An Interview with Supermodel Anya Anjari in her and Galaxy Award-winner Chrys Fett's Pabu Island Retreat
By Banna Vinter, Vague Magazine
"Welcome," Anya Anjari greeted me warmly as she ushered me into her and husband Chrys Fett's vacation home on the island of Pabu on the planet of the same name. Dressed in a white tank top and beige linen pants, Anjari is the picture of casual elegance with her long, brown hair hanging straight and with minimal cosmetics.
Why Pabu, I asked. It's light years away from their townhome near the exclusive Palace district of Coruscant.
"Chrys has family here, so we come here often." Anjari ushed me into their home going past a huge photo of her on the wall of their front hallway. I paused in front of it.
"That's from my first shoot with Podrick Demarshelye. I think it's a bit narcissistic to display it here, but Chrys likes it, so I gave in." Fett was right; in the photo, a close up of a younger Anjari gazes into the camera, lips slightly parted, cheeks flushed and hair tousled by the wind. If it were me, I'd certainly display it.
Anjari motioned me to sit while she poured the tea. Like the rest of the home, the sitting room was decorated by famed interior designer Sela Jalin and done in restful neutrals of gray, beige, ivory, and black. A bright pop of orange arranged itself on the floor in the middle of this restful scene.
"That's our cat, CT," Anjari nodded to the animal lying on the floor. A fluffy, ginger cat with white paws, CT stretched and turned on its back, its white belly shining in the sun. "Her name is actually CT-MEOW. Don't ask; my husband came up with it," she laughed. "My husband claims that he and CT have a great disdain for each other, but CT sleeps on his head. I don't know if that's affection or dominance," she laughed. "CT though, is absolutely devoted to Evie and lets Evie dress her up in doll clothes." Anjari twisted in her seat to look around the room. "CT's brother 99 is here somewhere. He's a bit shy, though but he too lets Evie dress him up."
Evie is her and Fett's five-year old daughter Eve. Evie's room is a departure from the neutral theme of the rest of the house. Here, color dominates.
"Evie loves yellow and pink, so we have lots and lots of yellow and pink. If that's what she wants, fine. This," she indicated to a well-love Lottie the Loth Cat stuffed animal, "is her most prized possession. My gosh," here, Anjari rubbed her temples and shook her head, "Lottie the Loth Cat songs are great for children and teach them good moral lessons, but Chrys and I know all the words whether we want to or not. Those songs are driving us crazy!" she laughed.
"Where are Evie and Chrys?" I asked.
"Chrys took Evie to the beach so we could talk in peace. They'll come back when it's time for photos. I had to laugh, as they walked down the path, Chrys as usual was carrying her sand pail. If he didn't, it'd never make it to the beach, and then we'd have a crisis on our hands." Anjari laughed.
"How did you and Chrys meet?"
"Well," she answered as we settled on their patio. "We were both working on the same video shoot. Chrys was becoming well known as a studio musician, and we were both hired by the group Unknown Region to be in the video for their song Love and Pain. I and a few other models were basically window dressing, shall we say, swaying in the background and singing to the music. I caught Chrys looking at me, and I smiled back. He would never talk to me, though, just look. Finally, near the end of the shoot, I walked up to him and asked him if he was ever going to ask me out for a drink. He looked absolutely stunned and stammered something about how he had been a soldier and really didn't know how to ask a woman out. I replied that he just needed to ask me out for a drink that night. He did, and I told him that he had to pay. With that, I actually got a slight smile out of him and that shy side eye that he does. So, we had a drink in a place nearby, and the next day, he came back with a proper invitation to dinner. We've been together ever since.
At that time, Chrys was spending more and more time away from Pabu on Coruscant, so he rented a small apartment, what I call his bachelor's apartment. It was very sad. A bed, a chair, a small table, and the rest were instruments. There was nothing in the kitchen. I didn't comment, and over time, especially after he saw my apartment, he began to ask me what he could do to make his place better. We got him a sofa and some nicer towels for the bathroom. He had been eating nothing but take-out, so I signed him up for a chef service. Each week, a droid dropped off a cooler of good, nutritious cooked meals that would last him the week.
Oh, and his clothes! Chrys' old clothes were not much to speak of, and he realized that he needed nicer clothes to look more professional, so he asked my help. He was totally clueless about shopping. I was honest with him about the cost of good clothes, they're not cheap, and he said that he had plenty of money. Of course he did! According to his entertainment database page, he had plenty of jobs and more lined up, and he never spent anything! So, off we went to the nicer shopping area, and I picked out a few nice yet simple things for him, and I insisted that he get a nice suit. Now, if you know Chrys, shopping was painful for him, but it needed to be done."
"So, you were spending more and more time together at this point."
"Yes, at that point, we were basically together and got married a few months later.
"I got pregnant during our first year of marriage. We were both stunned. We had never discussed children, which in hindsight, was maybe irresponsible on our part. But, there we were. Right after Evie was born, we had a nurse droid with us for a few days, but we were so overwhelmed, that we packed up and temporarily moved here to Pabu. I didn't have much family to speak of, but Chrys' sister was here as were his brothers. So, we had a strong support system, and they threw themselves into learning about babies. Chrys' brothers, being former commandos, treated this like a mission with the objective of Evie's survival. They threw themselves into learning about babies and had strong opinions on the baby's sleep position, when to let her cry and when not to, and so forth until I needed to breastfeed, then they turned into blushing, giggling schoolboys and ran away. We had other friends, mothers, nearby who taught all of us when to throw away the books and go on our intuition. And, yes, ultimately, Evie survived." she laughed. "We have to be careful, though, that she's not spoiled rotten by everyone."
"Oh! One day shortly after Evie was born, I was in a state. My hormones were all over the place, my breasts hurt as did down there since I had torn a bit. Chrys came in and saw me crying. I got out what was wrong, and all he said was, "Right." He then walked out. Well, he went straight to one of those older mothers and told her what was wrong. She sent him to the store for analgesic cream and chocolate. She then had him make some kaf while she made me a nice hot compress for my breasts. I told her that I couldn't have kaf or chocolate while breastfeeding, but she emphatically said that Chrys and I couldn't take proper care of Evie unless we took care of ourselves first. She had me drink all the kaf and eat all the chocolate. It was heaven! She then gave me the cream to use. I can't describe how much better I felt."
"You quit the industry right around the time, didn't you."
"I did. I had not been happy for some time but didn't know what else to do. Chrys was encouraging me to quit if I wasn't happy, and Evie's birth gave me a good reason to do so. I also started doing some volunteer work on behalf of retired soldiers Chrys had served with in the military."
This was all quite a change for Anjari, who grew up in the industry as the daughter of famous model Suze Anjari. "That's right, this was really the only thing I knew. A mother well-known in the industry, a father who was never a part of my life, and a few other, frankly, indifferent relatives, so models and agents were my world." Anjari's mother died when Anya was nineteen.
"Yeah, she and I weren't really close, and nannies mostly raised me. I think I was a bit of an inconvenience to her, so Chrys and I were determined to give Evie a good family life."
On the mantle of the fireplace in their living room on Coruscant sits Fett's Galaxy award for his piece Hyperspace from his Mayday Suite .
"We were all so proud when he won. We found out later that there was a massive watch party here on the island, and a loud cheer went up when his name was called. Chrys' sister actually burst into tears."
Success has followed with the next single, Tech, climbing the charts.
"Yeah, Tech deals with loss and how loved ones never truly leave us."
"And then there's Betrayed Trust ."
"Right. Chrys was commissioned to write a song for the film Mission Accomplished . Betrayed Trust was the result. Everyone loves it except me. I hate that song!"
I noted my surprise. Betrayed Trust was a massive hit last year and performed far better on the charts than the movie did.
"Oh, it's a beautiful piece about giving your whole loyalty and identity to something that ultimately betrays you. Chrys did a fabulous job with the lyrics and the score, and I certainly love the money it made us, particularly now that we're parents. It's just that I had to listen to the opening chords over and over and over and over ad nauseum while he wrote the piece!" she laughed.
At that point, Fett and Evie returned. A chattering Evie gave me a guided tour of her room and showed me the shells she had gathered on the beach. When I asked her if she was going to be a model like her mother when she grows up, Evie solemnly told me that no, she was going to be a crab. At that, Anjari just shrugged. "It's good to have goals," she noted.
A while later, I asked Fett about his military service. Little is known about that; most information on him refers to his music.
"Not much to tell. It was the war against the Separatists. I look at photographs from back then, and I no longer see myself as a soldier. I look at myself, and all I see is Evie's father and Anya's husband. That's the ideal I strive to live up to."
Photos: Top, Anjari in the sitting room. Left center, photo of Anjari by Podrick Demarshelye. Right, Fett with Evie on his shoulders, both looking out toward the ocean.