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Matthew McConaughey’s mom, Mary “Kay” McCabe” is, to put it nicely, a firecracker. She’s 93 years old and we have heard a lot of interesting stories about her over the years. For example, during her second divorce from Matthew’s father (before they married for a third time), she, by admission, f-cked Woody Harrelson’s dad. She also infamously “hazed” Matthew’s wife, Camila Alves, when they first started dating. And, of course, who can forget about that time Kay told the whole world about her husband-of-three-times’, err, climatic death?
Kay recently did an interview with Austin Lifestyle in which she talked a lot about her very eventful life, including all three times she married Matthew’s father, Jim, the drama behind Matthew’s birth, her driving status, and her outlook on life in general. It’s actually a pretty good read. Some highlights:
You and Jim McConaughey had quite the love story, beginning with you proposing to him? Jim McConaughey couldn’t make up his mind whether he wanted to get married or not. I met him in college and we were pretty tight, but he couldn’t seem to make up his mind. I knew he loved me, but if we didn’t get married, I could go back to New York and model. So, I sent him an invitation to his wedding and I said if you can make it, fine, but if you don’t show up at the altar, then it’s over and I’m going to New York. But, he did show up. It wasn’t that he didn’t love me, he simply could not make up his mind. And I don’t think he wanted to get married at the time, but I wanted to get married!
You got married and divorced three times. Yes, all to Jim. Not many people can say that. I had three traditional real weddings, once in the Presbyterian church, once in the Catholic church and once in the Methodist church.
And you and Jim had a son, adopted a second son, and then Matthew was a surprise? Oh my, was he ever! Oh my god yes, he was. In fact, he was such a surprise my friend took me up to the hospital to have Matthew and Jim McConaughey said, ‘Well, I don’t know if that’s my son,’ and I said, ‘Then don’t come up and see if he’s your son.’ But he did, he decided to come up and see the baby, and I said, ‘What do you think?’ and he came around. I mean, who else’s baby would it have been?
Do you still drive? No. I was asked to turn the keys over. My boys got together and said I was making poor choices. And I was. I’ve heard of 90-year-old women driving, but I don’t know about that, and I’d never had the chance because they asked me for the keys. I was hitting cars on the side, going too close. I’m not a good driver, not at all, but I don’t like to drive. Matthew and Camilla loan me their driver Marcel.
What’s amazed you about yourself lately? That I’m very resilient. That’s always amazed me and it still amazes me.
What’s bringing you joy lately? What brings me the most joy is my grandchildren, I have six of them, and whenever I’m around any one of them my heart is full of joy. They keep me young, and that’s where I get my joy from now.
What are you most looking forward to this year? Another good year of good health, because I plan on living until 98. I just picked that number. I think that’s a nice number because if you get too old and you can’t get around and your mind isn’t good, then what’s the point?
Seems like you’re in pretty good shape right now. Yes, but I work at it. I read a lot, I keep up with things, you have to work at it at my age.
What are other things that you do to work on it? I keep up with current events on my ipad. I want to know what’s happening in the world. I’m curious, very curious about life, still.
What’s your favorite one of Matthew’s movies? “Dallas Buyer’s Club.” He did a really great job, really and truly. That made me cry.
What’s a favorite mantra? Turn the page.
Is there anything else you want people to know about you? That I’m a happy, happy, happy person. That’s what I want people to take away after they’re around me, that I don’t talk negative, I just simply do not, so I am a happy person. I’ve had situations in my life, that I wrote about in my book, with my real mother and my stepmother, that did not make me happy. But, I learned to be anything other than those two people. That’s advice that I’ve given myself and consequently I’ve chosen to be happy, in spite of the way that I was treated by those two women. You have a choice, and I will never let you take my choices away. We always have a choice. And, I know I’m not going to live forever, but I can’t imagine dying. Some people think about it, but I don’t. I’m mature, but I’m not old. I do love life, I do, I do, I do.
I’ve always thought of Kay as being a free spirit who embodies chaos and this interview pretty much reaffirms this perception, but I will from now on add “resilient” to my description. I don’t think that she and I would get along politically or even agree in the way we go about things, but I do appreciate a lot of her honesty here. I like her outlook on life, what she says about turning the page and choosing to be happy, and how she embraces death by just not thinking too much about it. We really can learn so much from our elders.
That said, Kay and Jim’s relationship sounds like pure chaos, sh-t show energy all of the time. I love Mr. Rosie with all of my heart and soul, but I don’t know if I’d still be all in after all of that. For me, questioning our son’s paternity would be a dealbreaker, but by Kay’s own admission, Matthew was an oopsie baby and she was f-ckig around with Woody’s dad at the time. Again, so much drama. But hey, good for her for putting him on the spot like that with their first marriage and seeing it through a second and third time. Given the time period in which that happened, that ultimatum was ballsy. When you get their whole wild romance in context like this, it definitely makes Jim dying during sex seem like a pretty fitting end.