In our world of 24-hour entertainment news, it’s difficult to remember that there are many things that we don’t know about even our most beloved celebrities. Olivia Wilde, Booksmart director and star of films including Tron: Legacy, Richard Jewell, and Life Itself, is no exception. Below, find five things you didn’t know about Vogue’s January cover star.
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1. She’s got some pretty impressive literary connections.
Wilde’s parents, Leslie and Andrew Cockburn, are both journalists, and for a time the writer Christopher Hitchens was their tenant in Washington, D.C. (and even served as Wilde’s babysitter). No big surprise, then, that Wilde’s professional name was chosen to honor the Irish author Oscar Wilde.
2. She holds Irish citizenship.
Why has Wilde not been cast in a Sally Rooney adaptation yet? I could definitely see her as Melissa in Conversations With Friends.
3. She’s not, like, a regular mom; she’s a cool mom (tattoo-wise).
Wilde recently got tattoos of her children’s names, Daisy and Otis, on her right and left arms.
4. She once tried her hand at competitive eating.
Wilde once ate 33 pancakes in 20 minutes while working in Australia, saying of the experience, “I entered the contest only because they said a woman could never win, and that’s a surefire way to get me to do something.” Reader, she did indeed win!
5. Her celebrity crush is extremely relatable.
“Angelina Jolie, hands down! Just seeing an actress who has been through it all and who doesn’t care what other people say about her—someone who has forged her own path,” Wilde told Women’s Health of her number one crush.
