Andie MacDowell espouses taking care of yourself

Seemingly calm and reserved, “Cedar Cove” actress Andie MacDowell is really a ball of energy. She's been that way since growing up as a young girl in South Carolina.

“I was a naturally active kid, a tomboy really,” she says. “I got my first horse when I was 10 and I would just love to spend time in the woods.”

Even today, the beautiful, soft-spoken 56-year-old admits that if she's not doing something active for herself, she just doesn't feel right. “So many people don't want to do anything and find it drudgery to workout,” she says. “For me, it's a gift. It's something that I do for myself every day, and if I don't get to do it, I'm not happy.”

These days MacDowell has even more reasons to be happy. She has had an extremely successful modeling and acting career, appearing in some of the most iconic 1990s movies, such as “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “St. Elmo's Fire” and “Groundhog Day.” Recently, she could be seen in the remake of “Footloose” and in a guest appearance on the hit TV show “30 Rock.” Last year, she found a new home as Judge Olivia Lockhart on the Hallmark Channel's “Cedar Cove” — an original series based on the books by Debbie Macomber.

Her character, Olivia, fights an uphill battle of balancing career with family and finding love, while doing her best to care for the township she calls home.

The script for “Cedar Cove” couldn't have come at a more perfect time. MacDowell identifies with the character and was attracted to the setting. She had just moved from North Carolina to Los Angeles to work on “Jane by Design” but big cities really aren't her thing.

“I was having a good time on the show, but I just wasn't used to big cities,” she says. “I read this script about a small town, where this incredibly intelligent woman helps people. She has this moral compass and she's bright and interesting and the town was lovely. I thought, ‘Ah, I'd like to live there.' ”

These days, when MacDowell's not working on the show, which is filmed in British Columbia, the divorced mom of three can be found at her Montana ranch, where she relaxes with meditation and yoga, a nightly cup of tea and a little bit of lavender.

“We need to do things to soothe ourselves, soothe our souls and take care of ourselves,” she says. “We all have to be conscious of what's going on in our body, how are we feeling and how can we calm down. Those are important techniques.”

She is also sure to nourish herself properly, too. Her love of fruits and vegetables began when her mom, who came from a farmer's family, introduced them to her at a young age. “It was an important part of our dinner and eating healthy was just part of who I was growing up, but I also ate traditional southern meals,” she says. “We also composted and had a little garden in the backyard.”

She passed these healthy eating lessons down to her children, Rainey, Margaret and Justin Qualley. “I started ‘5 o'clock vegetables,' where I cut up vegetables — carrots, celery, all different peppers, zucchinis, squash, everything — sprinkle them with a bit of seasoning salt and put them with a dip,” she explains. “Start when they're young and they will grow up to love vegetables. It works and then you don't have to worry about them eating their vegetables at dinner because they already did.”

Now grown, Rainey and Margaret have followed mom's footprints into the entertainment business. Both accomplished dancers, Rainey now has an active singing career in country music, while Margaret co-stars on the HBO series “The Leftovers.”

“They're just like me,” she says. “If they don't work out, they don't feel good. Justin's like me too and he can hardly sit down. We mountain bike together.”

MacDowell also learned other, more important, health lessons from her mom. “My mother smoked and that's probably what killed her,” she says. “I'm really conscious of that. You have to look at your health from every aspect — it's body, mind and spirit. She also drank, didn't see a doctor on a regular basis or take care of her health. And she drank way too much. Oddly enough, she died the year she quit drinking. I think her body was just tired.”

MacDowell hopes that by taking care of her body and her mind, she can continue to do whatever she loves to do no matter her age. She is also inspired by others who are active well into their golden years.

“Once a young person had joined our hiking group,” she says. “The majority of us were over 50, but this guy was in his 30s. He thought we were boring, but when the group needed someone to make sure we didn't get lost, an 80-something-year-old man volunteered. I remember looking at that kid's face and he was thinking, ‘oh no.' By the end of the trip, that kid was trailing everyone. I love inspirational stories like that because I would hate to think of myself as getting older and not being able to do the things I love to do.”

She also wants to be an inspiration to others who dislike exercise. “There are no tricks,” she says. “The only trick is to eat healthy and move. The idea that age limits you is only an idea. I do handstands and cartwheels, and I'm going to keep doing them because if you do them every day, it's part of who you are.”

Most importantly, MacDowell hopes that she's an inspiration to her children. She and Rainey even partnered with Tylenol Stories of Strength, where people share stories about someone who's given them strength to do something important. In turn, every story shared supports dosomething.org, an organization that encourages others to make a difference. MacDowell says it meant a lot to her to hear how she inspires Rainey and to also be able to talk about her own mother in a more positive light.

“People have only heard the negative sides of my mother, but we're complex human beings,” she says. “My mother went back to college, was a very smart woman, and got her degree. I'm headstrong, independent, capable, resourceful and savvy, and she instilled that in me.

“I liked the idea of encouraging other people to tell their stories,” she says. “It was a wonderful opportunity to do something with my daughter that was inspiring to both of us. Rainey and I really were looking forward to having this opportunity to say how we feel about each other.”

This summer, Andie MacDowell can be seen in “Magic Mike XXL,” the sequel to the 2012 drama starring Channing Tatum.