Love is complex. We can debate whether it is chemistry, emotion or an act of will, but we can probably all agree it is an underpinning of our lives and the critical ingredient for growing our families. And the label “family” is a generous one, relying on our hearts to determine its application. No one understands this notion better than this month’s cover story Maria Bello.
Equal parts activist and actor, Bello was an easy choice for our second annual FAMILY issue. I spent a few days with her in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake on a learning trip with women activists from the Women Donors Network and Bello’s organization WeAdvance. She was refreshing, authentic and committed to work on the ground in the devastated country. Years later, I was captivated by her honest essay printed in The New York Times (Nov. 29, 2013). She wrote about falling in love with a woman who was her best friend, accepting those feelings of attachment and partnership and understanding the real meaning behind a modern family. “Maybe, in the end, a modern family is just a more honest family,” she wrote.
In between her schedule of speaking engagements for her book Whatever…Love Is Love, where she further shares her journey of discovery about partnership, love and family in an unconventional life situation, Bello met our team in Los Angeles. Photographer Francesco Gastel (the nephew of famed fashion photographer Giovanni Gastel) hosted the photo shoot at his home, once the former residence of musician Stevie Nicks and 1920s silent film star Vilma Banky. Lesley McKenzie captures Bello in “Eyes Wide Open,” available in its entirety here.
