I’d been nervous about interviewing Zoë Kravitz all week. Not because she is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and self-possessed women in the world, but because for our initial icebreaker activity she’d chosen to go bowling, a sport for which I have absolutely zero aptitude.
We meet at The Gutter in Williamsburg, a trendy bowling alley-cum-bar. Think craft beer and distressed leather. Zoë arrives looking effortless.
It’s a mild March afternoon here in New York; a light beige trench over a crisp white shirt shrouds her petite frame, a string of red beads hangs around her neck and a ludicrously capacious Saint Laurent bag is slung over her shoulder. Her hair is down, her ’90s-inspired sunglasses are on, where they remain for the rest of our encounter. She looks good: composed, confident, as though she’s about to absolutely annihilate me in a game of skittles.
Apart from maybe one double-take, nobody on the sidewalk seems to bat an eyelid at Zoë Kravitz. Which is surprising. Only the day before, news outlets were flooded with images of her walking down the street, arm in arm with maybe-boyfriend, maybe-fiancé Harry Styles.
Was that official Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally album merch she was wearing? Is that big, fat bling on her left hand an engagement ring? Internet sleuths assemble.
It’s even more surprising given her illustrious IMDB profile. Zoë is an Emmy award-nominated actor, who also has credits as a writer and director. This is someone who threw Alexander Skarsgård down the stairs in Big Little Lies. We’re talking about Catwoman!
And then there are her parents – the eternally leather-clad rocker Lenny Kravitz and actor Lisa Bonet – who helped define ’90s pop culture. In a way, she has always been part of public consciousness. And yet, today she is anonymous.
“It’s an energy thing,” she says, explaining why no one is presently accosting us. We’re now at downtown eatery Dimes, two days after The Big Bowling Reprieve. She’s wearing a navy crewneck sweater by The Row, vintage black tailored trousers and a waterproof Arc’teryx hoodie.
It’s pretty packed here and the acoustics are terrible – not ideal for an interview – but it’s homey and she’s comfortable. This is what it’s like to be a part of Zoë’s world: chatting with the Dimes waitstaff on a Friday afternoon and washing down salmon and black rice with turmeric ginger ale. “For the most part, in my neighbourhood, I’ve lived here forever, so I’m around.”
The conversation meanders towards Harry Styles, with whom Zoë has been frequently photographed since last August, after a fan posted photos of them holding hands in Rome. Where did they meet? What do they do when they’re not walking across the Williamsburg Bridge? Is she the light that Harry sings about in “Aperture”?
You’ll have to ask him, because her team was very clear about this line of questioning. And it isn’t surprising; Zoë is someone who cherishes her privacy. She doesn’t even have Instagram on her phone (in its place, there is now a language-learning app).
Of course, she’s aware of all the noise – and it can be deafening. “I’m aware it’s happening. I’m aware of when it’s happening, like when there are eight people outside my house, that’s super uncomfortable. I’m aware of all the ingredients that create the thing that we’re talking about. But that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily OK with it.”
She finds it too unhealthy to engage with. “There are moments obviously when you just want to hide because it feels overwhelming and then there are moments when you, whether it’s in a defiant way, are like, ‘I’m going to walk and get my coffee and you’re not going to take that away from me.’
People sometimes ask me, ‘Why are you walking around?’ It’s because I live in New York. I live three blocks away. I’m not going to get in a car.”
I would 100 per cent get in the car, I tell her, but I have a deep aversion to walking.
“But when the weather is nice? I want to participate in life. Even though the experience is different, I still would rather have that than be someone who completely closes myself off and doesn’t want to walk to get a coffee, because then who are you? Maintaining any kind of normal state, I think, is really important.”
Despite having her private life routinely scrutinised, Zoë feels no pressure to explain herself. Nor does she feel the need to conform to expectations when it comes to balancing her work life with marriage and kids. Instead, she remains pragmatic.
“You just kind of have to be realistic. If I want to do something well, I have to focus on it. Knowing myself, I’m not going to have a kid and direct movies at exactly the same time. You just have to decide where you want your energy to be.”
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