Leslie Bibb is sipping freshly made green juice in her New York City apartment on a brisk, yet sunny, morning. Bibb, her German Shepherd, Sadie, and boyfriend Sam Rockwell have all just returned from a leisurely walk in the park. Yet the 5’9” beauty still manages to look the epitome of Hollywood glamour. “I think the quickest way for me to unplug and unwind is to be in nature – go for a hike when I’m in Los Angeles, a walk in New York,” says Bibb, who was raised in Virginia. “Nature can be a city to me because it’s just a different form of it. I’ve been soaking up a lot of creative energy here by going to the theatre often. I find a lot of inspiration and solace in watching great people.”
The 36 year-old actress has good reason for her need to unplug and unwind. She has just returned from shooting a TV pilot in Dallas with Annie Potts, she had recently been in Boston, putting the finishing touches on her upcoming film, The Zookeeper, followed by a five-day Cabo San Lucas vacation with Rockwell where “we slept, drank margaritas and just relaxed – just what the doctor prescribed.” Now, Bibb will star in ABC’s new fall comedy, Good Christian Belles. Her life has been a whirlwind since winning a modelling contest at the age of 16 on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Bibb acknowledges she is the woman she is today because of all that went before her. “My dad died when I was very young from an accident at work, so my mom was a single parent and I was the youngest of four girls. I think living in New York and being on my own at a young age forced me to grow up faster than others.” She came to the attention of TV viewers in the WB show, Popular, playing the beautiful, straight-A student and cheerleader, Brooke McQueen. “I took so much for granted then,” she remembers. “I don’t know if I was filled with as much gratitude as I have now. I have a real appreciation for life and I think the woman I have evolved into has been due to weathering certain storms.”
Bibb is certainly familiar with life – and loss. Besides the early death of her father, the actress married in 2003, only to divorce a year later. Now happily ensconced in her relationship with Rockwell, currently on stage in A Streetcar Named Desire, Leslie says he helps her be her better self. “I sometimes feel people look at me and say, ‘Oh, she’s got an easy life.’ But it’s not! I work my ass off to look the way I do; I work my ass off to make the living I make, and I work my ass off trying to be the best person I can be. You have to ask questions throughout life, she says. “I think curiosity is the key to life. It’s the key to being young; it’s the key to being a great person. As we get older, we lose that and fear somehow takes over. I fight fear daily. Everyday I tell myself to do something that scares me.” Fears don’t always have to take the form of grandiose anxieties or trepidations, as Leslie explains. “Picking up the phone and calling my accountant is a fear,” she laughs. “Bungy jumping in New Zealand was a fear but once I jumped, it was amazing. Okay, I don’t know that I’ll ever overcome my fear of snakes, but once you put a little light on a fear and just do it, it all becomes less scary. Like eating. I love to eat a lot of food. So it’s literally the survival of the fittest because I have to run out the calories I intake. But I’m not afraid to eat, because I know I’ll work it off.”
It’s a testament to Bibb’s discipline and ability to understand the necessities of her life. A former Pilates devotee, Bibb now works out regularly with a trainer on a dance-based routine. “She’s a great trainer and kicks my butt but she has really helped change my body for the better.” Jump rope, hoola hoop, push-ups, sit-ups all take place in a dance studio setting. “I don’t like heavy weights because I like long, lean muscles, but again, I do like to eat.” Not surprisingly, Bibb does not set foot on scales. “If my jeans are too tight then I go by that,” she says. “Scales are a nightmare because if you’re working out and you have really great muscles, you’re going to weigh more. I’ve been skinny fat where everything is flabby – I don’t love that look at all. I like being strong and feeling fit.”
Another step toward that goal was omitting gluten and wheat from her diet two years ago, after suffering decades with a distended belly and bouts of nausea after eating gluten products. Staples in her kitchen today run the gamut from Kombucha tea to fresh, green veggies for her juicing – kale, spinach, cucumbers, green apple, ginger – to eggs and avocados. “I like to cook simple, whole foods,” she says.
Her favorite Saturday morning pastime also helps keep her fit. “Sam and I like to watch old Soul Train shows and sometimes we’ll get up and dance around. I love dancing anyway. You know what? Dancing makes me feel feminine. Just put music on in the house and I’ll dance around.” I mention her conversation is peppered with the mention of Rockwell – “He makes me laugh all the time,” she says. “I always find him – and a sense of humour – sexy.”
There’s a certain youthful exuberance that balances Bibb’s maturity and poise with goofiness and self-described “klutzy-ness.” The mention of being a red carpet veteran brings out a self-deprecating, “I don’t think I have very good style,” yet she looks magnificently elegant at every event. “You know, I don’t even carry makeup around with me,” she says. Instead, she carries something much more important. “I know this might sound corny but I have an excerpt of Nelson Mandala’s 1994 inaugural speech in my wallet all the time,” she says. “It’s about letting your light shine and I read it when I feel my lights dimming. It reminds me to shine bright and to be unapologetic about shining brightly. We should all be our best selves and do that unapologetically.” Her unfettered optimism and enthusiasm intact, Bibb gives a once-over in self reflection. “I feel really good right now; it’s a really good time in my life. I’m grateful, comfortable in my skin and happy.”
