AnnaLynne McCord: Cause Oriented
All photos of AnnaLynne McCord: The Fashion Journal.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. That old adage is proven true yet again by AnnaLynne McCord, who made her mark as the scandalous Eden Lord on “Nip/Tuck,” currently stars as the social-climbing Naomi Clark on “90210,” and typically works the paparazzi with pouty-lipped poses gleaned from a teenage career as a Wilhelmina model.
But for a woman who made her mark as a relentlessly sexy symbol, AnnaLynne’s off-screen activities are surprising: She’s most passionate about human rights, devoting countless hours and boundless energy speaking out about organizations like The Somaly Mam Foundation, which is dedicated to building awareness and ending the global sex trafficking of women and children, and the St. Bernard Project, a nonprofit community-based organization which creates housing opportunities for Hurricane Katrina survivors. We spoke with AnnaLynne from her home in Los Angeles. Part One of Four.
EcoStiletto: Tell us about your current work with The Somaly Mam Foundation in Cambodia. Why is it important to you?
AnnaLynne McCord: There are so many different issues—the environment, animal rights—but this is particularly atrocious. I was 17 years old and living in New York City when I was first introduced to the idea of these human rights violations.
It’s a taboo subject. It’s something that upsets people and they don’t want to hear it—they just want to think that it’s on the other side of the world. So that was something that stood out to me. Because I thought that someone needs to talk about this. Someone needs to bring awareness to this issue.
Let me give you some background. Somaly Mam was trafficked at 12 years old. She was forced to work in the brothels for about a decade until she finally got out. She’s gone on to save over 6,000 girls.
This is a rescue, rehabilitation and re-education program. It’s doesn’t just go and rescue girls from brothels, they actually are brought into a shelter and receive counseling, they’re counseled on how to join the work force and integrate into society.
It’s a completely rounded full-circle rehabilitation process and that obviously takes a lot of money to fund. There are an estimated two to four million girls who are trafficked every year globally. It’s such a process to get them out of that and to give them three to five years of rehabilitation. But it’s an incredible program.
ES: We first met you at a St. Bernard event at Tesla, where you were highlighting their work to use reclaimed materials to rebuild houses in New Orleans. Was their focus on sustainability a part of your decision to get involved?
AM: The reason I got involved with them is also very personal. I had never been to New Orleans. I went down about two years after the storm, to the lower Ninth Ward, and I saw those areas that were affected by the storm. I was thinking that I would see rebuilding, but I was speechless about how much devastation still existed two years after the storm. And now, five years later, there are 6,000 displaced persons—there’s still so much work to be done.
I just felt so ignorant. I felt like here’s this city in the United States of America, I’m an American citizen, and because CNN is talking about Tiger Woods’ infidelity no one know about the work that’s left to be done. And they really still need the support. I’m only one person but I just wanted to say we remember, I remember, I’m sorry that I forgot and I’ll do everything that I can to raise the awareness.
Want more? Our exclusive interview with AnnaLynne McCord covers causes, morals, responsibilities and sins. Check back here next week!
