“Timeless” is a good way to describe actress Kyra Sedgwick, whose film-and-television career now spans more than four decades. It’s also a common adjective ascribed to her directorial debut, Space Oddity, a science-fiction love story about human connection that stars Carrie Preston, Simon Helberg, and Sedgwick’s husband (of 34 years), Kevin Bacon. Since first appearing on-screen at the age of 16, on the daytime drama Another World, Sedgwick has steadily built an enviable career. Along the way, she’s also picked up both an Emmy and Golden Globe, perfecting the catchphrase “Thank you, thank you so much …” as Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT series The Closer, which ran for seven seasons. She also showed off her comedic timing with a recurring role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Herewith, she shares her tried-and-tested instructions for happiness. —Bridget Arsenault
Alibi: “The dog ate my homework.”
App: Notes.
Bag: Marni.
Bedtime: 10:30 p.m.
Bike: Airdyne.
Birthday: The next one.
Car: Electric.
Child: Non-whiny.
Cocktail: I.P.A.
Cocktail appetizer: Olives, Saint Angel cheese.
Date: Dinner.
Dress: Celine.
Enemy: Exxon.