Elizabeth Rohm
SHE’S A HUSTLER, BABY.
KNOWN FOR PLAYING TWO OF TV’S BEST KNOWN FEMALE CRIME FIGHTERS – A.D.A. SERENA SOUTHERLYN ON LAW & ORDER AND DETECTIVE KATE LOCKLEY ON ANGEL – ELISABETH RÖHM IS NOW FLEXING HER BIG SCREEN ACTING MUSCLES AS DOLLY IN THE AWARD-WINNING AMERICAN HUSTLE. THE ACTOR OPENS UP TO VIVA ABOUT MEDITATION, HEALTHY LIVING AND MANAGING HER OWN LIFE’S HUSTLE.
Actor Elisabeth Röhm is the first to admit that she was raised in an unconventional atmosphere. Born in Dusseldorf, Germany, Röhm moved with her Americanborn parents to New York City before her first birthday. An equestrian enthusiast, Röhm began competing at the age of five along with some friends. Although this may not sound too unorthodox, Röhm swears: “I was raised really unconventionally. Both my parents had European backgrounds and became meditators and yogis, which is how they met. That is where I get my spiritual background and strong mind/body connection.”
MAKE EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE COUNT
“I’m not a gym rat at all,” says the 40-year-old actor who now resides in a Los Angeles beachside community with daughter Easton, 5, and fiancé/entrepreneur, Ron Wooster. “First of all, I don’t have much extra time, so my exercise has to be a mind/ body experience so I’m multi-tasking. I primarily do yoga. It’s the one time when I feel no guilt in having time for myself.” Recognizing the correlation between fitness and general wellbeing, Röhm says that yoga gives her peace in addition to getting fit so it’s a “double whammy.”
The breathing part of exercise and movement is so important to Röhm. “I get much more out of doing yoga, or taking a walk or bike ride than I do out of lifting weights.” Her mother’s teachings have given Röhm a strong background in transcendental meditation, proper breathing and meditative techniques. Although Röhm is as strapped for time as any working mom, she makes time for 20 minutes of transcendental meditation every single day. “I think when things get chaotic in my life – and especially in the business I’m in – if you don’t know how to get back to a place of quiet, you end up internalizing or reacting to every single thing too much and it can get painful,” says Röhm.
EXPECT NOTHING
By the age of six, Röhm was given a mantra by her mother who instilled the appreciation of quietness and giving gratitude in life. With a hectic pace balancing publicity for her stand out performance in David O. Russell’s American Hustle and being a hands-on mother, Röhm says she has cultivated a few techniques to ensure focus and calm in her life. “I think gratitude is a big part of staying focused and relaxed. As somebody I admire once said: Expect nothing; be grateful for everything. My mother always said to put one foot in front of the other. Right now, that’s what I’m doing and that’s a trick because you have to be organized for that to happen. Having and showing gratitude in life helps me immensely.”
HER WEAK NUTRITIONAL LINK
Röhm lost both her mom and maternal aunt to heart disease stemming from obesity issues several years ago, which has only heightened health awareness in herself. “My mother’s pass-ing was a life altering and devastating experience for me,” says Röhm. However, her family history has opened her eyes to her own health risks and inspired her to take a proactive role in getting healthy and maintaining a wholesome lifestyle to ensure her own longevity. “I think if anybody knows what it’s like to experience the unexpected, it would be someone who lost another tragically to an early death,” says Röhm.
On her path toward good health, Röhm has discovered a host of heart-healthy foods, making her more diligent about what is put on her family’s plates. Nutritional staples include: lots of fresh fruits for smoothies every morning, almond and soy milk, quick salad fixings and cheese. “Easton and I eat a lot of cheese – I’m definitely a European, so cheese would be impossible for me to eliminate,” says Röhm, who shuns the scale. “Cheese is definitely my weakest link.”
Röhm’s fiancé doesn’t share in her cheese fetish. In fact, he’s a vegan. His influence has rubbed off on Röhm and she’s adopted a primarily vegetarian way of eating – except the cheese, of course. “There are always beans in the house, hummus, legumes, bananas, berries, peaches, yogurt, eggs and things like that,” says Röhm. The actor also supplements with spirulina and a ginger/ lemon/cayenne drink every morning. “I take my ginger shot to clean the pipes and eliminate any intestinal inflammation, and I take spirulina for energy.”
In addition to spirulina, Röhm says there is nothing wrong with a good cup of espresso to rejuvenate your body. However, lately she has taken to cold-pressed juices for the same jolting results. “The juices are alive and fresh and give me the same energy as a cup of coffee without hurting the body,” says Röhm. “If I can have some beet juice or green juice when I feel dehydrated or tired midday, that’s just so much more productive for me.” In spite of all her good habits, Röhm knows it isn’t always easy to avoid high-calorie foods, especially when raising a child. “Easton and I love grilled cheese sandwiches or macaroni and cheese so the biggest battle is trying to keep a healthy lifestyle, while not policing foods when there are kids around.”
HUSTLE FOR THE MAGIC
Portraying Dolly, the wife of Jeremy Renner’s New Jersey mayor in American Hustle, has pushed Elisabeth onto Hollywood’s list of sought after actors. So what’s been her own life’s hustle? “Like the film says, some people hustle for survival, some for love – I agree, but would add some people hustle for hope. I think the hustle is to stay incredibly positive in today’s world and see the beauty and kindness that people show each other. See the miracles every day. If we stop believing in the magic of it all, what a shame that would be. I think hustling is a cultivation of that magic. You have to hustle for the magic.” VM
