Harry Connick Jnr: ‘I saw a billboard of a Victoria's Secret model and I married her'
This story is part of the June 15 edition of Sunday Life. See all 15 stories.
Harry Connick Jr is a musician best known for winning multiple Grammy Awards. Here, the 57-year-old talks about losing his mother at a young age, how he first noticed his future wife, and working with some 'amazing' women.
I lost my mother, Anita Livingston, to ovarian cancer when I was 13. Mom was a bright, 'woody' woman – she didn't really follow the norm. She was sensitive and communicative.
When I was five, I wanted to run away from home. Rather than convince me to stay or tell me I was being silly, Mom said, 'Sorry to hear that.' As I went out the front door, she was right behind me with her suitcase. She said, 'You're right. I don't like it here either. Let's go.' I started crying and told her I didn't want to run away.
When it was time to lay down the law, Mom did, but she always made sure we had the power to make our own decisions. My memory of her is frozen in time. She'll always be young to me.
Mom became a lawyer in the mid-1950s. She ran for the position of Louisiana Supreme Court justice when she was diagnosed with cancer, against seven men. Because she was a public figure, they found out she had cancer and used that against her. She was emotionally strong, and I am proud of her ability to win that election.
My paternal grandmother, Jessie Connick, died in 1985, several years after my mom. She was a great cook and had eight kids during the Depression. She was quiet, but maintained a deep Catholic faith.
My sister, Suzanna, is three-and-a-half years older than me. I was a pain in the rear-end growing up. She was studious and I was an attention-seeker. We are incredibly close now. She spent 38 years in the military. She's a hero and I look up to her.
I would notice girls at school, but they didn't notice me. I had a crush on a girl in the sixth grade; she was sweet and smart. I couldn't work up the courage to tell her. I saw her in New Orleans 20 years ago; I recognised her face, and got the courage to tell her I had the biggest crush on her as a child. She replied, 'I had the biggest crush on you, too.'
My mother was aware I loved music from the age of three. I played the piano for the first time when my dad, Harry, was running for political office. He opened his campaign quarters and Mom got a piano in there for me to play.
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The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Harry Connick Jnr: ‘I saw a billboard of a Victoria's Secret model and I married her'
This story is part of the June 15 edition of Sunday Life. See all 15 stories. Harry Connick Jr is a musician best known for winning multiple Grammy Awards. Here, the 57-year-old talks about losing his mother at a young age, how he first noticed his future wife, and working with some 'amazing' women. I lost my mother, Anita Livingston, to ovarian cancer when I was 13. Mom was a bright, 'woody' woman – she didn't really follow the norm. She was sensitive and communicative. When I was five, I wanted to run away from home. Rather than convince me to stay or tell me I was being silly, Mom said, 'Sorry to hear that.' As I went out the front door, she was right behind me with her suitcase. She said, 'You're right. I don't like it here either. Let's go.' I started crying and told her I didn't want to run away. When it was time to lay down the law, Mom did, but she always made sure we had the power to make our own decisions. My memory of her is frozen in time. She'll always be young to me. Mom became a lawyer in the mid-1950s. She ran for the position of Louisiana Supreme Court justice when she was diagnosed with cancer, against seven men. Because she was a public figure, they found out she had cancer and used that against her. She was emotionally strong, and I am proud of her ability to win that election. My paternal grandmother, Jessie Connick, died in 1985, several years after my mom. She was a great cook and had eight kids during the Depression. She was quiet, but maintained a deep Catholic faith. My sister, Suzanna, is three-and-a-half years older than me. I was a pain in the rear-end growing up. She was studious and I was an attention-seeker. We are incredibly close now. She spent 38 years in the military. She's a hero and I look up to her. I would notice girls at school, but they didn't notice me. I had a crush on a girl in the sixth grade; she was sweet and smart. I couldn't work up the courage to tell her. I saw her in New Orleans 20 years ago; I recognised her face, and got the courage to tell her I had the biggest crush on her as a child. She replied, 'I had the biggest crush on you, too.' My mother was aware I loved music from the age of three. I played the piano for the first time when my dad, Harry, was running for political office. He opened his campaign quarters and Mom got a piano in there for me to play.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ten (or more) big shows to book now
The chipper red-haired 11-year-old orphan who, pining for her parents, swaps an orphanage for opulence when Fifth Avenue billionaire Oliver Warbucks plucks her from Depression-Era captivity to life in his mansion ahead of Christmas to improve his image. Expect heartwarming tears, a very cute dog, songs such as Tomorrow and It's The Hard Knock Life, and Anthony Warlow, an Annie -aficionado after previous runs (including on Broadway), as warmly stoic Warbucks, comic chops from Debora Krizak as Miss Hannigan and the original Yellow Wiggle, Greg Page, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Capitol Theatre, Sydney, until June 21; Princess Theatre, Melbourne, Jul 8-Sep 28. Anastasia: The Musical Inspired by the legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, the youngest Romanov princess, and the 1997 animated movie with a score by this musical's co-creators, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, Anastasia follows Anya, a young orphaned woman with amnesia seeking her true identity. Swinging from the dying years of the Russian Empire to the dazzle of 1920s Paris, it swirls between political turmoil, gilded palaces, a handsome ruffian and a ruthless villain, all alongside its resilient heroine. Regent Theatre, Melbourne, from December; Lyric Theatre, Sydney, from April, 2026. MJ The Musical A winner of four Tony Awards, seen by nearly two million people during its Broadway run, and one of the highest-grossing musicals ever created, this biopic is not about the 'King of Pop's' troubled years, or allegations made against him. Set over two days, it explores Jackson's creativity and artistic legacy, his father's influence, his early years singing with The Jackson 5, Motown, and Quincy Jones, and the songs, dance prowess and perfectionism that made him a superstar Lyric Theatre, Sydney, until Aug 23; Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, Sep 9-Nov 2. Carmen Melbourne Theatre Company artistic director Anne-Louise Sarks swaps Blanche DuBois, the complex antiheroine of her 2024 production of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, for Carmen, the molten femme fatale of Georges Bizet's four-act opera. Sarks' modern retake of the original story, a deadly love triangle between Carmen, gullible soldier Don Jose and dashing toreador Escamillo, redefines perceptions of the title character, amid heart-pulsing music, dance and song. Sydney Opera House, Jul 10-Sep 19, Regent Theatre, Melbourne, Nov 15-25. The Book of Mormon Regularly described as witty, filthy and outrageous, the Tony, Olivier, Grammy and, for its 2015 Australian debut, Helpmann Award-winning musical, is the satirical work of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q, Frozen). Follow the adventures of Elder Cunningham (Nick Cox, Le Fou in Disney's Beauty and the Beast) and Elder Price (Sean Johnston, Hairspray), two naive missionaries sent to a remote Ugandan village, who discover what the power to make change for good is really all about. Capitol Theatre, Sydney, July 15-Nov 30. Back to the Future: The Musical If you get tingles hearing Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) ask Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), 'Wait a minute, Wait a minute, Doc. Are you telling me you built a time machine out of a DeLorean?' (exactly 23-minutes and one second into the 1985 film Back to the Future) then book this Australian production of the musical adaptation now. Not only does our teenage hero (played by Axel Duffy) utter the line, he says it to Tony Award-winner Roger Bart, who originated the boiler suit-wearing Doc Brown role on Broadway and the West End. There's also 17 new songs, skateboarding in a puffer vest, much 80's-50's plutonium-powered time-travel and that DeLorean. Lyric Theatre, Sydney, Sept 26-Dec 28. The Lion King No word yet on this mega-musical touring beyond Sydney but opening night is ten months away so anything could happen. Director Julie Taymor's 1997 adaptation of Disney's The Lion King won six Tony Awards, including best musical, and has been seen by 120 million people in 25 countries. It's the box office-breaking show's third visit to Australia and who wouldn't feel the love for Simba, Mufasa and Scar's return. Capitol Theatre, Sydney, from April 2026 Beetlejuice Given five stars and hailed 'an offbeat triumph of camp gothic' by our reviewer, the Australian production of Beetlejuice is led by perpetual triple threat Eddie Perfect who wrote the music and lyrics for this Broadway adaptation of the 1988 Tim Burton comedy-horror film. It's welcome praise after its 2019 Broadway debut drew mixed reviews. Perfect plays the title's agent of chaos character to the hilt and film fans will rejoice that the musical retains Burton's desiccated heads, calypso songs from Harry Belafonte and Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) among other irrepressibly nightmarish kinks. Regent Theatre, Melbourne, until August 31 Rent The late American playwright and composer Jonathan Larson's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, which transplants the Parisian bohemians of Puccini's La Boheme to New York City borough Alphabet City in 1989, was an immediate sensation after its 1996 opening. It also inspired a 17-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda to write his first musical. Larson never saw the show open – he died from an aortic dissection the night before its premiere – but Rent's earnest and emotional look at life, love and AIDS lives on. Sydney Opera House, Sep 27-Nov 1. Shirley Valentine Middle-aged Liverpudlian 1980s's housewife Shirley Valentine is living her 'little life' – dreary housework, dinner for her unadventurous husband, kids flown the nest, grey days with little spark. She talks to the wall because that's the only thing listening. After a friend invites her on a holiday to the Greek island of Corfu, Shirley rediscovers her adventurous self, sparking questions about her future. Lee Lewis's concise direction draws a smart, funny and affecting solo performance from Natalie Bassingthwaighte in Willy Russell's ever-wise and witty play. Theatre Royal, Oct 22-25
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Why Christina Hendricks turned 50 and changed her attitude
This story is part of the June 15 edition of Sunday Life. See all 15 stories. B ang on time, Christina Hendricks Zooms in from her sunlit Los Angeles living room. Cheekbones like summer peaches. Famous hair loosely scraped back. Disarming smile. Oh, and there's a small dog with its paws on her shoulder, a cockapoo named Triscuit. 'I just woke from a little afternoon nap,' says Hendricks, casually fabulous in a striped T-shirt. 'Today has been a lot of life maintenance. Getting the dogs groomed, a friend dropping by with styling things, dealing with the pool. Stuff that catches up with you.' It feels like Hendricks is cataloguing a non-glamorous day to put me at ease. It's 6am where I am, in a Thai hotel room, coming live with ghoulish lighting to one of the world's most-celebrated beauties. She waves away apologies for my wrinkled sundress and bed-hair: 'Don't worry. I'm flattered you got up so early to talk to me.' The warmth feels authentic. While her most famous character, Mad Men 's Joan Harris (née Holloway), moved through the world like a shark, Hendricks is charming, generous and funny. Old-school vivacious. Interesting and interested. The domestic admin is happening ahead of Hendricks and her husband, cinematographer George Bianchini, heading to their other home, in New York City. While Bianchini is nowhere to be seen when Hendricks twirls her screen to showcase their home – a wall of framed posters and photos, books, a comfortable sofa – he's on his wife's mind. 'We spend nearly every waking moment together and never get tired of each other,' she says. 'He leaves for an hour and I'm like, 'I miss you.' He's my absolute best friend.' The pair met on the set of crime-comedy Good Girls, in which Hendricks starred from 2018-21, but Bianchini is 'quite serious at work so we didn't really talk'. In 2020, they had a Cobb salad lunch at New York institution Barneys, and 'that's when the romance started'. Initially long distance, the relationship surprised them, she says. 'We didn't expect it.' With matching tastes in music, food and humour, they proposed to each other in 2023, and their New Orleans wedding in April 2024 was, the bride says, 'gothic, moody and sexy'. 'We spend nearly every waking moment together and never get tired of each other. He leaves for an hour and I'm like, 'I miss you.' He's my absolute best friend.' CHRISTINA HENDRICKS The couple's first wedding anniversary was followed weeks later by another milestone for Hendricks – she turned 50. Girlfriends threw a small party that left her weepy, 'looking around, seeing the support I've had for 20 years', then Bianchini masterminded a three-day extravaganza in Las Vegas. The birthday itself? Less great. Hendricks was 'not super pleased. I'm not like, 'Yeah, woo, 50!' I'm like, 'All right, here we are. Here we go.' ' For the dual Screen Actors Guild Award winner and six-time Emmy nominee, a half-century means 'a lot of introspection about where and how I want to be. I'm still unpeeling it.' The bittersweet part is less ''Oh, I look or feel older' and more, 'I really like it here. How do I want to spend the rest of this beautiful time?' ' Instead of a clichéd glow-up, Hendricks is letting go. 'There's been a shift – an 'I don't give a f---edness'. I'm less concerned about what other people think.' Along with a rich personal life, Hendricks is buoyant about season two of The Buccaneers, Apple TV+'s bold feminist drama. Based on Edith Wharton's unfinished novel, The Buccaneers follows five rich American girls crashing 1870s British society. Think corsets, chaos and estates, with a mostly female cast, all-female soundtrack and a female director, Susanna White. Filming took place in Spain and Scotland, and Hendricks says falling back into a rhythm with her younger co-stars, including Kristine Froseth, Aubri Ibrag and Mia Threapleton, was easy. 'Everyone came in wanting to make this series even better than season one.' Hendricks plays the unconventional, strong-willed Patti St. George, whose social standing as the mother of the Duchess of Tintagel clashes with her midlife reckoning with divorce, status and independence. 'Patti's story is a modern take on what someone in the 1800s would experience,' she says. 'But showing it in a relatable way to shed some light on how difficult it has been for women for this long. We are in 2025, seeing a very familiar courtroom-drama type of behaviour: the scrutiny, the doubt, the power play that can happen between men and women in the legal system.' Hendricks knows first-hand how staggeringly hard divorce is. She split from her first husband, Geoffrey Arend, in 2019 after a decade together. 'I've had that moment of being under someone else's sky and feeling disconnected from your heart,' she says. 'But there's also something empowering in saying, 'All right, we have made this decision. And now we have to move forward.' ' Resilience runs through her story. Born in Tennessee to a psychologist mother and a forest ranger father, Hendricks grew up in Oregon and Idaho. Her first jobs were in a beauty salon and menswear store, and by 18, her 'unusual and quirky' looks led to modelling work in Japan and Italy. Acting lessons helped her transition from commercials to TV. That's her hand (but not her stomach) on the poster for the 1999 Best Picture Oscar winner American Beauty. Early roles in TV series such as Beggars and Choosers and The Court led to her 2007 breakout part of Joan in Mad Men. At first, the character terrified her. 'I called [creator] Matt Weiner and asked, 'Is she just a bitch?' He said, 'No, she's trying to help.' Once I could see how hard she worked to be a wife, mother and great at her job, I started to relate to her more.' Audiences didn't just relate – they adored Joan. 'They were like, 'Go girl!' They found her honesty refreshing,' says Hendricks. 'I thought maybe this strong woman could be me, too. She gave me confidence.' That confidence helps Hendricks navigate an industry she believes is a struggle. She doesn't elaborate but says, 'Some things happened a few years ago that I'm still dealing with emotionally. I didn't feel I had power. I wasn't being heard. That's a power-play women still face.' Tougher now, Hendricks is more open and less afraid to speak her mind: 'I stick up for myself.' She does this for others, too, through supporting LA's rape-treatment centre, and mentoring women in film. Some of her best career advice came from Carol Kane, her co-star on Beggars and Choosers, Hendricks' first TV series, when the cast was told to run and form a tableau in front of the camera. 'She told me, 'Honey, you're just as important. Get up front and show your face.' ' The bigger life message from that moment? 'Be respectful of people who've been there longer. Learn from them,' Hendricks says. 'But also, you're there for a reason. Don't be afraid to say it out loud. Ask the questions you need to ask.' It's a cue to say I want to ask questions that might feel reductive, but what the hell – when will I get the chance again to find out what skincare products Christina Hendricks uses? She laughs and says she'll shut me down if we veer into 1950s housewife territory. Style first. Audiences have seen Hendricks in everything from 1960s chic to corsets. At home, it's 'easy-breezy, French girl' wide-leg jeans and striped tops. 'And you wouldn't believe how many silk floral soft things I own,' she says. That snowy complexion takes work, she says. 'I have dry skin, so I use balm, not cleanser. Thick, creamy things – I pile 'em on.' Exercise? 'The worst. I studied dance for many years so I respond to Pilates, as it uses body positions and stretching and strength that I understand.' While she works in an industry that worships youth, Hendricks doesn't feel she's judged or lost work because of her age, although she's self-aware enough to only go for roles she's right for. 'But I have noticed a difference [between cast members of various ages] when I'm on The Buccaneers set. We communicate differently, relate differently, work differently.' Loading One role she's played often is that of a mother. In real life, Hendricks is child free by choice (kids are 'a lot of work', she's said previously) but speaks with clarity and care about motherhood, especially as it relates to the mother-daughter relationships portrayed in The Buccaneers.
