The new 9TO5 is out now! Make sure you don't miss out on your copy!
Hunter & Collectors
Lovers of good food and wine will find Terroir an absolute delight. This was the first stop on...
» more
Read this week's complete print edition of 9TO5 online right now! Plus you can search or browse through our back issue archive - for free!
Sweet Pia
THE QUIRKY BEAUTY TALKS LOVE, HOLLYWOOD AND THE SECRET TO YOUTH IN A CANDID EXCLUSIVE TO 9TO5.
It's hard to believe Australia's darling of the silver screen, Pia Miranda is in her mid-thirties. She glided into our Darlinghurst studio for our photoshoot with freshly washed wet hair and a nude face free from makeup (shock, horror) and didn't look a day older than the memorable seventeen-year-old character, Josie, she played in Looking for Alibrandi.
It might be good genes or a few peculiar beauty secrets, but I think it's her quirky and childlike outlook that keeps her young.
The Melbourne-born 35-year-old actress made a name for herself in the hit 2000 Australian feature film. Even through she has played several roles since then, including parts in Garage Days, and the upcoming films The Tenderhook and Three Blind Mice, which just premiered at the Sydney Film Festival, Pia is still widely recognised from Looking For Alibrandi, "because it's still on the fricken' school curriculum", she says with a laugh.
For most Australian actors, heading over to Hollywood is like a rite of passage. But Pia says the fakeness and distance of L.A. is a turn off. "I'd move to New York and London in a flash. But maybe because I'm European blood or something, I don't really have L.A. in me. I'm not really into all that stuff. If you get taken there it'd be great but I'm not going to go there and sit on my arse in L.A., away from my family and friends in the vague hope that I might end up as blah blah number three."
Illustrating her playful nature, Pia revealed to us that she once had a competition with Garage Days co-star Kick Gurry to see who could get the biggest lie printed in the Australian media. Kick won, spreading the rumour that he was once a child protege cellist in Prague!
read on below advertisement
When I commented on her youthful appearance, she quips, "It's Botox." As I looked on at her in disbelief, she laughed. "No way. I put olive oil on my skin once a week as a mask. I don't diet and I don't do anything too much. I don't drink too much. I do everything but in moderation." She adds it could be her wrinkle-saving Sicilian genes that protect her from the harsh Australian sun.
After a Vegas wedding to frontman of pop rock group Lo-Tel, Luke Hannigan, Pia says she's not sure if they are really married. "I think you're meant to register it in Australia, which we have not done as of yet," she says cheekily.
But seven years into married life, Pia still seems like a lovesick teenager as she answers his call "Hi baby" and gushes over his Spin class-related injuries. It's easy to tell their secret, but I ask what's the key to a successful marriage anyway. "Pick well [laughs]. I was just lucky I think. We make special time for each other a lot. I've got the rest of the day off today so I'm going to go home and cook for him. We laugh a lot together, we have a lot of fun together. We're like teenagers. When are we going to grow up?".
As for the future, Pia says she's happy with acting and doing voice-overs, which "is better than waitressing". "The other day I was called to a job and all I had to do was say [in a nasal voice] 'price check in aisle four'," she giggles. As for kids: "You never know. I don't think about that much, I guess one day," she answers awkwardly. With her talent and youthful looks, more beckons for Pia than aisle four.
It's hard to believe Australia's darling of the silver screen, Pia Miranda is in her mid-thirties. She glided into our Darlinghurst studio for our photoshoot with freshly washed wet hair and a nude face free from makeup (shock, horror) and didn't look a day older than the memorable seventeen-year-old character, Josie, she played in Looking for Alibrandi.
It might be good genes or a few peculiar beauty secrets, but I think it's her quirky and childlike outlook that keeps her young.
The Melbourne-born 35-year-old actress made a name for herself in the hit 2000 Australian feature film. Even through she has played several roles since then, including parts in Garage Days, and the upcoming films The Tenderhook and Three Blind Mice, which just premiered at the Sydney Film Festival, Pia is still widely recognised from Looking For Alibrandi, "because it's still on the fricken' school curriculum", she says with a laugh.
For most Australian actors, heading over to Hollywood is like a rite of passage. But Pia says the fakeness and distance of L.A. is a turn off. "I'd move to New York and London in a flash. But maybe because I'm European blood or something, I don't really have L.A. in me. I'm not really into all that stuff. If you get taken there it'd be great but I'm not going to go there and sit on my arse in L.A., away from my family and friends in the vague hope that I might end up as blah blah number three."
Illustrating her playful nature, Pia revealed to us that she once had a competition with Garage Days co-star Kick Gurry to see who could get the biggest lie printed in the Australian media. Kick won, spreading the rumour that he was once a child protege cellist in Prague!
read on below advertisement
When I commented on her youthful appearance, she quips, "It's Botox." As I looked on at her in disbelief, she laughed. "No way. I put olive oil on my skin once a week as a mask. I don't diet and I don't do anything too much. I don't drink too much. I do everything but in moderation." She adds it could be her wrinkle-saving Sicilian genes that protect her from the harsh Australian sun.
After a Vegas wedding to frontman of pop rock group Lo-Tel, Luke Hannigan, Pia says she's not sure if they are really married. "I think you're meant to register it in Australia, which we have not done as of yet," she says cheekily.
But seven years into married life, Pia still seems like a lovesick teenager as she answers his call "Hi baby" and gushes over his Spin class-related injuries. It's easy to tell their secret, but I ask what's the key to a successful marriage anyway. "Pick well [laughs]. I was just lucky I think. We make special time for each other a lot. I've got the rest of the day off today so I'm going to go home and cook for him. We laugh a lot together, we have a lot of fun together. We're like teenagers. When are we going to grow up?".
As for the future, Pia says she's happy with acting and doing voice-overs, which "is better than waitressing". "The other day I was called to a job and all I had to do was say [in a nasal voice] 'price check in aisle four'," she giggles. As for kids: "You never know. I don't think about that much, I guess one day," she answers awkwardly. With her talent and youthful looks, more beckons for Pia than aisle four.
Story: Elise Pitt
