Off the Grid

NIKKI REED on living the simultaneous life of an eco-entrepreneur and country girl

Written by Kelsey McKinnon | Photography by Sami Drasin

On a recent morning, after Nikki Reed tended to the 15-plus farm animals that roam her biodynamic property, she and her 4-year-old daughter, Bodhi, trailered two horses over to a friend’s plot of land where the family, including Reed’s husband, actor Ian Somerhalder, were planning to camp for the weekend. It might not sound like it, but Reed was actually taking the day off from work, running her sustainable jewelry brand, BaYou with Love. “I live two lives, the life of a businesswoman and the life of a farm girl—on top of being a mom,” says Reed, 34, who still looks like she could play the lead in a Western.

By the time Reed was in her midtwenties, she had already achieved the Hollywood success many hope for in a lifetime. Reed broke onto the scene with the 2003 film Thirteen, a Euphoria-like account of her childhood in Culver City. Then in 2008 she landed the role of Rosalie Hale in The Twilight Saga, which catapulted her into tween stardom. She worked for a few more years before focusing on a simpler life in the Santa Barbara countryside. “To be fully transparent about it, I really did not want to be in the public eye anymore,” she says.

“I live two lives, the life of a businesswoman and the life of a farm girl—on top of being a mom”

Since she was a little girl, Reed has been an animal lover, bringing home rescue kittens and spending time at her grandmother’s farm in northern Malibu. She found her kindred spirit in Somerhalder (Lost, The Vampire Diaries, V Wars), and the pair married in 2015. “He and I together actually have always been a little bit dangerous when it comes to the animal situation. I remember when we were first dating, I called him, and I was, like, ‘So there’s this cat,’ and he's, like, ‘Say no more. Bring him home.’ And I was like, ‘Uh oh, this is gonna be really bad,’” she says laughing.

The pair’s move to the countryside has allowed Reed to flourish. In addition to BaYou with Love, she is the creative director of Løci footwear (a vegan sneaker line), a strategic advisor for the clean medicine company Genexa, and an ambassador for Leica Camera. “California has the ability to offer seclusion, but you can also be in driving distance to these major cities at the drop of a hat,” she says.

“Her goal is to connect with nature and show their daughter the beauty of the world, so that she too will see the value in protecting it. Reed says, “I think nature is the key to happiness. Really. I do.”

“I love the notion of being regenerative and not just sustainable. If you're not constantly seeking out how to do better, then you're not winning,” says Reed.

In many ways, Reed thinks of BaYou with Love as her first child. “The first place Ian took me was to the Louisiana Bayou, where he grew up. I just always thought that that was such a beautiful name. And I thought if I ever have a child I would [choose that] name,” says Reed, who launched her company two months before her daughter was born. For its jewelry, the company uses solar-generated diamonds from California and recycled gold, including metal recovered from discarded computers through a partnership with Dell.

Reed takes all the photography on the BaYou website with her Leica, which she brings with her everywhere. Her art prints (which are available on the BaYou site) feature dramatic landscapes printed on tree-free, cotton-fiber paper and offer a glimpse into her profound connection with the natural world.

“Reed’s dramatic landscape photography (printed on tree-free, cotton-fiber paper, no less) offers a glimpse into her profound connection with the natural world.”

“If I could like tell you my dream, it would be to achieve total food autonomy, to have zero connection to a supermarket, to city water, to anything like that—to be able to live without relying on any system. So, you know, we're not too far off from that,” she says. Reed’s sustainability practice includes rain barrels to catch excess water (she also drinks water from her own well when she can), hydroponic veggie gardens, and composting. For her daughter’s birthday, she suggests hand-me-downs as gifts, she hasn’t had a car in two years (she’s waiting for the Cadillac electric SUV), and she recycles clothing. If Reed has one indulgence, it would surely be the luxury Fleetwood RV that the family loves to travel in. (“When we go off grid, we are off the grid.”) Her goal is to connect with nature and show their daughter the beauty of the world, so that she too will see the value in protecting it. Reed says, “I think nature is the key to happiness. Really. I do.” ●