about issues here in the states, including the gender pay gap between women and men.
With a full plate of acting gigs and social justice issues, recently E! News asked if she’d be up for a reprise of her role in The Princess Bride.
“As the Blade Runner 2049 actress candidly dished to E! News, the team behind The Princess Bride contemplated a sequel to the 1987 fantasy film at one point. ‘I think they entertained the idea for a minute,’ she recalled. However, it doesn’t sound like Wright or her colleagues were fond of the idea. ‘We thought, ‘Don’t ruin it. Please don’t ruin it.”’
It looks like Wright will continue to look forward and move along successfully in her career for years to come.
