Alicia is on the cover of latest Glamour magazine along with actresses Demi Moore and Jennifer Aniston. Read part of the interview below.
In a Glamour exclusive, Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Alicia Keys talk about the crucial women’s health crusade that brought them together (oh, and husbands, boyfriends and babies, too!).
What do the superstars you see here have in common—besides their megawatt status and constant pursuit by paparazzi? A message they’re sharing for the first time, here in these pages. This month the three friends team up to help launch the women’s advocacy project of the year: Five, a series of films about women and breast cancer that, stitched together in a two-hour block airing on Lifetime on October 10, powerfully show how breast cancer affects women’s lives, families and friendships. Each of our cover girls directed a film; stars of the pieces include some of Hollywood’s strongest actresses, like Patricia Clarkson, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Rosario Dawson. Ready to hear more? Let Aniston, Moore and Keys tell you why they got involved—and what else is going on in their jam-packed, bold-faced lives.
Keys directed Lili, a film about a fiercely independent 35-year-old whose breast cancer forces her to work through her relationship with her mother. She talked to Penelope Spheeris, director of megahit Wayne’s World and the Five film Cheyenne.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: How did you get involved with Five?
ALICIA KEYS: Kristin [Hahn] and Jen called me up; after I read the scripts, I felt like this was something important, and I wanted to be a part of it. I chose Lili because she’s close to my age and I understood the family dynamic. I had an immediate idea of what I could bring to it.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: Have you had any personal experiences with breast cancer?
ALICIA KEYS: Yes, people very close to me in my family have had it, and it’s scary and it’s hard.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: This isn’t your only cause. Tell me a little bit about Keep a Child Alive.
ALICIA KEYS: It’s my organization that I founded with a brilliant woman, Leigh Blake. I was asked to go to Africa for an AIDS-awareness trip when I was about 20 or 21, and the thing that struck me the most was that here we have teenagers going through teenage things, like “Is that boy going to like me?” But there it was “Is that boy going to like me now that he knows my mother died of AIDS? Is he going to think I have AIDS too?” I remember thinking, This is my generation. I can’t just pretend I didn’t experience this.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: I can’t believe you’ve done as much as you have. [Keep a Child Alive has reportedly raised $27 million.] And you’re so profoundly talented. Which leads me to my next question: How do you feel about shows like The Voice and American Idol? Ever watch those?
ALICIA KEYS: I used to watch American Idol a little bit. My grandmother sucked me into it, and I was like, “Why am I watching this, Nana?” Initially, I felt like it was showing people that to be an artist you’re just supposed to get on TV. But as time passed, and the industry changed, I started thinking of it as an outlet for people who otherwise wouldn’t have any opportunity to be heard. Now I think it’s a good thing. When you’re talented, you’re talented.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: If you were driving in a car and one of your songs came on the radio, which one would you sit and listen to all the way through: “Fallin’,” “Empire State of Mind,” “If I Ain’t Got You” or “Unbreakable”?
ALICIA KEYS: I mean, I don’t want to sound crazy, but I’d listen to all of them all the way through. I love them. I love those songs!
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: Your husband, Swizz Beatz, has said that your relationship is “a blessing.” Do you feel that way too?
ALICIA KEYS: Yes. It’s beautiful because rarely, I think, do you find a relationship where you can experience things equally. In fact, I think that’s my favorite word and the most important word when it comes to relationships: equality. And that’s what we’ve been able to find. We encourage each other equally. We’re excited for each other.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: Do you remember the moment when you fell in love?
ALICIA KEYS: I do remember the exact moment. If I told you, I would have to kill you, but it was something that he planned, and he planned it so beautifully and thoughtfully that in that moment I remember thinking to myself, Oh my God, I’m so in love with him.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: What makes you giddy? I bet I can guess, and he’s just about a year old….
ALICIA KEYS: Yeah, my son, Egypt, makes me super giddy, especially when he laughs. His laugh makes me laugh like a maniac!
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: Do you ever think about the kind of man you want Egypt to be?
ALICIA KEYS: I do think about it a lot. He’s going to be a man in this world. It’s a beautiful blessing that I get to help raise a man. And I want to show him as much as possible.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: You went to Egypt, and you had a sort of breakthrough moment, right? Is that why your son is named Egypt?
ALICIA KEYS: Definitely. It was a time of transition. There were certain people [I was working with] who weren’t right. I had friends who weren’t right anymore. I was tired and I had overworked myself and burnt myself out. So I went to Egypt by myself. When I saw what was built there, it made me understand how powerful we are, that we can create anything. And I felt like I needed to create things that were timeless too.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: See, I call a nervous breakdown a “nervous breakthrough,” because every time I ever had one, it was a breakthrough. It sounds like what happened to you.
ALICIA KEYS: Exactly.
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: So what do you hope for your family?
ALICIA KEYS: We’re such a bonded happy family, and I hope that we’ll always be able to be that. For me, the most important thing is that we always take the time to understand each other and grow together. We’re all going to change. Otherwise, it’s boring. Who wants to stay the damn same all their life?
Credit: Glamour
