Inside the Lives of Hollywood’s Next Generation of Actresses

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Thanks to the American public’s intense fascination with A-List celebrity, it’s been getting harder than ever to find articles on Hollywood actresses who don’t have have the last names of Kidman, Jolie and Aniston. While debating this press disparity, I realized that most people would jump at the chance to learn about what life was life for Jolie prior to her cracking the most elite levels of Hollywood. And thus an article idea was born.

by Chris Neumer

Part 5: Hollyweird

Working in the entertainment world is a unique experience. At its core, the film industry is just like any other business… and then you factor in money, fame, power, glamour and the desirability that automatically comes with the planet’s most sought after jobs. Rather naturally, a lot of strange things take place in this environment. Common sense in Iowa is not the same as common sense in Hollywood. This is a collection of the unusual, off-the-wall and funny stories and thoughts the nine actresses had about working in Hollywood.

LAUREN BITTNER: I was working on a project on the Warner Brothers lot last year. It was raining and they had someone who was supposed to hold an umbrella for me and take me to hair and makeup and then the set. It was so stupid. I said to guy, “Don’t hold my umbrella, I can hold it myself.” And he said to me, “Please, I have to, it’s my job. I’ll get in trouble if I don’t make sure that you don’t get wet.” My brother was there that day watching this unfold and he was just sort of looking at me, like, “What the hell?”

NORA ZEHETNER: I’m in some weird age range right now. I’m 25, but I look a little younger. So I [can’t] play a professional who is in her later twenties, but I’m too old for the high school stuff, even though they still send me scripts. So I’m in this weird grey area and they don’t make too many movies for characters in that age range.

JENNIFER HALL: I would love to get into The National Enquirer. I made Go Fug Yourself. Twice. (once and twice). I’m really proud of this. That’s the website geared towards people on red carpets who have poor dressing choices. I made it twice, and my friends were trying to keep it from me for quite a while. Then one friend–she had no restraint–said, “Jennifer, what did you do last night?” And she sent me to the website and there I was. I’m really proud of it, because not only did they show the picture, but then people can write in and make crude jokes about what I’m wearin

LAURA RAMSEY: Those [Go Fug Yourself] people need to get a life. Don’t they have anything else to do other than be on the computer and talk about people’s outfits? I didn’t even know I was on there [until you told me]. I was wearing my hippy dress and I like my hippy dress. I got it at the flea market for $20. I hate buying expensive clothes, so I go to the flea market and get everything there for cheap. Whatever.

TIFFANY DUPONT: I got a question today in another interview, I won’t say with whom, “What’s the most shocking thing about you?” I was like, “What?” Is this for a senior column in the yearbook or something? I didn’t know what to say. I was like, “This is silly, what does it have to do with anything?” It’s really tough because you don’t want to be a jerk and say, “I have no comment on that.” I try to be easy going and polite and not make a big fuss about that stuff.

MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: Most of the actresses whom I’m familiar with, who are my age, we’ve all been doing this since we were kids. None of us have that ‘child actress’ stigma because we weren’t famous as kids, but we’ve been working for that long. The girls that I’m working with on my next movie, Michelle Tractenberg and Lacey Chabert, have been working since they were toddlers. Michelle is really good friends with Scarlett Johansson who also has been working I think since she was five. That’s why [this generation] is able to be successful at 20, they’ve been doing it for 10 years already.

TINA MAJORINO: I feel lucky that I side-stepped those pitfalls [of other child stars]. I think that it had a lot to do with my choices. I’m glad that I didn’t listen to everybody else and that I stuck to my gut feeling about things. It didn’t steer me wrong and I’m very thankful for that. I don’t think that there was ever a moment where I could have gone Corey Feldman.

MEAGAN GOOD: I’ve got a catchy name and it’s actually my real name, not a stage name. I guess it was easier for people to remember me when I was starting out. A lot of the photo shoots I’ve done have headings that will read, “It’s All Good” or “Mm Mm Good”. I guess you could say that my name has [helped me].

JENNIFER HALL: Maybe this is a flaw in my marketing strategy, but I rarely tell people I’m an actress. In this town it’s kind of embarrassing. I went on unemployment a while ago and they make you register on their online database. And you have to go in person. So I went in and I was like, “Look, I’m not going to need this.” They asked me why. And I said, “Well, I’m an actress.” And all the heads turned on me; it was really like in the movies. So the guy at the counter laughs, and said, “Yeah, so are we.” So I said, “But I work as an actress.” He asked me, “So you’ve got your SAG card, your AFTRA card? So do we.” Then he pointed to the computer and I tucked my tail between my legs, and walked over to fill out my registration. I still get recognized a lot for Unscripted and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, but otherwise the only people who know that I’m an actress are the people that need to know.

TIFFANY DUPONT: I did a film a while ago called The Work and the Glory. It was a Mormon film and Mormonism was our conflict. I got a puppy a year ago and I picked her up in Oregon. I had a layover in Salt Lake City. It was a very early flight and the girl ahead of me and her boyfriend kept looking at me. She’d be hugging her boyfriend and would keep looking at me over his shoulder; I was kind of weirded out. Then she finally said, “Are you the girl in The Work and the Glory?” I was like, “Oh my gosh, we’re in Utah!” It totally hit me that we were on a plane full of Mormons, many who had probably seen the movie, and I just thought, “Oh my gosh, my first celebrity sighting.”

NORA ZEHETNER: I used to read a lot of interviews with people who said that seven years was an actor’s lucky number. I heard people say, “After seven years of trying to act I finally got my big movie.” I was like, “I don’t want to wait seven years. I’ll quit before then.” But now I’ve almost been doing it for seven years and I don’t have a super huge hit. I haven’t always made the smartest decisions, and I’ve been lazy at times, but I wouldn’t take back anything. Some people [try to cheer me up by] saying, “Well, it’s a learning experience”, but it’s not really. It’s pretty straightforward to me. I wish I knew a great trick. Do you have any for me? It’s like, “Be good?” “Be charming?” Those aren’t tricks. That’s the thing, there aren’t any tricks.

JENNIFER HALL: I don’t have an assistant; I don’t have a driver or someone who runs errands for me. I have to do all of these things during the day, and then at night I have to go to these parties that celebrities go to, so it’s like I’m living a double life, trying to do everything I need to do as a human being, and then trying to live out this image of, things-are-so-easy-I’ll-go-to-a-party-tonight. I’m sure all actresses who have come into attention have that same battle, but you need a whole support system of people to take care of you, of your daily needs, things you need just to survive as a human being. Setting the appointments, and finding out how to get to the places. It’s a full-time job being an actress.