Everyone’s favorite ’80s movie mom shares how she survives the holidays with family—and a little something she learned from her beloved role
You better watch out, you better not cry. You better not pout, I’m telling you why: Beverly D’Angelo is here to share her tips on how to deal with holiday madness. Take that, Santa Claus.
“Let me put it this way,” the actress says. “If there’s anybody who knows about the chaos and stress of Christmas, it’s me. I’m overqualified, both on- and off-screen!”
Let’s address the off-screen portion first. D’Angelo is set to host her extended family—including her two brothers and their kids and grandkids, who live in Ohio—at her house in Los Angeles. Yep, that’s a lot of people for one home! Her solution: Teaming up with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts for the brand-new Wyndham rewards holiday upgrade program. “Guests staying at a hotel removes, like, 90% of my stress,” she adds. “And they get a bump because everything is cleaned up and taken care of.”
D’Angelo, of course, is also a model of cinematic Yuletide serenity, thanks to her role as Ellen Griswold in the 1989 classic comedy National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Amid a whirlwind of insanity—an errant squirrel, a septic-tank mishap and kooky relatives—her character is the one who stays grounded (and supportive of her frazzled husband Clark, played by Chevy Chase). In the decades since its release, D’Angelo (who appeared in five Vacation movies in all) remains delighted by the film’s status as one of the best Christmas movies of all time. “I’ve met generations of fans,” she says. “It helps that it’s always on TV. When I was growing up, it was The Wizard of Oz. Now it’s the Griswolds.”
During the calm before the holiday storm, D’Angelo carved out some time to speak with Reader’s Digest—”My parents gave me a subscription to the magazine when I was growing up!”—to talk about how she’s easin’ into the season.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Reader’s Digest: All things considered, do you prefer being home for the holidays like the Griswolds?
Beverly D’Angelo: Well, that’s the thing! If I’m in a hotel, there’s so much stuff I don’t have to worry about. And I have that excuse of “Oh, sorry I can’t take a call—I’m away.” It’s kind of like a little extra pocket of time.
Reader’s Digest: How else do you keep centered during this time of year?
Beverly D’Angelo: Box breathing. It’s what Navy SEALs do. Here’s what you do: You inhale on a count of six, and hold it for a count of six. Then exhale on a count of six; hold it in. You do that four times—just picture a box. It’s a reset. Your body does something when you hold your breath on an inhale, and especially when you hold your breath on an exhale. It’s a great de-stressor. Oh, and I make a lot of lists, lists, lists and lists!
Reader’s Digest: What are some of your holiday traditions?
Beverly D’Angelo: You know, it depends. We don’t watch my movies. We’re not that kind of family—we separate work from life. We’re not fan-oriented. I don’t think I’ve ever asked for an autograph in my life. But we do love watching films.
Reader’s Digest: Do you have any personal holiday-movie favorites?
Beverly D’Angelo: Look, I’m a film fanatic. I entered into the world of film very early on. I went to Los Angeles when I was 17 to work as an animator and painter for Hanna-Barbera studios. I was visually oriented. Then I got my Screen Actors Guild card with a line in Annie Hall. I started working with Woody Allen, Milos Forman, Clint Eastwood, John Schlesinger and Michael Apted. So my entry into filmmaking was in the worlds of these great directors. That’s how I fell in love with the medium, and now I watch movies all the time. As far as my favorite holiday movie, I’m not seasonal.
Reader’s Digest: But Beverly, surely you must have one!
Beverly D’Angelo: Well … if I had to pick a holiday fave, it would be It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s so great.
Reader’s Digest: What about Christmas Vacation? Do you ever watch it and reminisce?
Beverly D’Angelo: This is one of the best gifts I was ever given: When my kids [twins Olivia and Anton, now 24] were 10 years old, they told me that all their friends at school were talking about Christmas Vacation. So I watched it with them. And I felt the same way you recreate Christmas for your kids—you see it through their eyes. I’m going to cry right now thinking about it.
Reader’s Digest: What went through your mind while watching it?
Beverly D’Angelo: I thought to myself, You know what? It mattered. Because one of the things that happens in showbiz when you live in L.A. and Hollywood is that everything is so calibrated. This is Oscar-worthy, that’s not Oscar-worthy. This is a drama, that’s a comedy. And I’m telling you, there was like a stratification when I watched Christmas Vacation years later with a child’s eyes. It was so fresh. I loved the way Chevy and I interacted. Our chemistry is there—he makes me Ellen; I make him Clark. It’s such a naturalistic thing. Maybe it didn’t look like acting.
Reader’s Digest: So you honestly didn’t imagine it would hold up while you were making it?
Beverly D’Angelo: No! It was the third installment! [National Lampoon’s Vacation was released in 1983, followed by European Vacation two years later.] But now I think [its popularity] has to do with the way it looks. The director, Jeremiah Chechik, came from commercials. The way commercials light objects is fantastic, so the lighting in the movie is fantastic. If you revisit it, it’s shot in a way that is quite beautiful. And it’s paced well. And then things start to arrive the more you see it.
I didn’t have a lot of lines in the movie, but the more you watch it, you see what the wife was doing and you understand who she is by her reactions. Like, if I would have played Ellen as someone who was pissed off at Clark all the time, it would have been a different movie.
Reader’s Digest: There’s also a timeless appeal to it, no?
Beverly D’Angelo: Remember, we made Christmas Vacation before devices. Now there would be, like, so many arguments about the phone. I also think that’s why these films are classic: The heart remains. No matter what happens, these people stay together. Because, honestly, they probably should be divorced. But they’re motivated by a love of family, and that love conquers all.
Reader’s Digest: And it’s quite a memorable family.
Beverly D’Angelo: I’ll tell you this: In the past five or six years, so many people have told me that they identify most with Cousin Eddie [played by Randy Quaid].
Reader’s Digest: Cousin Eddie?! Really?
Beverly D’Angelo: Think about it. Suddenly that character starts to come out in every adult during Christmastime. The kids think that Christmastime is crazy and fun; the adults are motivated to be helpful to make it special.
Reader’s Digest: So during these stressful times, do you have a Christmas wish for everyone?
Beverly D’Angelo: My wish is that we can all talk to each other with an open mind and hear each other without immediately putting up a wall. When it comes down to it, life is about human experience and relationships. It’s about who you are as a person and what your needs are in that moment. If we stop talking with each other, we’re not going to get to a happy ending.
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