NEW YORK − Hilary Swank arrives in SoHo on a day almost too warm and sunny for October, fitted in a knit rainbow cardigan. Just 24 hours prior, the news broke that the "Yellowjackets" star is pregnant with her third child at 52.
Amid her pregnancy, health is at the forefront of her mind. But it's already been center stage − not just for herself, but in the work she's doing to help other parents make informed choices regarding their children's health.
While Swank is widely known for her Academy Award-winning roles in "Million Dollar Baby" and "Boys Don't Cry," she's spent the past few years working as an advocate for maternal and children's health. As the chief innovation officer at HeathyBaby, a clean baby care and maternal health brand founded
in 2020, Swank supported the passage of a new California law that requires diaper manufacturers to disclose all the ingredients used directly on the package and online. She wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom urging for his support, and the bill passed in September.
Swank's advocacy resonates with a growing number of parents who are concerned about what's going into their children's food and products, from navigating recalls to fighting artificial additives.
At an event space in SoHo, we sit down in the far corner of the room, light pouring through the windows and a mural of conifers on the opposing wall. The lush green trees remind Swank of her own backyard in the Pacific Northwest, where she grew up. She moved to Los Angeles at 16, but eventually found her way back to her home state of Washington. It's the perfect segue into our conversation on natural ingredients, healthier choices and choosing parental empowerment over fear.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
QUESTION: Do you feel like your connection to nature guides your advocacy work and wanting the products you use on your children to be as natural as possible?
Answer: For sure. First of all, I think it's really important that whatever we're making, building or creating, we're being kind to the earth at the same time. I don't think people understand the impact that creating things (has) on our Earth. We just think of how they impact our bodies, but they also do impact our Earth greatly. And so, if we can find companies that are being responsible in that way as well, it's super important to me. Growing up in that makes nature like a family member to me. I love Mother Earth and I want to do all I can to protect it.
While pregnant with your twins, you were learning that sometimes products that are marked as safe to be used on kids aren't always necessarily safe. How did that realization (happen) − was it a series of moments just looking at different products, or did anything really hit you?
It's a great question because, first of all, they might not even be marked as healthy. And sometimes, yes, they are marked as healthy and they're not healthy. There's a word for it now − "greenwashing." You say it's clean, but when you dive deeper, it's not really. That's what led me to the Environmental Working Group. They're the golden standard for me. If they approve it, it means that everything in it is healthy, and they break down what would not be healthy about it so you can make a choice. [...] People need to be informed about what they're putting in their body. Naturally, you see something on a shelf and think it's passed rigorous testing. So we all buy it and think, 'It wouldn't be there if it wasn't OK for us.' But that's just not the case. [...] Children from 0 to 3, developmentally they're so sensitive, way more than we are. We have all these issues later in life and we don't know what caused them, but it stems from the very beginning. So when you learn about this, you can't un-know it. I started doing this deep dive, and that's what made me realize, if I want to become pregnant and live a long life, there's choices that I need to make for myself. And if (companies) are not transparent on these bottles, I'm not going to be able to make a choice. I'm still learning so much, I'm learning all the time... It's never too late to make change.
Going through pregnancy again, how has that influenced or reshaped your relationship with your advocacy work and your work with HealthyBaby?
From the beginning with my twins, I was absolutely horrified at what ingredients were allowed to be out there. It's not just for my children, it's for everybody to learn what I've learned and using my platform in a responsible way to be able to share this information so that mothers, caregivers can make the choice. It's about making a choice that's right for us. If you don't know, then you're just in the dark. So once people learn they can make their own choices. That's what I want for everybody.
How has becoming a mother later in life influenced your relationship to your own wellness?
I've always been really health conscious and health-forward with what I eat. I see food as energy, like fuel for a machine. I just try and be healthy. Don't get me wrong, I do unhealthy things. I eat unhealthy things. But I just don't do it to the point where it's excessive on either side. I just try to live a balanced life, and I know that's what everybody says, but that's really important.
There's a lot of fear around what parents are feeding their kids. I've reported on and talked to many moms who are worried about food safety and all the different additives, ingredients or products their kids are exposed to. How can parents turn that fear into empowerment?
Our bodies are resilient... (and) it's not too late. People can start detoxing, if you really look at everything that's really going in your body and on your body. [...] It's just continued due diligence. You can't really let up because right now there's not a lot of laws in place for some of these things that are being sold as ingredients (that are) toxic to your body. So you just have to do your own homework.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hilary Swank is pregnant at 52. She has a message for parents
