Ilana Glazer on Motherhood and Starring With George Clooney on Broadway (EXCLUSIVE)
The actress shares how community, presence—and even flossing—keep her grounded
It’s no secret that moms all over the world work around the clock to ensure that their kids are happy and healthy and get everything they could ever need and want in life. But sometimes all of that caregiving can take its toll, which is why the meditation app Calm has launched a new initiative called “Not Calm Moms,” which allows moms to express how they are really feeling inside. First for Women recently got the chance to attend the launch event and speak with their lead celebrity spokesperson, Ilana Glazer, about why this is so important and why she thinks moms need to take time to look after themselves. Scroll on for more.
Ilana Glazer on raising her daughter and practicing presence
Glazer, 38, is an actress and comedian best known for her work in Broad City (2010 to 2011), Hack Into Broad City (2014 to 2019), Rough Night (2017), Green Eggs and Ham (2019 to 2022) and Babes (2022). She is also the proud mother of a 3-year-old daughter, whom she shares with her partner, David Rooklin.
“My number one priority is to be present with my kiddo,” the actress told First for Women. “I’ve spent so many years of my life thinking ahead and then mourning that loss later, that I wasn’t present. So I honestly chose to have a child to be forced to practice presence in this way.”
One of the ways, Glazer said, she helps herself stay present is by making sure she has a community of moms all around her.
“In our culture, it has become kind of trendy to talk about self-care. And it seems like it focuses on a solo experience and further deepening the patterns of individualism that we focus on in our society, but Calm [the app] is focusing on community as the antidote, and I really find that to be true for me,” the actress explained. “Research shows that one hour a week in community with someone you trust to open up to, who you can also receive their struggles from, is foundationally improving for maternal mental health and supports a child’s development. And that just feels so true to me.
“Talking is my favorite thing,” she continued. “What I really love to do is talk about our kids. My daughter’s almost four, and so now she is starting to get to this place where I never dreamed of, where the kids are off playing on their own, and now I am, too, with my community, and it’s really delightful.”
Inside Ilana Glazer’s Broadway role in ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’
Currently, Glazer is starring in Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway alongside George Clooney, and while her daughter doesn’t attend the shows because “she’s a bit young to sit through 90 minutes of a play about McCarthyism,” the actress did share that there is a lot of quality family time that happens at work.
“On Saturdays, between my two shows, she and her daddy have been coming to the theater,” the actress said. “And something that’s really helpful about Broadway is that it’s all about community. Joe Forbrich [one of the actors in the show] got her a frozen frisbee and she was frisbeeing around the theater. And it was awesome.” ‘
Because of her busy work schedule, it would make sense that Glazer would want to take the time and find a balance within her life, but according to the actress, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“The idea of balance is manufactured and not even real,” she shared. “So when I remember that and I see other parents who are also struggling to live up to some ideal that doesn’t actually exist, I can let it go.”
And one way she likes to do that and unwind after a long day? Flossing!
“Every day I’m flossing and brushing,” she joked. “I love dental care.”
You can check out Calm’s newest launch, “Not Calm Moms,” on your mobile device today.
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