Cate Blanchett ‘YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH HOPE'

THE OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS TAKES ON POLITICS IN ‘MRS AMERICA’ AND TALKS COPING IN A CRISIS

- Jenny Cooney & Nikita Lee

Anyone who knows Cate Blanchett can see that she’s much more of a feminist than a conservative. That’s why some – including her own mother – were thrown by her latest role in Mrs America, as the anti-feminist woman who shaped the landscape of American politics in the 1970s by fighting against the Equal Rights Amendment.

“One of the primary reasons that I wanted to make the series was to understand what was so terrifying and abhorrent to Phyllis Schlafly and the people who were likeminded around her – what was so terrifying about the notion of equality?” the 50-year-old acting legend tells WHO.

Schlafly made it her life’s work to persuade society that a woman’s place was as a homemaker and mother, and that they should ignore the rise of feminism. The Fox Showcase miniseries looks at how and why Schlafly led the charge to successfully quash the fight for equal rights at a time when leading agitators such as Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan were doing everything they could to rally support among the public and authorities to take the fight for equal opportunities centrestage.

Blanchett spoke to WHO about the project’s relevance in our divided society today, and how she’s making sure she stays busy during the COVID-19 crisis.

Did you know much about Phyllis Schlafly when you became involved in Mrs America?