Helen Mirren, Riz Ahmed and Naomi Watts are among the stars who've turned to social media while isolating at home. Instagram
Helen Mirren, Riz Ahmed and Naomi Watts are among the stars who've turned to social media while isolating at home. Instagram
Helen Mirren, Riz Ahmed and Naomi Watts are among the stars who've turned to social media while isolating at home. Instagram
Helen Mirren, Riz Ahmed and Naomi Watts are among the stars who've turned to social media while isolating at home. Instagram

Riz Ahmed's buzz cut to Helen Mirren's selfie: The most relatable celebrity posts from lockdown


Emma Day
  • English
  • Arabic

As much as they might proclaim it so, celebrities aren't exactly like the rest of us.

And that fact has become ever more clear during the current lockdown measures in place around the world, to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Many A-list social media accounts show palatial properties, swimming pools, at-home gyms and sprawling backyards in which their owners while away the days. Many of us, on the other hand, are watching back-to-back TV shows in one-bedroom apartments.

But, there are a handful of celebrities who are proving themselves rather relatable amid a time of isolation and social distancing.

With no further delay, here are the stars with some of the best posts from lockdown.

Naomi Watts

Spending more time indoors has been great for our laundry baskets (which have never been less full), but not as good for our waistlines, thanks to the plethora of snacks just a hand's reach away. The British-Australian actress is experiencing the same battle with her pantry, with nearly all her Instagram posts in recent weeks featuring food, from recipes to just good old-fashion indulgence. Take the shot above as reference, which she captioned: "Quarantine pro-tip: Eat your feelings..."

Sam Neill

The New Zealand actor has proved himself somewhat of a national, nay global, treasure during the pandemic, with almost daily posts shared from his home. From home-made renditions of classic hits on his ukelele to hand-washing all his shoes, the Jurassic Park star's wholesome uploads show he's struggling to fill time like the rest of us.

Kate Beckinsale

The British actress is already something of a social media gem, thanks to her witty quips (you'll regularly see her featured on the Instagram account, Comments by Celebs). Here, the Underworld star showed that, like us, she's sometimes struggling to decide what's an essential when she nips out to the shops (clock the butter sculpture in particular).

Riz Ahmed

When stranded from your nearest salon, The Night Of actor did what many around the world are also considering doing: taking matters into their own hands. "Anyone else do a #Stayhome haircut that got outta hand? Least now it feels like there's someone else here when I look in mirror," he captioned the above post.

Jack Black

Staying at home made the actor and comedian capitulate: he finally joined TikTok. And what a debut the School of Rock star made, uploading this frankly beautifully timed piece of performance art, filmed on a half-pipe. This synchronised dance is an accurate representation of how many of those entering more than two weeks in lockdown feel: ready to make total fools of ourselves just to stay entertained.

Florence Pugh

The British actress proved why she was nominated for that Oscar this week, with her 21-part Instagram Story all about the art of making "browned bread", AKA toast. The Little Women star hilariously recounted just how she achieves that most expert of snacks – but you'll also find slightly more advanced recipes, such as the above butternut squash soup, on her page, too.

Helen Mirren

When it comes to being relatable, the British dame of acting hit the nail on the head with this straight-out-of-sleep self-portrait, dishevelled hair, nightie and all. The Queen star, 74, uploaded this selfie in a bid to raise for intensive care wards in the UK. "In return for this pic of me literally first thing in the morning, please donate to the intensive care support," Mirren captioned the shot.

Kristen Bell

The Forgetting Sarah Marshall star and her husband, actor Dax Shepard, are known for being rather filter-free about their relationship, and that's not changed as the pair isolate with their children.

"We've gotten on each other's last nerve these last couple days," Bell told ET Online this week. "We're doing much better now because were laughing about it. But when we were not laughing about it for the first couple of days, that's the hard spot."

However, the couple have also found plenty of time to indulge in some self-care between rows, as the above post demonstrates.

Reese Witherspoon

Time spent at home has, it appears, given the Oscar winner even more opportunity to partake in a parental favourite – shaming your offspring. Witherspoon called upon her son, Deacon, to teach her all about social media platform TikTok. "This is so embarrassing," the teen said, after showing his mum some dance moves.

Teri Hatcher

The Desperate Housewives actress this week gave a very in-depth, and refreshingly unglamorous, tutorial to home-dyeing your grey roots. The American actress used fresh-out-of-the-box colour, and even gave herself a pretty professional-looking blowdry.

Elizabeth Banks

We may not all have such an artfully arranged coffee table, but that drawstring-trousers-and-comfy-cardigan combo looks pretty familiar.

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Read more:

'This illness is serious and real': Pink confirms she has recovered from Covid-19

'Put them in the desert': Kuwaiti actress Hayat Al Fahad under fire for telling expatriates to go home

Coronavirus: What the UAE's most famous faces have been doing during self-quarantine

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What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Abu Dhabi racecard

5pm: Maiden (Purebred Arabians); Dh80,000; 1,400m.
5.30pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,00; 1,400m.
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA); Group 3; Dh500,000; 1,600m.
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (Thoroughbred); Listed; Dh380,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA); Dh70,000; 1,400m.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

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