Jennifer Siebel Newsom and the Year of the Woman

JENNIFER SIEBEL NEWSOM, 34. Film and television actor (Life, Mad Men, In the Valley of Elah); founder of the production company Girls' Club Entertainment; founding member and national spokesperson for Women's Independent Cinema. Shot on location in Nob Hill by Anön.

The capsule bio above leaves out one obvious reason you might think SF-born, Marin-raised Siebel Newsom would appear on this year's list: whom she married this past July. And undoubtedly, that fact explains why she was quoted on the Chron's front page giving her polite take on McCain's VP choice.

But anyone who thinks she's just another play-it-safe political spouse hasn't been listening very carefully to Siebel Newsom herself, whether she's talking about income disparities or gender inequality. "I'm producing a documentary that's about the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence in America, specifically [in] entertainment and the political spheres," the Stanford alum says. "If we can effect change [there], we can impact the rest of the world." Her acting career has brought those issues closer to home—in 2007, for instance, 13 percent of directors in the DGA were women. "When a team of writers and producers decides who they're going to hire to direct an episode," Siebel says, "they think about who they want to hang out with for three weeks, who they want to grab a beer with—and it's not always a woman." (She's quick to point out that this isn't the case with Life, the NBC show she's currently on.)

The tide is turning, though: "I think this was the year of the woman," Siebel Newsom says. "Hillary Clinton really sparked a lot of these discussions." She got the chance in August to see Clinton speak at the Democratic Convention—where she also had an epiphany while watching Michelle Obama: "I was thinking, 'This woman inspires me. I love how strong she is; I think she's a very elegant mother. I admire them as a family unit. And you know what? It made me want to have kids … it did!" You heard it here first.

What was it like, doing that episode of Mad Men?
When I auditioned for that role, I wasn't allowed to read the script, and I've never had that experience. It was all a secret, so I knew nothing other than what I said until I watched it the night after our wedding. [laughs] We were in Montana and we were sleeping in tents, and I dragged poor Gavin out—I was like, "We have to go watch it!" Essentially, we were in the lobby bar of a hotel with people talking in the background. I got hooked on the show after I shot that episode—I have a friend who gave me all of the episodes on DVD and so I'm a new fan.

You worked in Africa right after you graduated from college—and you brought a dog back to the US from there?
Tika—she slept under the mosquito net with me and she was my guard dog and my best friend. In Botswana, some friends had a couple of horses and I'd go borrow one and go riding before work in the morning—I'd get up when the sun rose and she'd just run behind the horse. Now she's with my mom and dad—we can't have her in the our building, unfortunately, because she's too big—and I hike with her as often as I can in Marin.

So no pets at all in the city?
One day, we will and I'm dying to, because I'm a real animal person. I used to bring home stray pets all the time—at one point I pretend I was 18 and used my dad's credit card to buy a beagle and a rabbit at the pet store in Montana, and my dad was so cross with me—he made me drive back into the town and return them and explain that I was really only 16!

You've said you admire actresses like Glenn Close, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Kyra Sedgwick...anyone else?
Geena Davis, because she started this nonprofit that basically does all the research that proves that there is gender inequity and that there's hypersexualization of young girls on TV and especially in cartoons. You have these men writing and creating and directing these little animated shows, and for every one female speaking character there's three male speaking characters and then when you add nonspeaking into the mix, the numbers are even greater. Geena Davis is the reason that a lot of this information is becoming public now, and I salute her for that. [Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media]

Marc Jacobs sky velvet gown ($3,800) at Marc Jacobs, 415-362-6500. White ribbon and feather hat ($500) at Mrs. Dewson's Hats, 415-346-1600. Jewelry, stylist's own.

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