Brooklyn Decker on Family Dance Parties, Sisterhood, and Why She Fiercely Loves Grace and Frankie
Family is clearly at the heart of Brooklyn Decker’s life both at work and home. In fact, this doting mother of two shares a sister-like bond with her TV sister on their popular Netflix comedy series, Grace and Frankie, soon entering Season 7.
The former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, Decker, is best known for her roles on TV’s Chuck and Ugly Betty, and the Adam Sandler movie, Just Go with It, as well as her most recent role, as Mallory, the daughter of Jane Fonda’s character, Grace.
The show is about a loving and often dysfunctional family centered on rivals Grace and Frankie, played by Lily Tomlin. When their ex-husbands Robert, (Martin Sheen), and Sol, (Sam Waterston), announce they have fallen in love, the women put their lives back together, with the help of their grown children, including Grace’s two daughters Mallory, the divorced mom finding her footing, and Brianna, her often overbearing sister and a badass entrepreneur.
Being at home the past year with her tennis champion husband Andy Roddick, and their two young children, could make a lot of moms want to run for the hills, but Decker found a great way for the entire family to thoroughly enjoy life at home.
Dance parties, and other family fun, are something her family looks forward to continuing post-pandemic. “We put on music, and it’s upbeat, and we turn it on really loud, everyone just dances,” she says. “Something to that has been such a good re-set for us to fall back on, and it’s also a good way to get some physical energy out, it gets those endorphins flowing.”
What do you love about Grace and Frankie?
Brooklyn Decker: Topping the list would be the opportunity to work with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston, and Martin Sheen. I love that we’re doing a show that’s just really warm and loving. I love dark television; too, don’t get me wrong. But I think now more than ever we’re all looking for the cozy blanket of an escape, and Grace and Frankie provide just that.
Are you good friends with the other cast members?
Brooklyn Decker: Oh, yes. It’s just been a wonderful family to be a part of, and frankly, I’m used to being on shows that are canceled, so it’s really exciting to be going into the 7th season. It will be the longest-running series for Netflix and so it feels like such a privilege.
I know I’m going to give a fond farewell to Mallory, the character you play. Are you going to miss her?
Brooklyn Decker: I am. I want to see so much more of what happens to her and where she goes. I think she’s been figuring herself out for a very long time. More than ever I’ll miss playing the sister of Brianna, because June Diane Raphael, who plays Brianna, is one of my closest friends, and to play sisters with her has been one of my career highlights. So, I’ll really miss being a part of a really strong, dynamic, funny sisterhood on screen. These days you don’t see a lot of sisterhoods play out on camera.
I know you’re going back to start filming the 7th and final season in June. Are you ready to start saying goodbye?
Brooklyn Decker: Yes, I think about it every day. It makes the stakes higher and it makes the performances better. It makes every piece of wardrobe thoughtful. I just think everyone will be investing even more into the show, which I didn’t think was possible. It feels that with closure there’s added weight to it. It’s sad but also again I think in television it is such a privilege to have that closure because that’s typically not the case.
Talk about how Zyrtec has helped you with your allergies.
Brooklyn Decker: I didn’t have them growing up, but as an adult, I just developed them, and living in Austin, Texas, they got really bad. Now being in North Carolina I’m feeling them more than ever, especially today. I took Zyrtec this morning because I can actually see pollen blowing outside my window.
I’ve always loved the outdoors, I think last year more than ever we all realized how important getting outside was. But I suffer from allergies, and so many years ago by recommendation of a doctor I started taking Zyrtec. What I love about it is you take one pill and you have powerful 24-hour relief. You don’t have to think about it for the rest of the day. I think more than ever, in a year where no one wants to have sneezes or a runny nose or watery eyes, Zyrtec has been a true saving grace in the pandemic.
What was attractive to you about partnering with Zyrtec?
Brooklyn Decker: Not only do I love the product but I also love that not only are we recognizing how important it is to get outside and into your yard but also Zyrtec recognizes how important green spaces are.
So as part of this partnership the company committed $50,000 to The Conservation Fund’s Parks with Purpose Program which transforms neglected green spaces into parks, community gardens and more. I think now more than ever we understand how important those spaces are for communities so we can all enjoy what’s in our neighborhoods.
I think now more than ever the appreciation of green spaces and the outdoors have skyrocketed to all of us being stuck at home. So, it’s always nice to partner with a brand that you take, that you love, but also one that makes giving back a priority.
I know you are the doting mom of two young children, (daughter, Stevie, 3, son, Hank, 5). What are the life lessons you want your children to get when they are older?
Brooklyn Decker: Oh my goodness, so many. Our kids are still little, they’re ages three and five, but I feel like we’re really shaping how they perceive the world. And I think now more than ever I want them to believe in justice, I want them to have empathy. I know that’s a very buzzy word right now, but I really want them to be able to take themselves out of a scenario and put themselves in someone else’s shoes.
I want them to be respectful of the space they occupy, environmentally, socially, all of it. We’re trying to teach these things to them. But it’s so funny, I’m sure with your experience you’ve seen that showing or modeling for them what to do is much more impactful than actually talking them through things. So, as a parent, I’m trying to figure out how to best do that. But I think we’re still figuring it out. We have a lot of goals for our kids but we’re sort of winging it, improvising our way through it.
Talk about being an important role model, especially to our daughters.
Brooklyn Decker: I’m still figuring this out. But I think really for me what we’re trying to do with our daughter that maybe was different from the way that I was raised, and I’m very close with my parents and loved my upbringing, but we’re really trying to give her power over her body and her choices. Little ways. For example one of her grandparents comes in and wants a hug. When I was younger everyone would say, “Oh, just give your grandma a hug; it’s no big deal.” If my daughter says, “I don’t feel like doing that,” we say, “Then you don’t have to.” One of the things I wish I could tell my younger self would be that you’re allowed to say no.
Do you have any advice for often overwhelmed moms with kids of all ages who might be homeschooling, working, going a little stir crazy juggling everything going on?
Brooklyn Decker: For us, our dance parties have been something that we’ve really adopted during the pandemic that I think we will take beyond, just as a way to kind of reset the mood on the house. That’s something little that’s been really effective in our home, that I feel like anyone can do from wherever they are. But it’s hard and I think everyone struggles. I think that I recognized, and my family recognizes that our struggle pales in comparison to most, so I think for that reason we’re really trying to recognize and hold onto the good. I think when the shit hits the fan as it has in the last year, to look for the good is the right way to go, but I think it’s the thing that’ll see us through.
Did you do anything specific to keep in shape, and healthy, and fit during COVID-19? And something that you do in general when we’re not in such a crazy time?
Brooklyn Decker: Getting outside has been huge. Doing campfires and building forts. That’s just been really good for my mental health, and I feel like it’s kind of physical — kind of, without actually feeling like exercise. But I tried doing these little video workouts that literally some of them are eight minutes long because sometimes it feels like that’s all you have. But I’m not a person who can really commit to an hour-long workout.
I need an activity that keeps me mobile and outside for a long time, or I need a quick short little workout because they’re monotonous and I find them boring. I just don’t have the focus for it. So, these little eight-minute workouts have been really effective for me just because it’s taking that time, it doesn’t require a lot of energy, my kids can be running around and it’s fine. Again, I’m trying to model for them a little bit of self-care without requiring too much time and energy.
Other than Grace and Frankie is there something else coming up? Or anything on your wish list?
Brooklyn Decker: I am writing for the first time. That was something to come out of this past year and so we’ll see how that goes. I hope it turns into something. I can’t talk about it too much, but I’ve been writing for the first time which has been wonderful. We go back to work in June and hopefully, I’ll be working before then. I don’t know, we’ll see. It’s been a year without work, which has been a big downer for me. I really desperately miss it. But I know that I have Grace and Frankie to go back to and fingers crossed about everything else.
Are you enjoying running around the backyard with your children who are in dressing up and playacting as knights and wizards?
Brooklyn Decker: I love it. I mean; these are years that I won’t get back. I read something recently that said something to the effect of 20 years from now we’ll be sitting in a quiet house, longing for the days when our kids were running around in our hair during quarantine. I think that perspective is really important to hold on to, so that’s how I’m trying to reframe my thinking when I have a bad day. “Is just that one day I’ll be longing for these days when I was locked down with my kids?” So yeah, I am enjoying it. The slowdown has been necessary for our family, and while challenging, it’s been very welcome!
