‘Felicity’ star Keri Russell shares two kids with ex-husband Shane Dreary and a son with longtime partner Matthew Rhys
Hollywood star Keri Russell doesn’t want her kids to be “raised by wolves” while she films.
Russell, who currently stars in “The Diplomat,” is grateful to film in New York – where she lives with her long-term partner Matthew Rhys and her children.
“It feels bizarre, because we have some of our same internal sets, but here in New York,” she told Rolling Stone. “I can ride my bike to work. I am enormously grateful, because I still have kids at home, and so does Deborah Cahn, who writes the show, and it’s just immensely important to be close to home and not leave your kids to be raised by wolves.”
In 2013, Russell first returned to TV as Elizabeth Jennings in “The Americans.” During her time on the TV show, Russell got divorced from Shane Dreary and eventually began dating her co-star Matthew Rhys.
Russell shares two children with her ex-husband; River and Willa. She later welcomed her son Sam with Rhys in 2016.
Keri Russell met Matthew Rhys while starring together on “The Americans.” (Getty Images)
Keri Russell gained fame for her role in “Felicity.” (Getty Images)
Russell gained fame for her role in “Felicity,” which premiered in 1998. The show ran for four seasons, concluding in 2002.
“Felicity” co-creator J.J. Abrams didn’t initially think Russell was right for the role.
“She walked into the room, and it was almost ridiculous,” Abrams recently told Variety. “Because the character that I wrote was this wallflower who had never had a boyfriend, who sheepishly approaches a boy to ask to sign her yearbook. It’s not Keri Russell, right? I mean, Keri Russell walks in and she’s just this beautiful, you know, the hair, the smile, the eyes – you’re like, this is not someone that fits the job description.”
“But she was so genuine and so funny,” he continued. “And whenever she would get emotional, literally, Matt and I would cry. It was like, ‘What the hell?’ It was like the most remarkable demonstration of mirror neurons ever. And she got the part because she was so funny and she was so truthful.”
Keri Russell returned to TV in 2013 with a role in “The Americans.” (Getty Images)
Keri Russell is a mom to three kids. (Getty Images)
While Russell considered herself a “nervous performer,” the actress felt comfortable on the set of “Felicity.”
“A gift about that show, and a little bit ‘The Diplomat’ too, is I got to wear these big baggy sweaters, and I hardly wore any makeup,” Russell noted. “I would watch the girls who were, like, the guest stars – the beautiful girls who would come on and have to wear girl clothes? – and I see how nervous that makes them. It’s hard to be beautiful; it’s much easier just to be in a big baggy sweatshirt and sneakers.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I love the beauty of women, too, and I like dressing up, and I like, you know, wearing makeup when I need to,” she explained. “But there’s so much more to being a girl than that. And I think some girls get stuck in that, you know? It was such a gift to just get to wear big baggy sweaters and just get to be funny or smart. So I was less nervous.”
