Jodie Turner-Smith believes that pregnant women are stronger than anyone thinks. She should know; the 34-year-old welcomed her first child, Janie, with husband Joshua Jackson in April. Now, she is gracing the cover of Elle and inside, she addresses issues of power, strength and gender.
“The men think they're hard-core, but they could never do what they do while also making a baby. They just couldn't,” she tells the magazine with a laugh.
The Queen & Slim star also says giving birth reaffirmed to her that “patriarchal society really is out here, scamming women into thinking that they're not supremely powerful beings, because damn, it's some goddess-level s—.”
“Navigating parenthood” during the pandemic has not been easy either, she admits. “It’s even more difficult without support, when everything is shut down and you can’t really see other people or go anywhere.”
Turner-Smith is focusing on the future, including what she wants to pass down to her daughter. “That self-assuredness is what is going to help her navigate life,” she explains. “It's important to impart to my daughter what is beautiful about her, and about who she comes from and where she comes from, and what is powerful about that.”