HELLO BEAUTIFUL

HELLO BEAUTIFUL
'When Empathy Becomes the Most Beautiful Act of All'
Exclusive Interview with Tricia Helfer
Featured in 'Innerviews'
Hosted by Allié McGuire

​Beauty is often seen, but rarely felt—until empathy enters the frame. For actress and advocate Tricia Helfer, beauty is about more than appearance, it’s about awareness. From portraying a woman rediscovering her worth after breast cancer in Hello Beautiful, to standing up for animals whose voices often go unheard, Tricia reflects a truth we often forget: empathy is the bridge between strength and softness. Here she opens up about the power of compassion and its ability to redefine what it means to live beautifully.

ALLIÉ: As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let's begin today with a conversation about a film you recently starred in. In Hello Beautiful, you step into a story rooted in survival, self-image, and rediscovery. Now, while you yourself haven't faced breast cancer, what did embodying that experience teach you about the kind of beauty that endures beyond appearance?

TRICIA: I have not experienced breast cancer myself, but I know people who have. I actually had a very good girlfriend diagnosed with breast cancer while I was filming that show—she was 50 years old. And she purposely didn't tell me while I was filming because she didn't want to upset me. She was concerned about me filming as opposed to allowing me to be concerned about her going through an incredibly shocking time in her life. That's not really answering your question, but when filming it, I was portraying a version of a woman for whom this was her real story. So much of her platform since has become about the acceptance of the change in your external beauty during something like this. She was and still is a model, and she says she based so much of her self-worth on external beauty—and that’s understandable when that’s how you make your living and how the world sees you because of your job.

For her, I tried to put myself into her eyes and tell her story. But of course, it can’t help but be reflective of my own life, seeing that I’ve had a similar story to hers. I don’t think I’ve ever placed self-worth on beauty, but it is very hard to come from a modeling background and be in the acting field and not have it creep in, even if you know consciously and subconsciously that that’s not what it’s about. So, I don’t know if I learned anything specifically during the filming that I didn’t already inherently know, but it certainly put it at the forefront—something that needs to be continually worked on within myself, for sure.

​ALLIÉ: Let’s talk about the fact that empathy sits quietly at the center of that story—a woman seeing herself through new eyes. As someone who’s spent years in an industry that celebrates the external, how has your own definition of beauty evolved into something more internal and intentional? How has that definition changed for you over the years?

TRICIA: I think it’s a constant struggle. To be completely frank, I think I’m struggling more with it now at this time in my life than I did throughout my youth. The ageism in Hollywood is affecting me more now—feeling that external pressure. I grew up on a farm, among hard workers, where not much emphasis was placed on looks aside from normal human nature. It’s a hard question because you talk about empathy, and the theme of the movie is her accepting herself and her change in herself, but it’s also about what society puts on you. You really have to have  tough skin.

I remember I got into an argument with somebody I don’t even know. I had posted a photo of myself—it had nothing to do with looks—but this person made it about that. People do that all the time. I think empathy is more about having kindness toward each other and toward ourselves. I’m probably my harshest critic. I go through waves. It’s not like I’m all-knowing now and because I’ve done this movie, I’m immune to those thoughts. Of course, I know external beauty isn’t what’s important—I know that inherently—but I’m not immune to it. It’s a constant struggle, and I can only hope that with age comes wisdom, that I’ll get over that hump and never be bothered by another comment or by looking in the mirror and seeing changes. But have I mastered it? No. Am I trying? Hell yeah.

In Hello Beautiful, beauty is stripped away because of health. There’s so much more that’s not just about external beauty—it’s about vitality. It’s not only about losing hair or weight. It’s about feeling like your life is ebbing away. You’re not able to walk up the stairs without being exhausted. So it’s not just about beauty per se—it’s also about health and struggling with the fact that you’re not healthy.

​ALLIÉ: Yeah—of what you once had but no longer have. What do you do with that?

TRICIA: How do you deal with it? And will you ever get it back? If you survive, will you get it back? Will it be altered permanently? Specifically with breast cancer and mastectomies—when I was researching for this role, my mother had recently passed away from colon cancer, so it was all very close to home. When researching, I discovered there’s a much higher likelihood that if a couple is married or in a relationship, it will end in divorce or separation than with any other cancer. There’s that element of a woman feeling she’s lost something that will keep her mate attracted to her.

With Christine, the real woman my character Willow is based on, that’s one of her platforms—to bring awareness and acceptance to the flat-chest movement. Some women who go through mastectomies can have reconstructive surgery, but some can’t. Some experience complications, others can’t afford it or can’t take the time off work. Christine had complications and no longer has enough tissue for reconstruction. That’s part of her advocacy—to redefine femininity and beauty beyond reconstruction. I was amazed when I found out how much higher the divorce rate is. It was staggering.

​ALLIÉ: That’s wild. To have to sit with that—I think it comes back to realizing we can’t ever be the version we were. We can only be the version we become.

TRICIA: And try to learn how to accept that and be happy with where you are.

ALLIÉ: Absolutely. You were talking about Christine’s platform—what about yours? You’ve used your platform to protect and uplift animals, lending your voice to those who have none. In what ways does your work in animal advocacy echo the same empathy that draws you to human stories of healing and resilience? Where’s that through line in all this?

TRICIA: Having empathy for others—for someone going through something—translates to animals too. Animals are feeling, thinking beings. It amazes me that parts of science still debate whether animals have emotions or recognize us after time away. Of course they do. A lot of my work focuses on animal testing—pushing for legislation to ban cosmetic testing on animals. It’s outdated and unnecessary. We now have computer modeling and cell-based testing—there’s no reason to keep using animals. So, for me, it’s about empathy. Thinking of another being—what they’re going through. If I can use my platform to bring awareness to causes I believe in, then I think it’s my responsibility to do so.

ALLIÉ: In your work as an actress, you’ve portrayed light and dark—goddesses, villains, survivors—so many different characters. When you strip all that away, what part of you do you hope audiences recognize across all those roles? What’s your signature?

TRICIA: I don’t really know. I do play a lot of bad characters. A character may know they’re doing something wrong but still do it anyway. You have to come at it from their perspective, so I always try to find the vulnerability—something that explains why they’re doing what they’re doing. Not saying it’s right, but maybe it makes it understandable. I’ve been told that I usually find some sort of vulnerability—again, it goes back to empathy. There’s something people can empathize with. They might disagree, but they can still understand. That’s usually what I try to find, even if it’s subtle or hidden in the performance. For me, that empathy often bleeds through, even if the audience doesn’t consciously notice it.

ALLIÉ: I love the artistry of that—those little nuances of how you pull that emotion and embody it in your roles. So, one more thing I want to discuss today. This month’s edition of AwareNow is called The Beautiful Edition. Let me ask you personally: when was the last time you said, out loud or not, “Hello Beautiful” to a moment, a person, or a cause that reminded you why empathy really matters?

TRICIA: It wasn’t the exact words “Hello Beautiful”, but the sentiment was the same. I said something similar to one of my sisters—Tammy, my oldest. She’s been taking care of our father, who’s very ill with Alzheimer’s. She’s really taken on the caretaker role since our mother passed away, putting her own life on hold in many ways. I was with her recently, and after seeing all that she does, I said to her, “You’re a rock star, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Going back to the film, there’s sometimes not enough attention paid to caretakers—and that was something Christine wanted to focus on in the movie as well. So, I asked my sister, “Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to support you?” I live in another country, so I can’t be there often. She said, in her typical way, “No, I’m good.” But I wanted her to know that I see her—that I see what she’s doing for our family. That, to me, was “Hello Beautiful” to her. ∎

Find & follow Tricia on Instagram:
​@officialtriciahelfer