The Gilded Age star Kelli O’Hara is an actress, a marathon runner, and judging by her social media, a fantastic swimmer. O’Hara, who plays Aurora Fane on the HBO costume drama, shared a video of herself wearing a black one-piece swimsuit, doing a backflip from a pier into the water. “Happy Summer. #backflip,” she captioned the impressive post. “Ok, you’re the coolest!” a fan commented. O’Hara is not only a screen actress but also a Broadway star too—here’s how she does it.
O’Hara is a marathon runner, after running her whole life. “I started running when I was 12 or 13 years old, just getting out and running in a way that felt like therapy, where I could think things out,” she says. “When I was in my 20s, I would run Central Park all the time, or Riverside Park. That was always my form of exercise and relaxation. But it was more like six miles—it was never 26.2.”
O’Hara believes the timing was right for her to run the marathon when she did. “I lived in New York forever, and I would always see the marathon going by on my way to the matinee,” she says. “And I’d always be like, I don’t have time to train for that because I’m doing eight shows a week and I’m exhausted already… I really do feel good about it. I know it’s going to be hard. I’m not 20 anymore, but for that reason especially, I feel like I have a little more benefit in having a bit of wisdom when it comes to longevity.”
O’Hara makes sure to protect her skin from the sun. “I’m not too picky with what I wear, but I’m definitely a big fan of sunscreen every single day—I’m always lathering it on,” she says. “I’ve been using Neutrogena face sunscreen, 110 SPF, but I just use it everywhere. I’m very fair, and when you’re spending hours training under the sun, you really need it. I always wear my Goodr sunglasses when I’m exercising outside.”
O’Hara sees running as a form of therapy. “I grew up on a farm (in Oklahoma) and I would run on the dirt roads,” she says. “I would think about things, and running became so therapeutic. I can pinpoint places and cities, both across the country and in New York in Central Park, Riverside Park where I had long, thought-provoking runs.”
O’Hara has performed on Broadway for years. “I’ve always wanted my characters to have more dimension and realistic cores than the ingénue material often provides,” she says. “It’s been a challenge. But I’m blonde, I sing soprano, and I guarantee there is more to me than that. So these characters deserve a realistic portrayal. I think it can be a good idea to know what you do well and use that to open the door for yourself. Once you open the door, close it behind you, and start to make changes.”