Liv, who is writing the book's foreword, curls up in a chair in her casual-chic uniform of Lanvin flats, skinny jeans, and a cozy striped sweater. Today she, Liv, and Bebe Buell, Liv's mother, are having a family get-together in New York, while Dorothea has meetings for her sixth book, Modern Manners, out next year. And let's face it," she says, lowering her voice politely, "it's here to stay." "I like classical music and Frank Sinatra, but I'm always open to a new experience. "I got to the stage door and this girl said, 'You're Dorothea, aren't you?' I said, 'How did you know?' And she said, 'Steven said you wouldn't look like anyone else,'" the blonde-coiffed Johnson, now 82, says, giggling. She was there to watch the concert with her only grandchild, Liv Tyler, daughter of lead singer Steven Tyler.
She'd just gotten off a plane from D.C., where she founded the Protocol School of Washington, but she wasn't there to teach rock stars any table manners. I think about that in life so much, like just to go with your instinct and be willing to take risks.It was 1997 and etiquette expert Dorothea Johnson pulled up to an Aerosmith show in Boston clad in an Armani suit. I literally say it to myself every day, like every time I am about to start acting I am always like ‘shut up and don’t think so much’. Robert Altman, the director on Cookie’s Fortune, said it to me. “Shut up and don’t think so much” is the best advice I’ve ever been given. It is really about balance in a lot of ways. When that feels successful to me then I feel really good. I measure my success in life on my family and how my relationship is with my children, the people closest to me. Related Story: Designer Paul Smith Shares His Greatest Life Lessons I was very fortunate but I started working at such a young age that my focus wasn’t on my education and I didn’t go to university. I’ve had an incredible life filled with knowledge and education and I am continuing to learn and I am grateful for that. I just wish for them to have a passion in something. As far as what they want to do I can’t wait to see if it is something artistic or in the business world. For my boys I really want them to have an incredible education and be able to just be kids and to focus on the job of learning because it is really an incredible thing. I want to give them the best education possible. Helping your children flourish in whatever it is they want to do is amazing. So when meeting anyone in life I come with just a blank canvas. Sometimes people just surprise you and they are amazing and sometimes people are not who you thought they would be. Obviously you are a completely different person. I think in general when you are the child of someone recognisable people assume that you are like that person. The most frustrating thing about having famous parents is that everyone assumes they know you. R elated Story: Life Lessons with Former Vogue Editor Carine Roitfeld Let them tell you everything about the thing that they are interested in and about the things they love or are obsessed about. Whether it’s with your children or a partner, you really need to stop sometimes and put everything down and let them just talk and talk. It’s only when you stop that you are really present with someone. You need to listen to them and be with them and pay attention to them or things can slip through the cracks. I would say for any relationship it’s so easy to get caught up with stress and everything that is going on in our lives. The secret to a good relationship is to just to pay attention and to look and listen. Liv Tyler wears Valentino in the latest installment of the women seriesĮveryday, as a mum, there is something new to learn.