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On the TV show Younger, Debi Mazar plays an effortlessly cool, hard-core Brooklynite, and of course she is just that off-screen as well, with the instantly recognizable accent to prove it. For years, she and her family have split their time between the New York City borough and their farmhouse in Tuscany. And the pandemic has been no different: “I actually have been traveling,” says the actor, who decamped in New York in the winter to film Younger. Now, she's back at home in Italy. “I have dual citizenship," says Mazar, who shares her food adventures around the country in a cookbook and via the show Extra Virgin. "Like everybody, we are confined. We’re in a red zone and having a national lockdown for Easter. For me, it means, okay, let me stay home, exercise, garden, try to organize my home.”
In anticipation of the final season of Younger, which premieres on April 15 on Paramount+, Mazar Zoomed in from Tuscany to share her favorite hidden Italian villages, a hotel that holds special memories, and the other European country that has her heart.
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How she’s stayed safe in the pandemic:
I've done six quarantines since [last] March, two weeks at a time. I've done 69 PCR tests to work on Younger, with rapid tests on top of that. I never got a sinus condition! We really went through it to be able to shoot this season, so I give a lot of credit to my cast and crew. You get to make the best of your time wherever you are, and use your time wisely. Some people just stay in pajamas and get depressed—they can't go anywhere and they feel bad for themselves. I think it's about self-reflection: Who am I? Can I deal with myself? What can I do to inspire myself now that I've got this quiet time all around me? It's harder on the kids, quite frankly. I have traveled, I have lived, I have partied, I have done a million things in my life. It's not as hard as it is just for my children who are like, "What do you mean I can't have a birthday party? What do you mean I can't visit my friends?”
Her approach to packing:
I am sick prepared. First of all, I make lists, like, how long I'm going for, and what do I really need? So, for instance, I knew I was going to New York for five months and it was going to be winter, but I was shooting on a set where I wear an incredible wardrobe, which I could probably borrow if I had to go out. I wasn't going to any parties or premieres, so I left behind gowns and heels. I tend to pack costume jewelry, and the charms that I wear that I feel protect me, some very religious and superstitious. I bring a very sized-down makeup bag. I'll bring a hair piece so that I don't have to always do my hair, especially during humid weather. And an extra pair of cheap hoops. If I lose them, who cares?
And why she always brings an extra suitcase:
I tend to pack less because I feel that I want to come home with stuff. I came home [to Italy] with nine pieces of luggage. I bought them off Amazon, they are not fancy luggage. I had accumulated stuff, because it was winter, it was five months. I wanted to bring home coffee—I like Bustelo. So as organized and planned as I am, I don’t travel light. My greatest gift is, I have a husband who’s strong and generous and he pulls the bags off the cart. I really try to pack light, but I never do. A lot of times I put tape around my luggage because I’m afraid the cheap luggage that I buy is going to explode.
Her travel pet peeves:
On Instagram, I subscribe to @passengershaming, and I love @subwaycreatures. There's a lot of things that annoy me. The fact that people during this pandemic haven't been wearing masks, or when they put their bare feet up on the TV screen, or they just leave their room so disgusting that you're walking through the hotel hallway, like, "Ew, God, what is this?!" I clean for the cleaning lady. I don't leave things on the floor. Sometimes people get so drunk at the pool and the kids are screaming, and I'm just like, "Can you have respect for other people that are on vacation?"
On seeking out low-key vacation spots:
I try to go to places that are quieter and more remote, where I don't see any celebrities. I find hidden gems. I found this wonderful place—it went viral, my photo. It's called Tonnara di Scopello, a medieval tuna farm on the sea in Sicily. You go there, it's just locals. Last time, I had my fat ass out there, no drama, just feeling free, and it was magical. We just try to find weird, cool places where nobody goes. I was in Stromboli and there was a volcano erupting literally out the window behind my head. It was exciting, and made you feel [like] part of the earth.
The underrated destinations around Italy:
I love going to Napoli. It's got these wonderful caves where they buried the dead in wars, so there are skulls everywhere, and it's very spiritual and beautiful, and the buildings are incredible inside. I love going to the Tuscan coast. I love going to Castiglioncello. It's where Marcello Mastorianni, Alberto Sordi, and Sophia Loren had houses in the '70s. It's a little town with a little movie theater that looks like something out of a Fellini movie. It is so quaint and you can rent an Airbnb there. You jump off of rocks and you swim in the sea. I recommend that people go to Siena and see the beautiful architecture and the rolling fields. I just recommend renting a car and getting lost, it’s the best thing. The Alps are something to behold, too. Talk about cheap! The food is a mixture of Italian-Austrian and you have delicious, crisp white wines, and the baked goods, oh my God. I mean, it's beyond. And the air that you breathe—if you have arthritis, or if you're older, there are spas up there. You can go to heal your body. The air is so fresh, and the water from the river is icy cold. It's just wonderful.
Her coolest filming location to date:
I worked in Madrid for three months, filming a TV series called Arde Madrid. It's on MHz Choice, which is Amazon Prime, very worth watching. We were nominated for all these awards and I got to go to San Sebastian. The Basque country is magnificent. The sea is incredible for surfers, and it's optimal for seafood lovers. It's the best seafood I've ever had in my life, better than in Naples. I love Spain. I love the flamenco. I love Seville. I love going to the south. Spain entered my soul in a way that forever changed me.
Her favorite hotel in the world:
Ooh, it's a hard one. I would have to say Villa d'Este, where I had sex with my husband for the first time. Lake Como definitely is a special place in my heart. I don't even remember anything about the hotel, except that evening that I had, quite frankly. In Paris, I stayed in the Jewish section, at [Le Pavillon de] la Reine. I love the Chateau Marmont [in L.A.]. I never stay in hotels here because I have so many friends. I try to stay with friends—I like to cook!