NEWS
Kristen Bell: 'It’s important for [Dax and me] to show that everyone is human'
23 August 2021
Strong-willed, feisty, funny, brave, hopeful, clumsy and awkward are all words that might describe Anna, the lovably idiosyncratic character in Disney’s 2013 hit Frozen. They’re also apt descriptors for Kristen Bell, the actress who voices her. “She wasn’t originally written like that,” says Bell, 41. “It was a deliberate choice because I, as an 11-year-old girl watching Disney movies, had never seen anyone like me who had bad posture and tripped a lot and didn’t say the perfect thing. I wanted to make something for all the quirky little girls.”
In the popular series My Monday Morning, self-motivated people tell WSJ. how they start off the week. This week it was Kristen Bell turn.
With her role in the beloved early-aughts teen drama Veronica Mars, she also spoke to the outcast. “I have a really soft spot for the underdog, as does she, and I can also be pretty stubborn and sassy,” Bell says. “I relate to her the most. But I’m also bubbly and annoying, so I’m probably a hybrid of Veronica Mars and Anna.” Bell’s dance card remains consistently full: Recently, she’s starred in the Netflix dark-comedy series The Woman in the House; the movie Queenpins, a comedic take on the true story of the largest counterfeit coupon scam; a reprisal of her role as the snarky “you know you love her” narrator of Upper East Side antics on HBO Max’s reboot of Gossip Girl; and a game show alongside her husband, Dax Shepard, called Family Game Fight!, where they aren’t just hosting but also competing. The public has an unusual lens into the marriage of Bell and Shepard, committed as they are to offering a level of radical transparency into their personal ups and downs via social media. Bell has been open about her bouts with anxiety and depression, Shepard’s drug relapse last summer following a motorcycle accident and their reliance on regular stints in couples therapy. That same extreme openness has helped Bell as she continues to branch out beyond acting. She co-wrote the children’s book The World Needs More Purple People, a bestseller that encourages unity and empathy during divisive times; co-founded This Saves Lives, a snack food company aimed at addressing global childhood malnutrition; co-founded, with her husband, Hello Bello, a line of diapers and baby products; and most recently launched Happy Dance, a CBD bath and skin-care brand.
Bell on her new podcast We Are Supported By, an interview show she hosts with Monica Padman, produced by the same people behind Shepard’s popular Armchair Expert series:
“Talking to your heroes on a more casual level, not really about their accomplishments but just finding out who they are, there’s really nothing like it,” she says. “When we were done recording with former U.S. ambassador Samantha Power, I cried. I never imagined I’d be able to have a conversation like that with a true idol of mine.”
Bell on all that extra time with husband, Dax, and their 6- and 8-year-old daughters during the pandemic:
Oh, Lord. I’ve certainly gotten to know them more than I ever thought I would, mainly because I’m the receptacle for every opinion or piece of verbal diarrhea that comes into their brain[s]. It really forced us in the corner that parenting books teach about…how only boring people get bored, and when your child is bored, it’s actually a sign that their brain is about to make new neural pathways, because they can become creative if they can lift themselves out of boredom.
Bell on her Instagram, which has garnered appreciation from the public for the seemingly unfiltered lens on her family life:
It’s important for [Dax and me] to show that everyone is human. Seeing people’s curated lives on social media can lead to a lot of shame, and shame is an incredibly dangerous feeling. So we like to talk about our struggles and be honest about our lives in hopes of combating that impossible ideal of perfection
Bell on the amount of sleep she needs:
If I had my druthers I would get nine hours of sleep at night. I am definitely a sleeper. I can function on seven. I can’t get less than that, and I rarely do. I usually go to bed around 11 and I’m up between 7 and 8. My whole day suffers if I’m not prioritizing that sleep. It’s non-negotiable for me.
On whether she has trouble falling asleep:
No, in fact I’ve actually googled the symptoms of a hypersomniac, which is the opposite of an insomniac. It’s not narcolepsy where you’d fall asleep during the day, but certainly when your head hits the pillow, you’re out.
Bell on the first thing she does when waking up in the morning:
I slide, or rather drip, into the kitchen, making no eye contact whatsoever with anyone for fear of someone talking to me, and I quietly make a matcha. I sincerely have had to sit my whole family down and say one of my character defects is that I can’t talk before 9 a.m., because I will either be irritable or it’s going to be jibber-jabber. Thankfully, my family knows and respects that.
Bell on the importance of exercise in her daily routine:
I could not survive without it. And it has nothing to do with the shape of my body. It’s 100 percent mental for me. If I don’t feel a sweat or have 45 minutes—or even 20—to focus on my muscles, I will go crazy. I do an exercise class in L.A. called Studio Metamorphosis, which I’m obsessed with. It’s on a specialized Pilates reformer that has a lot more weight. It’s a cross between CrossFit and Pilates, and I do it four or five times a week. And then I stretch a lot.
Bell on meditating:
My husband and I used to be very disciplined about doing TM [Transcendental Meditation], but kids threw a little bit of a wrench in that. I still try to do it when I can, but I also find working out very meditative. I have to focus on it, and it relieves my mind from ruminating.
I love a bath. The bath is really the only place I can shut the door in my own home. But even then I sometimes get visitors
Bell on the podcasts she listens to:
I’ve listened to all the popular podcasts, but I don’t have one that I do regularly, not even my husband’s. But that’s also because I get the “Cliffs Notes” of Armchair Expert every night so I’m up to date on everything they’re talking about. My favorite kind of podcasts to listen to are serialized content like S-Town or More Perfect or Radiolab or Root of Evil. I like some murder in my podcasts. Murder and nonfiction.
Bell on her current uniform:
Oh, yeah. I wear almost exclusively a sweatsuit by Pangaia. It’s this very eco-friendly brand that I discovered during Covid, and I just never looked back. I love all their clothing, and I love their mission statement. If it’s warmer, I’ll throw on a T-shirt with the sweatpants instead. But I’m not looking to get out of sweatsuits…ever, maybe. I’ll be the one in the hoodie in business meetings, and I’m not going to apologize for that.
In the popular series My Monday Morning, self-motivated people tell WSJ. how they start off the week. This week it was Kristen Bell turn.
With her role in the beloved early-aughts teen drama Veronica Mars, she also spoke to the outcast. “I have a really soft spot for the underdog, as does she, and I can also be pretty stubborn and sassy,” Bell says. “I relate to her the most. But I’m also bubbly and annoying, so I’m probably a hybrid of Veronica Mars and Anna.” Bell’s dance card remains consistently full: Recently, she’s starred in the Netflix dark-comedy series The Woman in the House; the movie Queenpins, a comedic take on the true story of the largest counterfeit coupon scam; a reprisal of her role as the snarky “you know you love her” narrator of Upper East Side antics on HBO Max’s reboot of Gossip Girl; and a game show alongside her husband, Dax Shepard, called Family Game Fight!, where they aren’t just hosting but also competing. The public has an unusual lens into the marriage of Bell and Shepard, committed as they are to offering a level of radical transparency into their personal ups and downs via social media. Bell has been open about her bouts with anxiety and depression, Shepard’s drug relapse last summer following a motorcycle accident and their reliance on regular stints in couples therapy. That same extreme openness has helped Bell as she continues to branch out beyond acting. She co-wrote the children’s book The World Needs More Purple People, a bestseller that encourages unity and empathy during divisive times; co-founded This Saves Lives, a snack food company aimed at addressing global childhood malnutrition; co-founded, with her husband, Hello Bello, a line of diapers and baby products; and most recently launched Happy Dance, a CBD bath and skin-care brand.
Bell on her new podcast We Are Supported By, an interview show she hosts with Monica Padman, produced by the same people behind Shepard’s popular Armchair Expert series:
“Talking to your heroes on a more casual level, not really about their accomplishments but just finding out who they are, there’s really nothing like it,” she says. “When we were done recording with former U.S. ambassador Samantha Power, I cried. I never imagined I’d be able to have a conversation like that with a true idol of mine.”
Bell on all that extra time with husband, Dax, and their 6- and 8-year-old daughters during the pandemic:
Oh, Lord. I’ve certainly gotten to know them more than I ever thought I would, mainly because I’m the receptacle for every opinion or piece of verbal diarrhea that comes into their brain[s]. It really forced us in the corner that parenting books teach about…how only boring people get bored, and when your child is bored, it’s actually a sign that their brain is about to make new neural pathways, because they can become creative if they can lift themselves out of boredom.
Bell on her Instagram, which has garnered appreciation from the public for the seemingly unfiltered lens on her family life:
It’s important for [Dax and me] to show that everyone is human. Seeing people’s curated lives on social media can lead to a lot of shame, and shame is an incredibly dangerous feeling. So we like to talk about our struggles and be honest about our lives in hopes of combating that impossible ideal of perfection
Bell on the amount of sleep she needs:
If I had my druthers I would get nine hours of sleep at night. I am definitely a sleeper. I can function on seven. I can’t get less than that, and I rarely do. I usually go to bed around 11 and I’m up between 7 and 8. My whole day suffers if I’m not prioritizing that sleep. It’s non-negotiable for me.
On whether she has trouble falling asleep:
No, in fact I’ve actually googled the symptoms of a hypersomniac, which is the opposite of an insomniac. It’s not narcolepsy where you’d fall asleep during the day, but certainly when your head hits the pillow, you’re out.
Bell on the first thing she does when waking up in the morning:
I slide, or rather drip, into the kitchen, making no eye contact whatsoever with anyone for fear of someone talking to me, and I quietly make a matcha. I sincerely have had to sit my whole family down and say one of my character defects is that I can’t talk before 9 a.m., because I will either be irritable or it’s going to be jibber-jabber. Thankfully, my family knows and respects that.
Bell on the importance of exercise in her daily routine:
I could not survive without it. And it has nothing to do with the shape of my body. It’s 100 percent mental for me. If I don’t feel a sweat or have 45 minutes—or even 20—to focus on my muscles, I will go crazy. I do an exercise class in L.A. called Studio Metamorphosis, which I’m obsessed with. It’s on a specialized Pilates reformer that has a lot more weight. It’s a cross between CrossFit and Pilates, and I do it four or five times a week. And then I stretch a lot.
Bell on meditating:
My husband and I used to be very disciplined about doing TM [Transcendental Meditation], but kids threw a little bit of a wrench in that. I still try to do it when I can, but I also find working out very meditative. I have to focus on it, and it relieves my mind from ruminating.
I love a bath. The bath is really the only place I can shut the door in my own home. But even then I sometimes get visitors
Bell on the podcasts she listens to:
I’ve listened to all the popular podcasts, but I don’t have one that I do regularly, not even my husband’s. But that’s also because I get the “Cliffs Notes” of Armchair Expert every night so I’m up to date on everything they’re talking about. My favorite kind of podcasts to listen to are serialized content like S-Town or More Perfect or Radiolab or Root of Evil. I like some murder in my podcasts. Murder and nonfiction.
Bell on her current uniform:
Oh, yeah. I wear almost exclusively a sweatsuit by Pangaia. It’s this very eco-friendly brand that I discovered during Covid, and I just never looked back. I love all their clothing, and I love their mission statement. If it’s warmer, I’ll throw on a T-shirt with the sweatpants instead. But I’m not looking to get out of sweatsuits…ever, maybe. I’ll be the one in the hoodie in business meetings, and I’m not going to apologize for that.
