Olivia Wilde for Allure US October 2013

Photographed by Norman Jean Roy 

On dieting: “Fear of carbs, of gluten, of everything—we’ve distanced ourselves from the beauty of food, the art of it. It makes me sad when people say, ‘Oh, I don’t eat gluten. I don’t eat cheese. I don’t eat this. So I eat cardboard.’”

On asking Jennifer Aniston for advice on dealing with a media storm: “I reached out to Jen, who has, of course, been through the wringer, and I explained the situation and I said I needed advice on how to deal with these things. She wrote me one of the most gracious, wise emails describing her journey and really wonderful words of advice about how to deal with it. And in the end, I think I would do it all again exactly the same way.”

On gaining a perspective on celebrity from her upbringing: “There was definitely a sense that no one was interesting because they were famous. They were interesting because of what they did. And that has stuck with me because when people say, ‘Oh, you’ve made it. Isn’t it great? You’re famous.’ I’m like, Ugh. That’s sort of a side effect. It’s like the side effect of a medicine: ‘You may experience anal itching and fame.’”