Ariana DeBose Says Her Life Changed In Surprising Ways After Her Oscar Win
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Ariana DeBose never expected to feel stressed after winning an Oscar. But in the days and weeks following her Best Supporting Actress win for her powerful and heartbreaking turn as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, that’s exactly what happened. The achievement was understandably huge for her. Not only because she’d beautifully reimagined an iconic character and been recognized as a Broadway star turned movie star, but because she’d become the first openly queer actor of color to win for acting.
“The moment was important to me and became very important to many communities, and I’m grateful for everything that has transpired, but it was a pressure cooker,” she says from Budapest, where she’s shooting the thriller House of Spoils. “I felt that every day, and now even in the aftermath, I still feel it. There have been times this year that I have been more lonely than ever.”
Sure, earning an Oscar was a dream realized for a girl from North Carolina. But it left her feeling unsettled. “My greatest fear was that I’ve become a poster child for all the big things that I represent, and that people would be like, ‘Okay, great, you have this Oscar. Can you please go away now? Let’s move on. This is a blip,’” she says. “I show up every day for work to prove them wrong.”
And it turns out, her win was just the beginning. Hitting the set of her first superhero movie, Marvel’s Kraven the Hunter, last spring, felt “empowering and affirming,” says the 31-year-old, who plays voodoo priestess Calypso. (The movie is slated to be released later this year.) “I had a heavy amount of confidence in my skill set at the time.” And she still does. “I don’t believe it was a blip.” But now that almost a year has passed since her Oscar triumph, she’s found herself at a crossroads.
Not only is the triple threat plotting her future moves, she’s been asking herself, What will I do next that will fulfill me? Does it include work? Is it about where I want to live? Do I need to take a break?
It’s not all happy visions and self-inspection, though. “It’s challenging,” she admits. “There are days where I feel like I’m failing at life, which is interesting because there are people who look at my life and think, She’s got it made. And in a sense, I do, and I’m so grateful. But there’s the other human side that is dealing with the consequence of what it is to have made it, and it’s not always comfortable. But I’m growing and learning, and I’m in a period of rebirth, and with rebirth comes transition.”
A big part of this life change was releasing shifty energy—cutting ties with folks who’ve shown a different side of themselves after she claimed her award. “Friendships have morphed,” she says. “It’s fascinating to see people want something different from you, like different access. I think people come into your life seasonally, and some seasons have come to a close. It’s a tough journey, but I believe in healthy boundaries. All of it is making me a better person, and a better artist.”
Also leveling her up? A newfound focus on redirecting negative self-talk. Ariana admits it’s not easy keeping that chatter in check, but when her vexing inner monologue gets loud, “I go and grab whatever gemstone I am drawn to, and I meditate with it, or I hold on to it,” she says. Labradorite stones, which she feels help her tap into her emotional intuition, and amethyst, a stone believed to relieve stress and anxiety, have been her go-tos. From there, she tries to tap in to positive thoughts like, I’m still here; there is more joy to experience; I still have purpose.
Getting enough rest also keeps her centered. If she doesn’t get eight hours at night, she’ll do her best to nap during the day. “I can’t function if I haven’t slept properly,” she says. “I believe in recharging.” To get a “full reset” recently, Ariana and her best friend completed a wellness and health retreat in Italy at a place called The Ranch. “We hiked every day. I realized I thrive when I am close to nature, so now I prioritize being by the water.” Taking walks by the riverbank of the Danube, which is close to her temporary place in Budapest, “helps cleanse my energy, and I can hear my thoughts, and I move,” she says. “I have to move. If I don’t move, I am a raging terror.”
Dancing around her house to Beyoncé’s Renaissance album, Bette Midler’s greatest hits, the Gypsy Kings, or Celia Cruz is as key as getting her steps in while outside. “That makes me feel aligned,” she says of grooving. “That refills my spirit.” In addition to her therapeutic dance parties, Ariana works out at the gym three or four days a week doing a mix of intervals, including pushups (“Mind you, most of the time I do them with my knees down,” she says. “There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you engage your core!”), tricep dips, rows, and a variation of lunges targeting her glutes and inner thighs with 10- to 15-pound weights. After doing a few rounds of 10 reps per exercise, Ariana jumps on the elliptical for 30 to 40 minutes. Switching up which muscle group she targets during every workout helps her stay motivated. So does sticking with a set cycle of moves. “Give me a routine and I’m happy as a clam!” she says.
Staying active has been a long-time commitment for Ariana, who started dancing and performing at age 3 and who, after moving to New York at 19, went on to appear on Broadway in Bring It On: The Musical; Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award; and Hamilton. When a shoulder injury, which resulted in chronic subluxation (the partial separation of a joint), threatened to hinder her moves, she became very intentional about preserving her strength. To heal, physical therapy, acupuncture, yoga, and stretching became part of her routine. “Maintaining my body was a full-time job,” she says. “And to a point, it’s still a full-time job. It just depends on the gig. But for me, confidence starts within. So, if I don’t feel good in my body, I don’t feel good when I walk into a room. And, Boo, I don’t stumble anywhere! I have worked hard to look decent.”
Her dedication to sustaining a solid physique was a significant benefit while filming Kraven the Hunter. “My body got to be enough,” she says, adding that she wasn’t required to put in a ton of extra hours training to get superhero-ready. However, she ensured that her mind-and-body connection was on point (and practiced) since her character is all about intuition and intellect. To do this, she’d stretch in the morning while lying in bed to “get in tune with what was going on” with her. She also practiced yoga on-set and meditated for 10 minutes after lunch.
For Ariana, being deliberate is also essential to maintaining a healthy diet. She’s learned over the years that cutting out gluten is key for her. If she doesn’t? “I notice my digestion gets a little sluggish,” she says. So, for breakfast, she opts for a cup of gluten-free granola with oat milk and a scrambled egg with hot sauce. She waits three hours before eating again but sips Pukka Supreme Matcha Green Tea between meals. For lunch, she’ll have carrot or beet soup and lentils with pico de gallo, and in the evening, she has a salad with fish or lean meat like chicken or turkey. And because she’s all about flavor, occasionally indulging in a plate of ricotta and gnocchi pasta is a must.
Finding effective ways to nurture that well-being inside and out has never been more critical to Ariana. “In the last year, I’ve gotten more acquainted with what my power is,” she says, adding that she feels a surge of pride in her progress when she’s able to “positively impact another person or community.” As a board member of Covenant House, Ariana helps to provide homeless and sexually trafficked youth with opportunities to rebuild their lives. “There’s power in showing up for someone else, advocating for them, and feeling like you’ve helped them get back on track,” she says. There is also serious power in showing up for yourself and facing novel challenges head-on.
So with every new beginning, Ariana is learning to trust herself more. Stepping into a behind-the-scenes role as executive producer of Two and Only, a romantic comedy with a bisexual Latinx POV, has been one of the most recent opportunities in that realm. “I’m learning on the job,” she says. “I don’t need to be in front of the camera to make art. When you see through new eyes, that’s what being an artist is.”
Ariana is onto something. She’s tapping into what it means to shift with grace, courage, and excitement. As her life continues to explode with new starts, she’s refining what fuels her changed world.
“Any time something worthwhile has happened in my life, it’s been because I did the thing I was afraid of,” she says. “The second you jump in, you start to refill the cup, and confidence comes back, and by the time you finish, you’re like, ‘Yes, I climbed the mountain. I did that.’”
As she forges a path toward more inevitable greatness, Ariana is clearly gaining a deeper sense of peace and self-clarity. And that’s the real win.
Photographed by Kimber Capriotti. Styled by Kristen Saladino. Hair: Takisha Sturdivant-Drew at Forward Artists. Makeup: Andrea Tiller for Lancôme. Set design: Cate Geiger Kalus.
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