LEFT: Wool blazer, Alberta Ferretti ($1,754). Visit albertaferretti.com. Bra, La Petite Coquette ($115). 51 University Pl., 212-473-2478. Wool miniskirt, Roberto Cavalli ($3,267). 711 Madison Ave., 212-755-7722. Leggings, Gucci ($450). 725 Fifth Ave., 212-826-2600. Fifre nappa leather ankle boots, Christian Louboutin ($1,195). 965 Madison Ave., 212-396-1884. Necklace in 18k ruthenium-plated white gold and black-ruthenium-plated silver with black diamonds, Gucci ($135,000). SEE ABOVE. RIGHT: Slip, La Petite Coquette ($98). 51 University Pl., 212-473-2478. Trinity necklace in 18k yellow, white and rose gold with pavé diamonds ($37,000) and Love necklace in 18k yellow gold with diamonds ($3,125), Cartier. 828 Madison Ave., 212-472-6400
You know many things about Uma Thurman: that she is stunning, tall (nearly six feet) and commands a room with radiant old-school Hollywood glamour. But what you don’t know is how nice she is—good old-fashioned honest-togoodness sisterly nice.
Despite being one of Hollywood’s most exalted movie stars (Thurman is invariably referred to as a “goddess” in the reams of cover-story press she receives) in person she exudes an air of profound decency of the sort one might expect from, say, a Buddhist nun. Which she most certainly is not—as evidenced by her willingness to depict stomach-churning acts of violence in films like Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series. But her father, renowned scholar Robert Thurman, did spend time in robes as the first Western monk under the tutelage of the Dalai Lama.
These days, in addition to being Hollywood royalty, the 39-year-old Thurman is the mother of two—11-year-old Maya and seven-year-old Levon—and is about to embark on her third marriage, to philanthropist and businessman Arpad Busson. When I go to meet her at home, Busson greets me in a faded Rolling Stones T-shirt and offers tea. Thurman is equally gracious and understated. Wearing green Life is Good fl ip fl ops, well-worn jeans and a tank top, she invites me out behind the house to a garden that she is proud of having nurtured into neat rows of vegetables. Her only jewelry is a beaded necklace of tiny delicate shelves, a ring with the image of the Hindu god Ganesha on one hand and an engagement ring on the other. The diamond is approximately the size of a robin’s egg.
TOP LEFT: Lamb nappa pin-studded leather jacket, Yigal Azrouël ($1,270). 408 W. 14th St., 212-929-7525. Leggings, Gucci ($450). 725 Fifth Ave., 212-826-2600. Ballon Bleu watch in 18k yellow gold with diamonds, Cartier ($50,250). 828 Madison Ave., 212-472-6400. TOP RIGHT: Wool blazer, Alberta Ferretti ($1,754). albertaferretti.com. Necklace in ruthenium-plated 18k white gold and black-rutheniumplated silver with black diamonds, Gucci ($135,000). 725 Fifth Ave., 212-826-2600. Ballon Bleu watch in 18k yellow gold with diamonds, Cartier ($50,250). 828 Madison Ave., 212-472-6400. Beaded bracelet, Thurman’s own. BOTTOM RIGHT: Speckled-wool orchid dress, Zac Posen ($1,450). Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Ave., 212-753-4000. Square cuff in 18k gold with 1.48 carats of diamonds ($30,650) and bangles in 18k gold each with 1.05-carat diamond ($7,000 each), Faraone Mennella. Saks Fifth Avenue, SEE ABOVE. Beaded bracelet, Thurman’s own
Although she is open and thoughtful in response to most every question, one exception is the subject of her previous marriages—the first one, to Gary Oldman, lasted two years. The second, to Ethan Hawke (the father of Thurman’s children) ended in a painful divorce in 2004 after six years and reports of his infidelity. Hawke later married and had a child with the couple’s former nanny. When that subject comes up, she gently leans forward and asks if we can turn off the tape recorder before discussing it, as if we were old friends. And indeed, off the record it seems there is little she’s unprepared to answer.
But Thurman’s face lights up sweetly at the mention of her current beau. “I’m engaged and it’s all good,” she says with a laugh. “He’s a great person.” Busson, known as Arki, is a hedge-fund manager and the father of two children with model Elle Macpherson. The two met at a party hosted by Valentino.
As we talk, Thurman orders a steak sandwich from the private chef who buzzes around the home’s large country kitchen. She seems equally unperturbed by the insects swarming around us and the occasional bits of tomato and bread that fall on her, flicking them away as she enthusiastically eats and talks. Thurman may be larger than life on the silver screen, but in person she’s as down-to-earth and unfussy as a farmer. She laughs easily and expresses herself in perfectly formed paragraphs that reveal a deeply refl ective mind and a love of original language.
