Introducing the Women Shaping Travel Right Now |
You're going to hear from us a lot more throughout March. In celebration of Women's History Month, we're spotlighting leaders in design, activism, food, storytelling, and pop culture who are pushing us forward. For all 15 women featured on this year's list, visit womenwhotravel.com. |
Right before filming the third season of The White Lotus, Natasha Rothwell was at a silent Buddhist retreat. The actor, who returns in the new season of the show as Belinda, the nurturing spa manager in Mike White's hit HBO dramedy, has deep spiritual roots. "I've been in therapy for 20-plus years, so I'm constantly curious about the human condition—why we are the way that we are—and trying to meet myself and not run from myself," Rothwell says. It's apropos of a season that finds its cast at a resort in Thailand. "The concept of a wellness retreat is not foreign to me at all." At its core, though, The White Lotus continues to put a mirror up to the bourgeoisie's neuroticism, with luxury travel as its lens. Each season, we've found characters so desperate to find something—true love, ancestral connections, a basic understanding of who they are—that they're willing to pay any amount of money for it. Rothwell's character, who we met in the first season, was refreshingly different because she was grounded with the stoicism so many Black women develop from years of being an emotional dumping ground for everyone around them. Rothwell simply defines the upcoming season as being "about class." She adds, "It's about masking the truth of affluence. They can throw money at all of these amazing programs and wellness centers, but it can't heal the parts of them that are deeply broken. It can't prevent them from having to face who they really are. And I think that audiences are seeing [that] really rich people have really fucked up problems." Outside of filming at the stunning Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, the Emmy-nominated actress is looking for a new home for How to Die Alone, the beloved comedy series she created and starred in featuring an airport employee who takes control of her life after a near-death experience. The character's newfound openness and sense of possibility mirrors her own right now. "Because of White Lotus, I've been able to show that I'm a bit ambidextrous when it comes to performance. I want to be able to explore all things. Give me horror; give me historical; put me in a bodice—like, I'm excited to play it all. And I'm open to exploring characters that have toes down, that are grounded." —Danielle Kwateng (Additional reporting by Lale Arikoglu) |
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