Judith Light is an acting legend, advocate, Tony and Emmy Award winner and unofficially the busiest person in Hollywood this season (she’ll next star in FX’s American Crime Story: Impeachment, Netflix’s Tick, Tick…Boom! and in Julia on HBO Max). She’s also especially focused on being in the “now” this fall. “We’re so programmed to always look to what’s next, that we forget to just stop and say, ‘Where am I right now?’”
On Self-Care:
I’ve been doing more meditating and yoga this past year. I suppose it’s a coping mechanism with everything that went on. I’m organizing everything, too. My husband and I live between New York and Los Angeles, and I’m doing it in both places. Somehow, the activity of that and going through old things, throwing things out, refreshing in some way—that’s been a great source of support.
On Not Over-Creating:
What is most important for me is that I make sure to not let my mind—and there’s a differential for me between my mind and my intellect—go all over the place. I have to make sure I’m being very disciplined about not over-creating what a circumstance might be or what the future might hold. There is an art to being in the moment, to connecting to one’s being. I haven’t focused on that enough in my life, and I’m doing more of that now.
On Skin Care:
I was the first spokesperson for Proactiv, and I still use it. I always say, “This is actually an anti-aging product,” because it is constantly exfoliating my skin. It’s been remarkable for me. There are also a lot of products from a brand called Saje that are extraordinary. I use a lot of the bath salts and the oils. They have one called Sleep Well ($20) that’s really calming and relaxing.
On Insider Secrets:
I learned a long time ago that you have to take good care of your skin when you’re wearing all this makeup! All of these extraordinary wig, makeup and hair people I’ve worked with over the years are so diligent about making sure you have products that are caring for you. There are a lot of things we use like Plexaderm ($60), which really does take down swelling, and the Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Luxe Hydra-Gel Eye Patches ($75)—a lot of the makeup artists will put them in the refrigerator or the freezer. Of course, there’s the good old Elizabeth Taylor Preparation-H trick that everyone has heard of—it works. When you wear a wig, one of the things we do is apply all different kinds of conditioner on the hair, so when you’re putting your hair under a wig cap, you’re conditioning it all day, too. It is a great trick.
On Ryan Murphy:
There’s no one like him. You can see the way he is with women and the way he values women. And he values women at all ages— particularly women who are more mature, and I include myself in that group. He feels very strongly about the way our society and our culture relates to them. What he does is wonderful.
