'I Take Bold Risks!'

THE OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS GETS READY TO HOST THE TONY AWARDS FOR THE THIRD TIME AND OPENS UP ABOUT FAME, HAVING FUN AND FINDING HER FOOTING

- DAVE QUINN

After winning an Oscar in 2022 for playing Anita in West Side Story, Ariana DeBose recalls getting an important phone call. “Jamie Lee Curtis called to see how I was doing and said, ‘Where are your feet? Tell me where your feet are.’ And that has stuck with me ever since, because it reminds me to be in the moment that I’m in and to not take anything for granted.”

It’s advice the North Carolina native, 33, continues to follow as she balances her busy life. On June 16 she returns to host the Tony Awards in New York City, and later this year she’ll star in her first Marvel film, Kraven the Hunter. As she navigates Hollywood, she feels ready for whatever comes. “Prioritizing my own mental health and peace is an ongoing journey. Some days it’s not great,” she says. “And other days it’s beautifully blissful.”

How does it feel to be back emceeing Broadway’s biggest night?