Marg Helgenberger Shares How She Embraces Joy and Stays Stress-Free
Emmy Award–winning actress and mom Marg Helgenberger, 61, opens up about the wellness strategies that keep her calm, happy, and energized — no matter what comes her way!
Hanging up the phone with her son and daughter-in-law, Marg pets her pup, Henry. “I get such joy when I speak to them,” she says with a smile. “And from Henry too! He always makes me smile!”
For the Nebraska native, who has made a name for herself on TV shows like CSI, China Beach, and now the CBS hit All Rise, keeping that smile is key. In fact, while her new series took a hiatus due to COVID-19, Marg hunkered down at her California home to learn strategies for staying happy and calm.
“I try to be open-minded,” she says. “I like to be around people who care about me and others — that’s what life is all about!”
Here, Marg’s tips for a healthy body, mind and spirit!
Fountain of Youth: Small Acts of Self-Care
“The older I’ve gotten, the more I try to keep things simple”, Marg explains. So when she recently discovered Clarks slip-on shoes, she was hooked.
“They were $39 and super comfortable! They keep my feet happy.” Marg also embraces inexpensive beauty buys. “I love using Dr. Jart moisturizers, brighteners, and facial masks (Buy at Sephora) and adding Epsom salts to my bath to relax and ease body aches. A little self-care goes a long way!”
Radiance Secret: Collagen Powder
“I love Amandean Wild-Caught Fish Marine Collagen (Buy at Amandean, $41.95),” Marg shares. “One 17-oz. container lasts three months! I put it in my orange juice once a day, and it helps my hair, skin and nails look and feel great!”
Promotes Joy: A life ‘Soundtrack’
“When I’m cleaning the kitchen or doing chores, there’s always music in the background,” Marg says. “It brings me out of a blue mood in a snap!”
Marg loves music so much that she even brushed off her own guitar to play a few songs for an Off Broadway charity benefiting casts and crews. “I chose a tune by one of my favorite artists, Lucinda Williams, called ‘I Lost It.’ Then I recorded another song, ‘Love Interruption,’ by a different artist. Bob Dylan said that three chords and the truth is what a good song is about. I think music is the universal language and brings so much joy!”
Optimizes Health: Sweet Indulgences
“Part of maintaining wellness in my life is eating healthy, fresh foods, and supplementing with calcium and vitamins C, D, E, and B-12,” Marg says. “My boyfriend, Charlie, is a great cook: We’ll buy these frozen tuna patties, doctor them up with panko, Worchestershire sauce, and grill them — yum!”
While nutritional staples of berries, leafy greens and fresh fish abound in Marg’s kitchen, she admits that she’s never without kettle chips and dark chocolate. “My favorite is Lake Champlain 72 percent dark chocolate with almonds and sea salt (Buy on Amazon, $11.99) — it gives me that sweet fix when I need it!”
Stress Rx: Relaxing Exercise
“I love learning new things!” Marg shares. “I’ve always liked to sail but hadn’t done it often until Charlie, who has a sailboat, taught me. It’s been fun and relaxing, and that, coupled with learning jujitsu, has been great.”
Marg supplements her jujitsu training with yoga, which she has done for years. “Yoga is a form of meditation for me as well as movement,” she explains. “I also do breathing exercises when I go for walks, which is sort of a walking meditation. It slows time down because you’re so focused and concentrating on simply moving…it’s just the most relaxing thing!”
Don’t miss Marg’s latest show!
A veteran performer, Marg has done it all in show business, from her role on the soap opera Ryan’s Hope to television and films like Erin Brockovich and Mr. Brooks, and even Broadway shows.
How does she do it? For Marg, it all comes back to her Nebraskan roots. “The work ethic in the Midwest is strong,” she says. “People work hard and don’t take things for granted.”
That can-do attitude is coming in handy for Marg’s latest role in the CBS legal drama series All Rise, which follows the cases and personal lives of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders in a Los Angeles courthouse.
Now in its second season, Marg says the cast even got to do a virtual episode during quarantine. “All the actors had to really get their own act together — hair, makeup, wardrobe, lighting,” she shares with a laugh. “It was an adventure and so much fun — I can’t wait for viewers to see what happens next!” (Check local listings for airtimes.)
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, First for Women.
