GREEN & GLOVER: Lady Jane

She may be an English Rose who now calls Malibu home, but British-born actress, artist and jeweler Jane Seymour tells G2 her heart belongs in the greater Washington area.

“I could eat crab cakes until the cows come home,” she says of her affection for Maryland, where she filmed the hit comedy “Wedding Crashers.”

In the movie, Ms. Seymour plays Kathleen Cleary, the wife of the Secretary of the Treasury William Cleary, portrayed by Christopher Walken.

She told us she did not need to research the ways of Washington wives because she’s been observing Susan Blumenthal, wife of Rep. Ed Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, for years. The two are old friends. She is also chummy with Rep. Dan Burton, Indiana Republican, she was quick to add.

“I’m nonpartisan. I just like to hang out with people who make a difference,” Ms. Seymour, who recently became an American citizen, volunteers.

The actress will be back in one of her favorite cities to showcase her artwork at Wentworth Galleries at Tyson’s Corner Galleria and Pentagon City on May 15 and 16.

She explains that she took up art as a means of therapy after a bitter divorce 18 years ago. “I was bankrupt physically, emotionally and financially,” she recounts. “I think a lot of people feel like that these days. My mother told me the only way to move forward was to get out and try to help someone else.”

Since that time, Ms. Seymour’s paintings and Open Heart jewelry designs for Kay Jewelers have raised funds for causes important to her, such as child-abuse prevention.

At the local galleries, Ms. Seymour’s work will be sold at a discounted rate of 20 percent off. She will be available to sign her paintings and take photographs with patrons.

Her next goal is to do a portrait of first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters. She told us she has already sent the White House some of her jewelry.

A little bribery never hurts.

Mrs. OK Elmo

On the subject of the first lady, it seems she is everywhere these days, from the cover of People, to the Time 100 dinner to … Sesame Street?

That’s right. On May 5, Mrs. Obama stopped by the set of “Sesame Street” to talk with Elmo about healthy eating and exercise habits for a Public Service Announcement as part of Sesame Workshop’s Healthy Habits for Life initiative. While we haven’t heard Elmo’s take on the shoot, Mrs. Obama said yesterday that her appearance on the show was “probably the best thing I’ve done at the White House.”

Story Continues →