So what does Naomi Watts read in bed?
Architectural Digest takes a tour of her and Liev Schreiber's Manhattan home - but what's that in the bedroom?
Visiting the home of someone famous has always been a guilty pleasure. The chance to coo over the decor they choose, to lust over the art on their walls and, of course, the opportunity of checking their bathroom cabinet to discover the skin care regime that keeps them looking so young.
But as we grow older and wiser it’s equally a thrill to see what books they choose to surround themselves with. Which is why we're very happy to see Naomi Watts’ and Liev Schreiber’s Manhattan home featured in the current edition of Architectural Digest.
There’s always been a lot to admire about Naomi Watts. The fact that she made a deft escape from the world of Australian TV soap operas and the way she turned a difficult first few years in Hollywood into a subsequently well-judged and cleverly-navigated double Oscar-nominated career.
Then there is her UN work as an ambassador for HIV/AIDS awareness and her help for the people of Haiti. All of it added to the perception of a left-field talent unafraid to mix it in the mainstream and come out the other side, integrity and intellect not only intact but enhanced. So it didn’t come as a huge surprise to see that her night time reading reflects both her good taste and a stellar regard to self improvement when it comes to the arts.
Naturally as regular fixtures on People Magazine’s Beautiful People top 50 list, Naomi and Liev have an exquisite home. Books punctuate the various living spaces of their tasteful Manhattan residence but it’s the bedroom that caught our eye - not least for the décor but also the inclusion of a select bunch of books stacked neatly on a chair. As well as John Worthen’s illuminating biog of DH Lawrence we also spotted Phaidon’s very own instant classic, Body of Art.
Body of Art is, of course, the first book to celebrate the beautiful and provocative ways artists have represented, scrutinized and utilized the body over centuries. It inspires and surprises – something Naomi is obviously no stranger to herself.
See the full picture story over at Architectural Digest and for a closer look at the book the Daily Telegraph says "positions itself as the most extensive survey of the representation of the body in art ever to be published - a bold claim, but one it deftly pulls off," go here. Buy it and you'll be in the good company of artists, curators, scholars and, now, Hollywood's A-list.