InStyle Magazine, January 1999
by Hillary Johnson
Kellie Martin is nothing like the not-quite-a-doctor she plays on NBC's ER this season. First-year resident Lucy Knight is all thumbs with an IV; in Martin's case, there seems to be little the 23-year-old TV veteran can't handle. If she seems uncannily relaxed and confident, perhaps it's because she has practiced going through her "awkward phase" maybe a dozen times--and in front of millions to boot. In fact, Martin has made a career out of coming of age: as a teenager on Life Goes On, as the teenage schoolmarm on Christy, and in countless TV movies. Now she's set to do it again as the overager new kid on ER. When she's not scrubbing in for trauma scenes, Martin is, in real life, a third-year art history major at Yale, with a serious photography habit, a boyfriend who's a law student, and a penchant for wearing "whatever is on the floor."
What makes a good-hair day?
Kellie: I wash and blow-dry my hair every day. I know it's not good for it, but I'm kind of compulsive about keeping it clean. I like to smell clean hair. I use Sebastian conditioner--it keeps it feeling silky.
Are you blonde at heart?
Kellie: I'm not a real blonde. I've been every color: red, brown, black. When I have black hair, I look dead. And I don't have the striking personality to go with it. This is lighter--I'm a light person, and my hair reflects my personality, I think.
What's your makeup routine?
Kellie: I use Dermalogica skin-care products. When I go out to an event, I use Chanel. I love their new eye shadows; they're fun. I use fun stuff, like Stila, which has crazy colors. I like purples, blues, whites and little shimmery things. For lipstick, wine and pink. Sometimes I use blush, but only when I go out.
What's in your makeup bag?
Kellie: Maybelline Great Lash mascara in Very Black and Chanel Lip Glow. When I have to be presentable, Chanel Matta Makeup and Chanel Quandra Eye Shadow in Excentriques and Embrun. Those little eyelash culers. And vanilla lotion! I put it on every morning, and when it wears off I put it on again. Sometimes when I go out at night I wear Envy, but I'm kind of overwelmed by perfume.
What beauty area do you neglect the most?
Kellie: I never, ever do nail polish. I do alot of photography, so when I'm developing and printing my own stuff, the chemicals eat away at whatever I have on. Nail polish doesn't really go with fixer. Fortunately, on ER no one comes in with a manicure, because they get close-ups of our hands and they can't look too well kept--a real doctor wouldn't have time.
What do you eat to stay fit?
Kellie: I hate talking about diet! I eat alot of power bars. I get to work and they say, "You want some pancakes? French toast?" Never something good for you. You can't eat like that every day. I mean, I'm 5-foot-2, 5-3 on my good days. So I have my little bars. The diet of an actress or model isn't much fun.
So what is your idea of fun?
Kellie: I love sushi, pizza, pasta, oatmeal--all the comfort foods. Oh, and frozen yogurt with chocolate sprinkles--once a day. Gotta have that. On my birthday I eat a big stack of pancakes, because life is too short. When I was 13, I didn't eat anything. My friends started throwing their lunches away at school, and I did too. I think girls need to know not to buy into that. I like actresses who have a body. Kate Winslet is gorgeous; there are woman who are too skinny.
Are you a jock?
Kellie: I love tennis. I started playing at 7, with my dad. But recently I broke my foot playing tennis, so I started Pilates, and I loved it. I normally do high-impact stuff that's pretty hard on your body, like kick-boxing, so I'm excited about keeping up with this.
What's your fashion fetish?
I love suits! But I don't get to wear them often. I wouldn't love working in an office--actually having a job--but I love the clothes. I have very different personalities. When I'm at school, my style is completely different from when I'm in L.A. At school, everything is out the window. I wear what's comfortable, put on overalls and my coat, and go to the darkroom. But in L.A., I love wearing Mark Wong Nark, or Richard Tyler if I'm going to something like the Emmys.
Have you every gone through a phase?
Kellie: When I first started college I went through a preppy phase where everything was very buttoned-down. There are a lot of preppy people at Yale. But then I started photography and suddenly I was hanging out with a whole new type of person--they were very artsy, blue hair and everything. I didn't go that far, but I definitely loosened my style a bit. *