PHOTOGRAPHY��CAMERA�PRESS
After a tumultuous six years in the spotlight, Sienna Miller tells
Stylist why she’s seeking calm and stability in 2010
omen have a terrible
habit of measuring
themselves against
W each other. Everything
from career success
to the advancement of crow’s feet
is scrutinised and sized up. It gets
particularly ugly when you’re
exactly the same age. And almost
unbearable when the person you’re
playing the comparison game with
is Sienna Miller, A-list actress and
arguably one of the most beautiful
women in the world. Yes, against
those kind of stats, you’re fighting
a losing battle.
In person, Miller really is strikingly
beautiful. She’s also miniature in
the way only a celebrity can be.
Stylist meets her at the townhouse
in London’s Mayfair where she’s
shooting a new ad campaign as the
face of BOSS Orange fragrance
collection. Her golden tan is courtesy
of a recent holiday to Barbados, which
she admits is the first planned break
she’s taken in years.
“I’m against planning. It’s not in
my nature,” she tells us. “But [I want]
to try to be a little more organised;
it gives you something to look forward
to if you commit to things. I’ve never
been very good at committing.”
It’s evident the holiday has done
its job. She’s chatty, friendly and
polite; pretty surprising considering
she’s as infamous for her mistrust of
the press as she is for her boho
wardrobe. Ever since her engagement
to Jude Law in 2004 catapulted the
then 23-year-old acting graduate into
the limelight, the press have dealt
Sienna some pretty harsh headlines.
NO�PLACE�LIKE�HOME
Despite feeling refreshed, Miller’s
glad to be home. Not surprising as
it’s five months since she’s been
here, having been in New York
playing the title role in After Miss
Julie with Jonny Lee Miller on
Broadway. She admits it’s been
a highlight, “It was a dream come
true to star on Broadway. It sounds
annoying but I really am proud.”
But for now she’s happy to be
kick-starting 2010 in London. “Being
home and being domestic makes me
happy right now because I’ve been
travelling so much with work and living
WORDS: ALIX WALKER PHOTOGRAPHY: PEROU
in different places, and while I love that
side of my life, to have the balance of
being grounded makes me feel content.”
So what does Miller do when she
gets home from holiday? Pick up a
loaf of Hovis or head to Nobu for
supper? “As soon as I got back I went
to pick up my dog, Bess, who’d been
staying with a friend. Then I took some
friends’ kids sledging on Hampstead
Heath and I nearly killed myself! Then
I went home and cooked a roast
chicken. But it’s weird because nothing
changes when you’re away.”
After a heady few years, it seems
Miller is ready for some stability in her
life. More commonly branded in the
press as a party girl and fashionista, is
Sienna ready to swap late nights and
dirty martinis for domesticity?
“I’ve always had a side of me that
can be quite nurturing. I love cooking
and looking after my garden and I’ve
got a dog who I dote on. But then
I have a more adventurous side…”
She insists those designer threads
are as happy in the kitchen as they
are at Bungalow 8. “I never really get it
together to organise a dinner party, but
I do cook for friends a lot impromptu.
I’ve got a cottage in the country so
I have friends up for the weekend and
we all cook. We love things roasted,
Italian peasant food like hearty soups
and pasta. I do good meatballs too.”
Meatballs aside its acting skills that
made Miller famous, but those
headlines have always managed to
detract from her performances. After a
promising start in Layer Cake followed
by the role that brought her to Jude’s
attention in Alfie, she’s taken on
complicated characters like Edie
Sedgwick in Factory Girl and alongside
Keira Knightley in The Edge Of Love.
But somehow, her own life has always
held more interest. Is she devoting all
her focus to acting this year?
“Not necessarily. I think I’m going to
travel at some point – proper pikey-
style with a backpack and three-quid-anight
hostels. It’s a good thing to do at
this point in my life.” We’re not sure how
a group of teens on their gap year will
react when they turn up to find Miller in
their dorm but she doesn’t seem too
concerned. Right now, she’s looking at
getting her work-life balance licked.
“You get to a point where you’re
living to work, not working to live. I
want to try to enjoy the benefits of
what I’ve worked so hard to achieve.”
COMING�FULL�CIRCLE
Sienna admits she’s desperate to get
her teeth into the kind of character
that really inspires her. “Zelda
Fitzgerald would be interesting to
play. She’s kind of a destructive person,
who I tend to be drawn to; people who
are slightly falling apart for some
reason. Having said that I think I’d love
to do a comedy, something not so
emotionally draining.”
There it is again, the hint that Miller
is ready to introduce some calm into
her life. After a whirlwind six years it
seems she is beginning to come full
circle. “I need to feel grounded. Having
the same group of friends I’ve had
since I was very young is important to
me. They’re all girls I went to school
with who never judge me. They all have
“I need to feel grounded. I have the
same group of friends I’ve had
since I was very young”
different jobs – one’s a teacher, another
works for an interior design company,
They’re all starting to get married and
have kids though – it’s quite scary.”
As for the future, Miller is working
hard to use her past experiences to
her advantage. She may have come
out of the last six years a little more
guarded, but her overriding message
is positive. “I try not to look back
with regrets; there’s a lesson in
everything so you have to embrace
it. I worry less than I used to and
that’s a relief. I think I was quite
consumed by it and felt I had to
do everything all the time. I’m
a little easier on myself now.”
SIENNA MILLER
SIENNA’S�
FAVOURITE�
THINGS�
X “I love Crème da la Mer. I
don’t even know if it’s good,
it just feels like it is because
it’s so expensive! And I got given
some lovely Rodin Olio Lusso
products. They have a jasmine
face oil that makes me feel all
glowy. I’m into bronzing too as it
makes me feel healthy. Nars
Laguna is my favourite.”
X “I enjoy going for a curry on
Brick Lane and wandering
around Spitalfields market,
I miss that when I’m away.”
X “As soon as I’m home I love
going for walks in Regent’s Park
with Bess, my dog. I loved being
in New York, it’s so electric out
there, and I’d like to get a place
there one day but I love the
English countryside too much to
live there permanently.”
X “I always feel people think I’m
lying when I say that I genuinely
like cooking and gardening, but
I do. I love getting out there and
digging. I’ve got a rose garden
which is looking very pretty.
I think because of the nature
of my work, I really cling to those
domestic, grounding things.”
X “The smell of gardenias really
remind me of being young. My
mother always smelled of
gardenia essential oil. I had a
handkerchief with her smell on it
when I was at boarding school
and when I was homesick I used
to smell it and sob. It’s amazing
how, when someone has a
distinctive smell, it completely
stays with you forever.”
Sienna Miller is the face of BOSS
Orange fragrance collection.
The limited edition ‘Celebration
of Happiness’ is available
nationwide from 17 Feb (from £26
for 30ml Eau de Toilette). It also
comes as a solid fragrance
(£20) which is available av
in select De Debenham
Debenhams
stores from fr from 15 Feb 2010
BOSS ORANGE CELEBRATION
OF HAPPINESS: ONE OF
SIENNA’S FAVOURITE THINGS
WWW�STYLIST�CO�UK����
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