I feel better than I did in my 20's. / Big Air Studios
The granddaughter of literary icon Ernest Hemingway, who killed himself in 1961, Mariel Hemingway has been an advocate for the prevention of suicide for many years. Her newest project is, fittingly for the actress-mom, Archie’s Final Project, a film about teen suicide. We asked Hemingway, who turns 50 on Tuesday, about the movie, out on DVD next month:
Why a movie about suicide?
“I come from a family of seven suicides, possibly more, so it’s an important issue for me. Mental health and health and wellness are huge issues in my life. Archie’s Final Project speaks to the heart about kids’ unspoken fears.”
What about you? Have you ever contemplated suicide?
“I have suffered from depression. My sister (Margaux) committed suicide and my elder sister (Joan) has suffered from suicidal tendencies. During that time, when it was really hard, I did consider suicide.”
Has age helped?
“What’s great about getting older is that you have experience. That’s why suicide is so frightening for teenagers. They can’t say, ‘Wait a minute. I’ve been through this before. How am I going to deal with it this time?’”
Describe your lifestyle these days.
“We eat organic. We grow our own food. We have our own chickens, and we’re getting a cow. We lead a simple and natural life. But you don’t have to be extreme as we are. If you want to change the way you eat, change your breakfast. Just change one thing.”
What motivated you to lead such a healthy life?
“I didn’t want to get sick like my family did or scared or suicidal or get cancer like my mother did. She was very sick for a lot of my childhood, and I was her primary caregiver. My sisters were a lot older. One was in a lot of trouble, and the other partied and drank. My dynamic was: ‘I’ll take care of everybody, and everybody is going to love me.’ I was always running from crazy. I’m no longer afraid of that, and that’s a powerful statement for someone who spent her life in fear.”
Why did you dial down your acting career in order to raise your daughters?
“If you’re super-successful you can probably do both. I would have liked to do more great films, but I don’t regret stepping back. I learned a lot about myself. I wrote three books, and I have a website, thewillingway.com.”
Dree is now a model, and Langley an actress. What advice did you give them?
“I’m a stickler for manners, so I said, ‘You guys have to be polite. You’re no more special than anybody else.’”
When and how did you stop buying into Hollywood's idea of what a woman should look like?
“It happened over time. I just pulled away. I live in L.A. but in an area that looks like Idaho. I don’t watch a lot of TV, and I don’t stay on top of what everybody is doing. It’s for my own protection. I used to be much more driven, but now I’ve become more childlike and easy-going.”
Do you regret getting breast implants? And what would you advise your daughters to do?
“I got them when I was 19 and had them removed in my 30s because they made me sick. I come from a family of flat-chested girls, and I wanted to be more feminine. I thought it was cool for about a year and was pretty forthright about showing them to people I didn’t know that well. They weren’t ginormous, thank goodness. My daughters would never get them. They like being small.”
You played an athlete in Personal Best. What kind of exercise program do you follow?
“I do yoga every day, and I use kettle bells. You swing them. I was so flexible, but I needed to get strong. We have a trampoline in the backyard. We have track-lines and rings and parallel bars. I’ll spend an hour or two exercising. On weekends we climb rocks and paddleboard.”
What are the benefits of having the last name Hemingway?
“It’s really great for getting a restaurant reservation. Joking aside, I’m proud of my heritage. In fact, I’m turning a book of my grandfather’s, A Moveable Feast, into a film.”
What have been the liabilities?
“My older daughter took the Hemingway name. I said to her, ‘That’s great, but it also can be hard.’ People think you’re extremely wealthy. They make assumptions about who you are based on your name.”
Did you inherit any traits from your grandfather?
“A great love for the outdoors, for food, for living life, the sensuality of life.”
Interest in your grandfather seems stronger than ever. Why do you think that's so?
“Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris was a great film. I thought it was hilarious. My grandfather was a little over the top. He was speaking in quotes from his books.”
What's the best and worst thing about turning 50?
“I don’t think I look 50. I certainly don’t act it. And I don’t feel it. I feel better than I did in my 20s. Would I love my skin to be exactly the way it was in my 20s? Yeah!”
POWERED BY USA WEEKEND Magazine & more than 
