Breaking Dawn's Ashley Greene talks life and love after Twilight

Ashley says, 'I'm a homebody'

GIRL CRUSH: ASHLEY GREENE

Ashley Greene is quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s "It girls." But fame and fortune haven't changed the Twilight star. For remaining true to herself and working to help other women find that strength too, Greene is this month's SheKnows Girl Crush.

After five years of playing Alice in the multibillion dollar Twilight franchise, Ashley Greene will finally say goodbye to the role that made her a household name, as the series comes to a close this year.

"I'm definitely going to miss it," Greene told SheKnows. "But it's also given [me] a lot of opportunities, and I feel it’s kind of exciting."

She's right about that. As the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2 in late November ends one chapter of her life, it marks the beginning of what's sure to be a long and successful career.

Mark Cosmetics campaign

We recently got an exclusive look at just one of those new opportunities, a partnership with Mark Cosmetics.

Find out about Ashley's beauty and fashion must-have's >>

On a dreary afternoon in New York, Ashley's positivity lit up the penthouse of MILK studios as she modeled fresh new looks for Mark's M. Powerment campaign, which supports women in abusive relationships.

‘Everyone should realize their own self worth.’

"Everyone should realize their own self worth," Greene told us. "And it's something I'm very passionate about. You can be such a positive reinforcement to women who are still in abusive relationships and help them the way someone helped you."

Ashley says she was lucky to have an incredible support system over the years. With two loving parents and friendships she's maintained since before she was famous, Greene manages to stay grounded despite the Hollywood drama surrounding her.
"My mom and my dad have been a huge inspiration and a powerful force behind me," she told us. "I have the same friends I've had since sixthgrade. They've grown with me. They don't look at me any differently, and they will still give me a hard time. My mom and dad will still make me act responsibly and do chores. When I go home, I have to wash the dishes."

Friends and relationships

One of her prefame friends is fellow Twilight starKellan Lutz , who Greene told us will remain a close friend long after the series ends.
"I've always been really close with Kellan, so I don’t see that changing,: said Greene. "He's definitely the most stable [friend in the cast]. We were best friends before we even started the franchise."
Though she has many male friends, Ashley is currently single and tells us that balancing a busy career and dating is not easy. Her high-profile romance with musician Joe Jonas last year drew a lot of attention from fans and the press, adding the element of public scrutiny to their already hectic lives. The couple split in March, after nine months together.
"Dating has always been hard; it's always going to be hard," Greene lamented. "Having an extremely intense schedule it makes it hard to draw the line of how important is your personal life versus how important is your professional life."

‘I've always been really close with Kellan, so I don't see that changing.’

Home life

Unlike many actresses her age, Ashley finds peace and privacy by avoiding the Hollywood scene. The 25-year-old tells us she prefers being a homebody and hanging out with her two adorable dogs, Theo and Marlo. Though it's just the three of them sharing a home, her place is rarely empty.
"I love hosting and having dinner parties," Greene told us. "Everyone having a potluck and spending quality time together. Going out is fun, but I feel like when you do, you lose the intimacy. So we're homebodies."
And Ashley is becoming quite the cook.
"We've taken up baking," she told us. "My mom comes out a lot, and whenever she comes out, we try to pick a recipe or two. The last thing I did was sweet potatoes with cream cheese caramel icing. They turned out pretty good!"

Future projects

But with new roles on the horizon, Ashley probably won't be spending as much time in the kitchen. She recently finished shooting a film called CBGB about the New York punk-rock scene, and she has a lot of other ventures in mind.
"I want to do it all," she told SheKnows. "I think an action film would definitely be really fun, to find a really strong, female-driven action film. And on a completely different level, I think doing a period piece, a Marie Antoinette–type film, would be really fun."
As she looks to the future, though, Greene still feels sentimental about her departure from Twilight.
"It's been such a huge part of my life," said Greene. "I've come to know these people as family, and have this comfortability in playing Alice. I choose to be a glass-is-half-full type of person, so I'm trying to look at it very positively."

On being a role model

‘[Hepburn] is such a fantastic example of how you can take this celebrity status in this industry and [use] it to help people and to really give back.’

Ashley says she hopes to take that positivity and be a role model to young women everywhere, like one of her own idols, Audrey Hepburn.
"I know the impact you can have on young girls," said Greene. "It's important for me to set a good standard for people. [Hepburn] is such a fantastic example of how you can take this celebrity status in this industry and [use] it to help people and to really give back."

Be sure to catch Ashley Greene playing Alice for the last time in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2, releasing Nov. 16.

sheknows
xoxo
Carrie