Evan Rachel Wood’s inner rebel

Evan Rachel Wood is a natural rebel, says Rachel Syme in TheDailybeast.com. In 2006, when she was 19, the actress set tongues wagging by dating the goth rocker Marilyn Manson, who was twice her age. Soon, she was emulating his flamboyant appearance. Dying her hair flame-red, she began wearing dark makeup and revealing dresses, with Victorian accessories. Rumors swirled that Manson was remaking her in his own image. Nonsense, says Wood. “If you knew me, it didn’t come as a shock. I had dressed like that on my own. I would want to do something really dark or vintage or over-the-top for an award show, but my people would be like, ‘It makes you look old, let’s keep you young and fresh and light and fluffy.’ And I hadn’t gotten my voice yet so I was just like, ‘Okay, you’re right, I suck, I’ll wear what you say.’” But Manson liberated her. “I found somebody who appreciated all those things about me that I thought were wrong. He liked the music I liked, the way I dressed, the people I hung out with.” Though the two are no longer together, Wood is grateful for the experience. “People didn’t understand my relationship, so they didn’t like it. But who’s to tell you how to live? I lived so long the way people wanted me to, that when I broke out of that, I broke out with a vengeance.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up