We want to hate her. We really do. Married to Chris Hemsworth. Stunning. Living a free-spirited existence in Byron Bay in between modelling and acting gigs… It really would be easy to hate Elsa Pataky. Except you canβt – because sheβs just so damn adorable.
Meeting her at yesterdayβs Botanicals Fresh Care event, a new natural haircare range, Elsa was so down-to-earth you could almost forget she was a Hollywood star with a multitude of blockbusters to her name (and a million+ Insti followers). Almost.
As she sat up the front of the event with Magdalena Roze, Elsa chatted openly about life with Chris, turning farm hand, and taking Byron Bay mums to New York on a field trip…
Youβve moved to Byron, what is it about the Bay that made you want to live there?
I just fell in love with it the first time Chris took me there. I love the vibe, I feel people are very similar to the Spanish in that we have the same sense of humour – itβs just about enjoying life and having fun, very different from a lot of places Iβve been. Itβs been very easy for me to make friends immediately with all the mums. When we [Chris and Elsa] met, we said βIβll never make you live in Australiaβ and βIβll never make you live in Spainβ, because it was so far from our families, but when he took me to Byron – I was like βI want to live here!β Byron has this amazing energy and you feel like you are always on holidays. Itβs beautiful.
Youβve recently been shooting with your husband. Whatβs that like?
Itβs been great because we havenβt worked together at all. I didnβt know how it would be because weβre both perfectionists – but the good thing is that we always can get advice from each other. We can work with each other and go through the lines. It was good to actually be away from the kids and be together working, rather than always just being mama and papa. We were saying we should do it more often because it was like a holiday while at the same time doing something weβre passionate about.
What other plans do you have for 2017?
Weβve just finished the The Fate of the Furious, the eighth one – that was my fourth one with them. Itβs been amazing, itβs been hugeβ¦
You had the premiere in New York recentlyβ¦ you had a girlsβ trip for that?
It was amazing because I took some mums from Byron to New York that had never been out of Byron. My husband did a surf trip with their husbands, and I was like: βDonβt worry girls, Iβll take you somewhere nice!β And when I took them to the premiere in New York, they were like crying they were so excited. It was such a big premiere – there was like 4,000 people in the theatre. They were with me on the red carpet, so they saw everything; it was the best experience for me to be able to see everything from their eyes.
Is it weird to go from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to countryside Byron Bay?
No, itβs the best! I canβt wait to take off my heels and my fancy dresses and just enjoy nature and being with the horses. Every morning I go to my horse barefoot and I clean out the stalls. My daughter asked me βMumma, are we farmers now?β And I was like, βYes! We are farmers!β She doesnβt admire anything about the movies, sheβs just excited to be at home and being with the horses – giving them hay. I hope that they [Elsaβs children] appreciate that kind of life because I didnβt have it when I was growing up and I always dreamt of being a farmer.
Well, youβre a pretty glamorous farmer…
I donβt look like this all the time! The makeup girls have been trying to work on my feet – I havenβt had a pedicure in like two years! Seriously.
So is living the free-spirited life who the real Elsa is?
Yes! Iβve always been like that. People who know me are like βYou are your own personβ, and itβs true. I donβt mind the wild, people are like βYou have a snake in your bedroom!β And Iβm like, βI know! I love it!β Itβs so exciting. My kids donβt like huntsman and that, but Iβm a very fearless person. Itβs totally me, more than any inch of glamour. People donβt know me in that way because they see you all dressed up and with your makeup done, but when I feel my most happy is when Iβm the total opposite.
All images: La Tessa Photography