According to Shailene Woodley, “Handshakes are grimy and, also, forgettable.” The actor prefers to go in for the real thing when meeting someone new, even if that person happens to be an awestruck fan. There could be a quick conversation (“Hey, where you from?”) or a genuinely solid hug. Woodley, 33, prides herself on being authentic, whether for a role she’s playing or how she conducts herself IRL.

This includes an ardent devotion to environmental causes, which she has championed for over a decade and has more than once resulted in Woodley being pigeonholed as an “idealistic hippie” in the press—a badge she continues to wear proudly. She is an active Board Member of Conservation International, dedicated to protecting global diversity for the well-being of humanity. She has traveled extensively with Greenpeace, and recently, Woodley went scuba diving in the Pacific Ocean in search of purple urchins for a PBS docu-series about sustainable seafood practices. Woodley admits that she is easily impressed by our connection to the Earth, including the otherworldly elements responsible for creating natural diamonds. 

When we met to talk about her latest project, the 10-episode limited drama series Three Women, there was nary a publicist in sight, a rarity these days for an actor of Woodley’s caliber. Based on the 2019 best-selling book of the same name, the STARZ adaptation features Woodley as Gia—a fictionalized version of author Lisa Taddeo—who crisscrosses the country, researching a book about women, sex, and desire. The female-driven project—Taddeo served as both creator and executive producer of the show, and House of Cards’ Laura Eason was the showrunner—was somewhat of a salve for Woodley, who was grappling with personal issues during filming, including a very public breakup. But true to form, Woodley admits she’d prefer to tackle the complexities of life, Hollywood, and nature openly and head-on rather than being a passive player. “I like the idea of being intentional,” she says about her all-in-one approach to living well and collecting jewelry.  

Only Natural Diamonds: What is your relationship with jewelry? Diamonds, in particular.

Shailene Woodley: I’m a sucker for diamonds and jewelry. I don’t come from a family with heirloom diamond earrings or pearls, but I want to start that [collection] for my family and my children and their children and their children. I hope to add to my collection of diamonds to tell the story of where I’ve been, who I’ve known, and how life unfolded. That is how I feel about it.

OND: Diamonds are fascinating because they’ve been gestating on the Earth for millions of years.

SW: Not to get too esoteric, but to me, diamonds, gold, silver, and all these materials we adorn ourselves with are pretty magical. I feel very, very, very particular about what I put on my body, so I find the idea of natural diamonds quite sacred: this thing that’s been around for millions of years, being birthed in the womb of the Earth that somehow finds its way to connect with my body. That leaves me in awe.

OND: Totally agree. Do you like to layer your diamonds if the mood strikes?

SW: I think less is more because there’s a story and meaning. I mean, you can only cut a diamond with a diamond. There’s so much about it that is cosmically miraculous and mysterious. How can something sparkle and shine and tease all of my senses?

I was engaged briefly, and I remember the first time I put the diamond on my finger. It felt holy. I don’t know if it was because of the meaning attached to it, but I believe it felt holy because it is a very holy thing that comes from the earth.

OND: What else is in your collection?

SW: My friend Tini Courtney owns a company called HOWL, which stands for Handle Only With Love. She’s been in the game forever. When I hold her jewelry, it feels weighty. I have some pieces from other jewelers and things I’ve collected along my travels in antique stores.

OND: This is the Realness issue. Your new show, Three Women, is adapted from Lisa Taddeo’s best-selling book about when she chronicled the true stories of women and their sex lives. Did it help to have Lisa on set to guide you through your portrayal of her?

SW: Yes. The plot line and story of [my character] Gia are truthful to Lisa’s history but also fictional. She could relay her emotional complexities about those experiences. But when I met her, I was like, “Oh, you’re a soulmate.” I was going through a pretty heavy personal transition [when we filmed], and to come to work and see her face and have that grounding rod artistically and professionally was something that I’ll take with me forever.

OND: True to the original material, the show features some highly charged scenes. 

SW: Three Women was like a high-alert experience; it felt very technicolor, and there was no safeguarding against any heightened situation. Everything was on the table, explored, and had the space to be precisely what it was without any pretense or presentation.

OND: What kind of impact do you think the show will have?

SW: I can relate to the micro-elements of all these characters, including Gia. One of the things that causes the most suffering in my life is this feeling of existential aloneness, which is different from loneliness. Three Women has become a pillar [for me] to feel less alone with my experiences and the emotional complexities of having a human heart. I hope it can offer the same thing to other women. There is room for conversations or connections to happen. It’s good to have art in the world that shares this idea.

OND: You’ve been acting since you were five, which is a tremendous feat. Not to be impolitic, but do you have a good bullshit detector?

SW: Yes, it’s one of the things I really pride myself on. I feel like it’s one of my superpowers. In the past, when something happened that would throw me off, it would break me because I felt betrayed. I also used to think that I could be a force of positivity or aid in a shift, but now I’ve realized it’s only if an individual or a situation wants to adapt that it will. I’ve done a lot of work on myself [to figure that out].

OND: How do you maintain your core self and perspective in Hollywood?

SW: I’ve never had a problem with saying no. No circumstance could ever convince me to compromise the things that provide me with a fulfilled, joyful life. It’s easier for me to say no and walk away than to feel like I gave up a piece of myself. If I make a decision that doesn’t feel authentic to what I want, the only person who gets emotionally and mentally beat up is me. I think, ‘Why did I let that happen?’ and that’s a shitty way to live.

OND: What about how you present in terms of fashion?

SW: I don’t work with a stylist at the moment. I have yet to find somebody who understands me. I look back at past outfits, like, “What am I wearing?” So until I meet somebody with whom I have a true and synchronistic relationship, I do that on my own. And then I have very few people that I trust hair and makeup-wise.

I’m not very materialistic, but it is important when I’m promoting a film or when doing a fashion week thing, I’m representing myself. I don’t want to present as a character or a facade, I want to show who I am. I can do that by being in control of how I dress, what I say, and what I look like.

I Don’t Want to Present As a Character or a Facade, I want to Show Who I am.

OND: What kind of brands are you favoring these days? 

SW: I like innovative designers like Jonathan Anderson. I’m fascinated by his references. I’ve read that he will base collections on old buttons from Japan or ceramics from a small town. Other than that, I’d say 80% of my wardrobe is from thrifting. I’m a massive fan of The RealReal. I’ve replaced Instagram scrolling with The RealReal scrolling.

OND: How would you describe your style at this point?

SW: If you took an LA Dogtown surfer and put her in Paris with some Japanese influence. 

OND: You mentioned that you’re an outdoorsy type. Do you run or hike?

SW: I do everything and anything. I’ll go to the gym and do 20 minutes of weightlifting because I love the way that makes my body feel. I like to feel strong. But otherwise, I’m constantly hiking or biking, surfing, and swimming. I’m a mover and a shaker. I love to be active.

OND: Do you have any of those gadgets that track your activity?

SW: I don’t. In my early twenties, I went through a phase of having too much body awareness. Total body dysmorphia. I’m sure Hollywood had something to do with it…[Laughs]. I don’t track my weight or calories because I can be too influenced. I just want to live a happy life and not think about it.

OND: Aside from Three Women, you have at least five other projects in the works. Are you always creatively stimulated?

SW: Yes, by the juice of life. I get moved by human experience and emotions. And also by nature. I don’t do drugs [laughs] but I find it so miraculous that we’re even alive—even when I’m experiencing my pain, elation, grief, joy. To bring it back to diamonds, it’s like, how do we exist? 

I don’t want to lose sight of that. It helps me stay sane and creative in a world that is constantly trying to get us away from our imaginations. I try to make every day feel like Neverland because I don’t see why not. I can’t wait to have kids, so I have an excuse to be this way. Right now, I just look like an insane woman in my early 30s whose friends look at her and go, “You’re so weird”.