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When you see Camilla Luddington on screen playing Jo Wilson on Grey’s Anatomy, you see a character that’s fierce, full of love and resilience, and brimming with compassion. But those characteristics don’t just live on screen; you can definitely describe Luddington as the same. While speaking with her, you know she’s all about the love, and all about making sure the children that she shares with husband Matthew Alan — daughter Hayden, born in April 2017, and son Lucas, born in Aug 2020 — are feeling it every day.
Along with being a proud mom of two, beloved actress, and podcast host, she’s also recently partnered with Get’Ems! to prep fellow parents for the back-to-school season. Back-to-school season is a beast, but certain snacks and certain hacks can make the chaotic time feel a little less wild.
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“Get’Ems! are what I actually throw in my kids’ lunch boxes,” Luddington tells SheKnows, confessing that planning ahead isn’t her strong suit. “I think I’m one of those moms who dreads every single morning staring at a lunch box, not knowing what to put in it. I don’t do any of that, food prepping the night before.”
She added, “It’s chaos in my household in the morning. I am picky about what goes into a lunchbox, but my kids are even pickier about what they take out of the lunchbox. What I really love about this snack is I know that if I put Get’Ems! into their lunch, it’s gonna be eaten. They love it. For me, it feels like one less thing to overthink in the mornings.”
In fact, she also relies on this go-to snack for when she picks them up from school, saying, “They act like they’ve never seen food before. So I’ve been keeping them in my glove compartment. When they get in and I know they’re in a bad mood, I just toss one of those back there, and it’s a peaceful car ride home.”
Another routine she has for those chaotic mornings? Waking up even earlier than planned. “I wake my kids up way earlier than they probably should because I know there’s gonna be a lot of negotiating in the mornings. Like, ‘Do I really have to brush my teeth? Do I?’ It’s like, yes. You really do,” she laughed, saying, “Every single morning is the same.”
But one parenting tip she does all year round — not just with back-to-school season — is so quintessentially British.
“One of the things that I do that I don’t see any of my American mama friends doing: in England, it’s a huge cultural thing of making a cup of tea when you’re not feeling great. So when my daughter’s not feeling good, even though she’s 8, I go, ‘Okay, you know what? Let’s make a cup of tea. Do you need a cup of tea? Let’s sit down and have a cup of tea and talk about it,'” she said.
It’s a sweet tradition she’s passing down from her own childhood. “Even I have baby pictures of me bottle feeding with tea in my bottle. Like, that’s how crazy it is back home,” she laughs. “It was probably caffeinated, too, if I’m being honest.”
While tea and open communication can do the trick, the family of four has another trick up their sleeves to keep calm: a “really sweet” book entitled The Invisible String. “I actually have a tattoo; it’s these little hearts connected, and it talks about how even if you’re not with your loved one, there’s this invisible string connecting you,” she says. “This sounds really cheesy, but I pretend to pull on their string, and they’re like, ‘Oh!’ I’m like, ‘See, we’re still connected when you’re at school.’ So I highly recommend that book to anybody who has nervous kiddos returning to school or even starting school.”
Her daughter Hayden, who is entering third grade, “still gets really nervous every year,” Luddington reveals – and she can relate: “I get it, because even when I return to set every season on Grey’s, I get nervous too.”
Speaking of Grey’s Anatomy, Luddington may be nervous about going back, but she’s also just as excited when asked about how she brings her own personal health journey to the screen. Luddington has been refreshingly open about her mental and physical struggles, and how she channels that into Jo.
“I channel that through whatever I’m going through. I feel like I can channel that to whatever [Jo] is going through, if that makes sense. So, even though our struggles are not the same, although they have been the same,” she says. “There was a season when she had a one-year-old and she wasn’t sleeping at night, and I really had a one-year-old and I also wasn’t sleeping. And I’m like, ‘We don’t need makeup to make me look tired. Just as-is is fine.'”
Luddington handles life’s ups and downs with grace and a touch of humor, and her job on such an intense show like Grey’s is no different. She’s been a part of the show since 2012, and she has nothing but good things to say about the hit show she’s been a part of for so long.
“I think that our writers do a really good job of writing characters that are struggling with certain things, always in their lives, and it changes every single season. I think that complexity is why people tune in and can relate every week,” she reflects. “You can just blend both what you’re going through and what they’re going through and make for these really authentic storylines and performances. That’s what I love about the show because I’m reading it too, and I’m feeling it the same way. I’m connected to what different characters are going through, and I love that.”
But that’s not the only project she’s focused on — because who could forget her iconic podcast Call It What It Is? “We had this really crazy situation where Jessica Capshaw, who does the podcast with me, she’s a lead female on Nashville 9-1-1. It airs right before us. So I feel like we have the exclusive spoilers for both shows that we could discuss as we go through this season,” she teases. “So if you are a fan of either of those shows, we will be discussing it.” And we’ll be tuning in!
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