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The Epitome of Sophistication and Style

It’s the second week of June and Kelly Rutherford just finished celebrating her daughter’s first birthday. She’s been enjoying having the time off from her role as Lily Van Der Woodsen on Gossip Girl until July 1, when filming is due to resume. This is the time her “Earth Mom” side comes out, as she puts it – when she can relax, slip into comfortable clothes and enjoy the LA weather (she is bi-coastal, with a bungalow-style home in California and an apartment on New York City’s Upper East Side).

Her daughter, Helena, is quite chatty in the background, and while she clearly wants to answer questions during this interview, “She’s only 1,” Rutherford says, laughing, “so that might not work…”

Right now, Rutherford is basking in the wonder and joy of being a mother of two (in addition to Helena, she has a 3 ½-year-old son, Hermes), all the while remaining the stylish woman that she is. There’s an innate elegance to Rutherford. She speaks with a warm, gentle manner that invites you to let down your guard and simply relax.

Bi-coastal life comes naturally to Rutherford; she was raised in LA and New York. Her mother encouraged her to take an acting class in New York the summer after her high school graduation and Rutherford quickly realized that the craft was her calling. “I thought I would try it, take the summer to see if I liked it, and that was, you know, 20-something years ago.” After the class ended, she moved to LA to begin her film and television career.

With various projects, including Generations, Homefront and the widely popular Melrose Place, Rutherford has had a career of steady work. Most fans currently know her best as Lily van der Woodsen, a role she plays to perfection on the hugely popular (and dramatically scandalous) CW show Gossip Girl.

{joomplu:1526}When Rutherford is filming, she resides in her Upper East Side apartment, living in the world of the character she plays. However, she says, “Gossip Girl is a whole other alternate world; it is the Upper East Side, but it has its own reality.”

Despite the dramatic alternate reality of GG, the cast members themselves are extremely friendly and low-key. “Everyone is friends, which is great. A lot of them are dating,” she adds, “so it’s a really close group; the makeup and hair [people], producers … everyone is really close on the show, and everyone is really good, so I think that really creates the mood for us as actors to be more creative and want to do our best, with the freedom to do the best work we can do.”

As she plays a mother on the show, Rutherford finds she can relate more to her character now that she has children of her own (though obviously her children on the show are older). She pulls different elements from her own experience growing up (Rutherford and her GG daughter, played by Blake Lively, share the same age difference as Rutherford and her own mother) and describes Lily as “a mix between the women that I knew growing up and the women that I love as moms, my own mother and my own experience as a mom.”

The show is not only known for its scandal and intrigue, but also its amazing fashion. Rutherford is thrilled to be working in an environment where fashion is such a crucial element in the show. “I feel like my sense has finally been able to be expressed truly because I’ve always loved fashion,” she says. “It’s so great to have a show where that element of what we all love can be expressed, the element of style. The team pulls together the coolest things for us to choose from and we put it together and we’ve grown as we’ve gone on each season into finding our own style.”

{joomplu:1525}As for Rutherford’s personal style, it tends to vary depending on her mood. If she’s tired, she’ll put on something colorful; if she feels like hiding a bit, she sticks to neutral grays or browns. When she’s in LA, she’s much more casual, while New York gives her an opportunity to branch out. “I’d say my style is pretty casual with hopefully some element of chic to it!” she says. As for a favorite store or brand, it’s hard for her to pick, with favorites ranging from Target to Bergdorf Goodman. She loves to accessorize with the high-end (Hermes bags and Lanvin flats), but her staples consist of mainly J. Crew and J Brand “Things that start with J,” she laughs. She does admit, however, that most of the shopping she does these days is for her children.

Being a working mom has been an easy transition for Rutherford, who grew up with a working mother. “It’s normal to me,” she says. “My mother set such a good example because I always felt so loved. I’ve taken long stretches of time off when my son was born, and when Gossip Girl came along, it’s been such a great schedule. I have four months off a year, plus I don’t work every day, which is really great in terms of motherhood; it’s a blessing I get to do this wonderful creative work when I go to the set and then I get to come home and cuddle with my little ones.”

Another element that comes from being a mother is that of becoming more grounded. “I had a woman come up to me at the market and she said, ‘You’re not even wearing nail polish!’ I’m walking around with drool on me, I’ve got everything the children have eaten all day on my shirt, and no, I haven’t had time for a mani-pedi this week,” she says, laughing.

During that spare time she has with her children, Rutherford loves to sit and cuddle, work on art projects, go for bike rides or to the park for a picnic. She is reveling in her children’s ability to explore the world around them and loves following their lead. “I learn a lot from my children about the world and how we come in excited and full of energy and all about discovery and playing. That’s what’s great about GG. You see the parents still discovering things about themselves and their kids, and they’re still figuring it out. And that’s what being a parent is – it’s so spontaneous,” she says.

{joomplu:1528}Along with reliving the excitement of childhood, Rutherford has found herself reprioritizing and seeing some elements of her personality softening even more. “I’ve had to become more patient and more present and I think there’s a different kind of love that you get with your children than you’ve experienced before, unconditional, beautiful love. I see the world and people in general through more compassionate eyes and I have more fun. I’m much lighter as a person. With kids, you have to be goofy!”

So these days Kelly Rutherford is perfectly content in her life and career. “I think right now I’m probably feeling the most balance in my life, which is a huge success in itself. There have been moments where I’ve been doing certain shows where I felt it was a really wonderful and successful time but I don’t think I had the same balance in my personal life. I’d have to say right now is the standout time.” And while she has dreams to one day write and produce, to someday play the role of Gloria Steinem, to create eco-friendly play centers for children, she’s enjoying her current journey, and doing so with her signature elements of grace and class.