AnnaLynne McCord Acts On Her Morals
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 Two of Four.
ES: You’re such a busy actress, yet you seem to be constantly flying off to get involved with environmental and humanitarian causes. What drives you to such action? Why is it so important to you to get involved?
AM: It can be summed up in maybe one sentence: My time is fleeting. I realize how important our voices are here in the entertainment industry and how much power we have, but we only have it for a short period of time. I’ve wanted to be an actress since I was nine years old. And what ended up happening was the more successful I became, the more I didn’t want anything to do with this town. I just didn’t fit in here.
It’s a very egocentric, me-me-me kind of world, and I just wasn’t raised like that. I grew up with no money, and what money we had we would go buy peanut butter and jelly and make sandwiches and give them to the homeless people in Atlanta on the weekends.
That was the world that I lived in. I wasn’t a part of insane amounts of wealth being turned over and the wealthy get wealthier and the poorer get poorer. I just didn’t fit in. I love to act, but everything else that comes with it is not who I am. I’m a minimalist. I try to live under the radar and it’s not the world out here. I just wasn’t prepared for it. That was when I was offered [“90210”] and I didn’t want to do it, I just wanted to leave L.A. Then something clicked.
I told you that I became aware of the issue of sex trafficking when I was 17. That was from an acting partner of mine in New York and she is incredibly involved in the fight against human trafficking. And I called her and told her, “I don’t know what to do. I’m successful and it’s great, but I’m not happy. Nothing makes sense. I don’t know why I wanted this.”
And she said, “You have an incredible voice. Let’s do something.” So that’s how I got involved. It was really kind of out of desperation to find a reason for why I’m here. Everyone’s looking for their purpose in life but I just wanted to know—I mean, a nine-year-old doesn’t know why she makes the choices she makes—but I just wanted to know why I was here.
ES: Do you think that now acting is almost a means to an end in terms of supporting causes you believe in?
AM: I kind of do. Every movie I do, every interview, every magazine shoot, my voice reaches a few more people, I can tell them a little bit more about the issues. If it wasn’t for the causes that I care so much about I wouldn’t still be working. I might still be acting, I might be doing theater or teaching somewhere in Thailand or doing something where I can be more hands on, but I would not be in the Hollywood scene. That’s for sure.
Want more? Our exclusive interview with AnnaLynne McCord covers causes, morals, responsibilities and sins. Check back here next week!
