The Stylish Life And Fascinating Work Of Cornelia Guest

“I always do what I think is interesting,” Cornelia Guest said to me. We were on Zoom, talking about her work; I was asking about process, how she knew a new project was right for her.

“I’m sure a lot of people don’t think what’s interesting is the same thing I think is interesting,” she told me. “But for me, that’s how I work. And then once I look at it, I might find a different through line or something, but I just sort of put it all together. It’s like a spaghetti sauce. And sometimes you take some out, sometimes you add some more. I’m sure a lot of people don’t think what’s interesting is the same thing I think is interesting. But for me, that’s how I work. And then once I look at it, I might find a different through line or something, but I just sort of put it all together. It’s like a spaghetti sauce. And sometimes you take some out, sometimes you add some more.”

It is a hard thing to do, for any of us, to find a balance between all of the pulls on our attention. None of us gets it perfectly all the time, and there is grace in remembering that. But was talking to an accomplished equestrian and animal rights activist, an incredibly talented lady who has exceeded in a wide swath of careers. So I was not at all surprised when her answer was framed around actionable points with a goal in mind.

“I think it always comes down to you,” Guest explained. “I think if you come into a project and are open, more just comes to you, naturally or through your imagination, and the better off you are on the other side. I always think the most important thing about what you’re, however, one chooses to give back. And for me, I found my true passion to be animals. Some people criticize me for that, some people don’t. But this is what I choose to do. I also choose to do a lot of other stuff that I’m not so much out there with.”

“I think,” the author, actress and designer continued, “whatever you’re going to do in your life when you’re going to give back, you should do it with something that you truly love. Because then it’s not work. Sometimes, what you see is heartbreaking, sometimes you’re elated, you can’t believe you’ve got something done. And sometimes it just knocks the wind out of you. And that’s life. You have to learn to get up, and if you’re helping something else, a little creature or whatever, I think that’s what’s important to do something that truly moves your heart.”

I have an idea that, if not similar, at least runs parallel; I believe that being able to do work that one believes in helps any of us to be better versions of ourselves. It is easier to be generous, patient or compassionate when that part of us, whatever the right label is, is fulfilled by work we care about.

“I think it makes us happy,” Guest told me. “And I think it gives you a confidence, and you learn, when you meet with other people, you see things, and it also teaches you to make decisions quickly, sometimes really quickly.

The lady I was interviewing comes from an old family, you will recognize names. I’m not going to get into those stories, but it feels like context that you, my lovely reader, will appreciate. Cornelia Guest’s mother was C.Z.Winston Guest, was a polo champion, her father, Winston Guest, a global polo champion, was first cousin’s with Churchill. She comes from a prestigious family, and is a lady in every way, but this is a woman who has dedicated her life to animals, to art and to exquisite craft.

“My mother was a stickler,” Guest said. “When I rode, I could wear chaps, but I generally had to wear a little jodhpurs when I was little. I mean, it was very different in that when I was little, we kind of adhered to a way of dressing and I still sort of do it today. Like, when I show up to play tennis, I’m always in white and nobody else is. It’s sort of funny.”

There was a formality to the world she was telling me about, and to me, that implies a certain level of implied respect between strangers, the sort of implied good faith upon which our social contract was once able to rely upon. I asked Guest what stayed with her from her formative years, what still resonated and felt important.

“I was having this conversation with a friend of mine this morning,” she told me. “And I think that what we miss is the elegance of it. We miss the simplicity and the elegance because most of what I grew up with was so simple and elegant. But when Yves Saint Laurent or Oscar did a tribal motif, it was beautiful. The colors were beautiful and the fabrics were great, but it was just basically very simple. And I think that’s what we miss; simple, beautiful things. Because you don’t see simple elegance like that anymore. There are a couple, I think that Dolce & Gabbana are doing it. Oscar de la Renta and Dior do it so beautifully.”

There is a throughline of quality which resonates throughout Guest’s projects, regardless of the medium. I asked her if there was anything from her childhood that continued to feel important today.

“I was always made to write thank you notes,” Guest told me, “and it’s something that I really try to keep up with. A friend of mine, Todd Romano, does the same thing. He and I will say, ‘What are you doing today? Well I have to write 20 notes.’ There is nothing like the feeling when I get an envelope in the mail with somebody’s address on it, a return address, and somebody’s writing. To have a handwritten note, to me, is just magical. I’m on my nieces, nephews and my cousins to write thank you notes because people love it. I think it’s a wonderful gift. My mother was tough about that. I love that, that’s in the book.”

The book she is referring to is an older title of Guest’s, The Debutant’s Guide To Life, which I ordered, and told her about ordering. I collect etiquette guides, I think they are fascinating, and while there are plenty of societal ‘rules’ which could use revision, I often wish that life in 2025 had an option for more formality. Because I think we might be missing something important.

“I agree,” Guest said. “And talking to each other. But when you’re outside and when you’re in the world, a car honks or something and also, when you walk and you look at people, I always say good morning to people, all the dog people are in the park in the morning. I always say good morning.”

A few years ago, Guest portrayed the character, Phyllis Hastings, in David Lynch’s, Twin Peaks: The Return, and as a hardcore film fan, I wanted to ask her about that. But first, I asked her to indulge me and give me her opinion of a question I’ve been chasing the answer to for a while now; when does clothing become costume?

I don’t believe there is a correct answer, but thresholds fascinate me, and someone like Guest, who is both designer and actress, has a perspective I simply had to ask about.

“A costume, for me,” Guest explained, “it’s something I’m wearing on a film set. It’s a costume when I’m not myself. when I’m not being myself, if I’m playing somebody else, if I’m going to a costume party, I’m in somebody else’s skin. I think that when you put on a costume, it’s because it’s not you. If you’re playing a character, the minute you walk out of your body into somebody else’s body, that’s I think, when costume starts.”

And Twin Peaks?

“I loved working with David Lynch,” Guest said. “That was amazing, working with a legend. I think working with an incredible person like him was a gift, he just was such a legend. And he was so kind. And just to watch the way he worked with people and handled things and just communicated. He was such a communicator. You know, he talked to you, he loved to communicate, he loved to talk. But it was also a different time because it was before COVID. So everybody was on a set. People were not as tired. Younger people need their phones. My generation, not so much. You know, I want a book; I don’t like to read on an iPad.”

Cornelia Guest is genuine and curious, and she listens carefully and attentively. I could see easily how all of these facets made her an obvious choice for a beloved IP like Twin Peaks. I was curious about that side of her process.

“With memorizing lines,” she explained, “the more that I learn about what I’m saying, the lines just come easier. I know a lot of people can just look at a piece of paper and memorize everything, go from there. I have to have something in there. It just helps me memorize, and then you can go from there, change whatever you want.”

Guest has been working on another book, she told me, in early days, but a memoir this time, almost.

“It will be out in about a year,” the author told me. That’s exciting. It’s a bit of a memoir, but it’s more of like a romp through the past. It’s not a traditional memoir, we’ll see where it goes, I’m just really starting on it now.”

“But,” she continued, making sure she answered my question about the process, “I think I have to put down as much as I think is interesting, and then take some out. It’s like Coco Chanel said, before you go out the door, take off one thing. I think that’s what you do with a book, you put everything together and you take out what doesn’t fit. I don’t know, I haven’t gotten there yet. This is a whole new experience for me. I mean, I love good fiction, too, but I really do love memoir. I have a lot of stuff and I’m going and looking through all of it. Some stuff I never knew I had and looking at old photo albums, it’s been wonderful.”

Before we left, I asked Guest what inspired her, what makes her feel better when the world seems awful.

“I think you have to be optimistic and hopeful,” she replied. “That’s a choice that you make. I think that it has to come from within, or it does for me. And I choose every day. You know, everything is a choice. And sometimes it’s so hard. Then sometimes it’s easier, and that’s life. I think, to keep hope and optimism, you have to decide, ‘I’m going to be hopeful and I’m going to be optimistic.’ And when you’re around people who feel the same way, it just spreads.”

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