Model mom! Camila Alves is always keeping busy with her career, family and marriage to Matthew McConaughey. Now, she’s spilling 25 of her secrets exclusively to Us Weekly.
“My most prized item in my wardrobe is a necklace that Matthew made for me that has all three kids’ names and birthstones, and his birthstone,” the model, 40, exclusively tells Us. “It was inspired by a necklace my friend has, but Matthew created his own.”
The Just Try One Bite children’s book author and the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days star, 52, wed in 2012 before expanding their brood. The married couple share sons Levi, 14, and Livingston, 9, and daughter Vida, 12.
“You know, it’s interesting because when you have little ones, you are physically exhausted, right? And I feel like when you get to the teenagers … it’s almost like you need more energy,” Alves told Us last month of raising teenagers alongside her husband. “You need more brain power because it becomes all very about the mind, right? It’s like a teenager [is] trying to find their identity and find how they’re going to navigate their lives. So I think that … for me, it’s more challenging in a good way.”
She added at the time: “When it comes to more of … the ability to really guide, like, a young man or a young woman, it takes a different kind of brain to pass, you know, brain power [and] to guide [or] to navigate through that. But it’s beautiful. It’s inspiring. It also makes you look at a lot of things that you are doing as an adult as well, you know, when you get to that stage. … It’s a beautiful stage.”
Scroll below to learn more about the Brazil native:
1. I love to collect pottery and table settings, like plates and bowls.
2. My favorite snack is the taco-inspired sundae that I created for Whole Foods Market in honor of National Ice Cream Day. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and salty, soft and crunchy, with a Latin twist.
3. My favorite gift from my kids is a bracelet that my [son] Livingston made me last Mother’s Day. I’ve been wearing it daily ever since.
4. The dish I make the best in the kitchen is a honey chicken recipe on my Women of Today website.
5. My favorite book is Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey.
6. I am currently watching Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
7. My family’s favorite games are Monopoly and Charades.
8. Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill are my favorite singers.
9. My favorite charity to donate to is our charity, the just keep livin Foundation.
10. My go-to liquor is tequila.
11. My first job was harvesting at my uncle’s coffee farm.
12. The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is, “This too shall pass.”
13. My favorite children’s book is Just Try One Bite.
14. My secret talent is making flower arrangements.
15. My favorite city to visit as a family is London.
16. My favorite city to visit with girlfriends is NYC.
17. My most prized item in my wardrobe is a necklace that Matthew made for me that has all three kids’ names and birthstones and his birthstone. It was inspired by a necklace my friend has, but Matthew created his own.
18. The easiest dish to make for my kids is a taco bar or pasta Bolognese.
19. My first concert was a Brazilian folk band called Fala Mansabut. But an artist that you’ll know better is Paul McCartney at Madison Square Garden.
20. Something I have a lot of in my closet are shoes.
21. My favorite workout is Via Ferrata Climbing.
22. Dallas Buyers Club is my favorite movie that Matthew has made.
23. I can’t drink coffee, so I drink tea instead. Lately, I’ve been trying this tea called MUD\WTR with MCT oil.
24. My favorite room in my home is the kitchen.
25. I’m inspired by most people I meet. Some inspire me on what to do, others on what not to do.
