Sometimes even celebrities need advice. Even on how to be a celebrity.
So it was recently that Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger, Cynthia Erivo and Nora Lum _ perhaps better known as Awkwafina _ recently came to hang on every word as Jennifer Lopez talked about her attitude toward her own fame and celebrity.
"I just try to stay super conscious of the fact that I have a responsibility," Lopez said. "And it's not that I don't have bad days. I'm a human being."
Zellweger in particular was equally candid about grappling with the demands of being a public person.
"I find that when I focus most of my energy on the people who are closest to me and I spend time nurturing my internal self, my curiosity, learning, growing, becoming a better person, that I do a better job of it when I keep it small," Zellweger said. "I'm a better daughter. I'm a better friend. I'm a better actress. I think I'm a better human being.
"Because I've gotten caught up trying to run a race that doesn't belong to me," Zellweger added. "I've seen what that looks like and it doesn't suit me."
There was an air of genuine curiosity and exchange as the five women gathered together for a roundtable conversation. The celebrated roles that brought them together _ Lopez as a stripper-turned-criminal in "Hustlers," Theron as newscaster Megyn Kelly in "Bombshell," Zellweger as entertainer Judy Garland in "Judy," Erivo as slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman in "Harriet" and Lum as a young woman grappling with family and cross-cultural identity in "The Farewell" _ were just conversation starters as the talk veered toward telling stories without judgment, overcoming great odds and the rigors of pole-dancing.
