Liya Kebede Has Been Watching Cartoons Amid Coronavirus Lockdown

Liya Kebede has been watching cartoons in bed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 42-year-old model has been self-isolating in France for the last two months, and she's found new ways of passing the time during the lockdown, saying watching cartoons has made her feel like a ''little girl again''.

She shared: ''As much as I tried to have a daily routine of meditation and yoga, after the first few weeks I couldn't keep it up.

''So I started watching cartoons in bed in the morning. I have always loved all the Japanese anime. I started watching and then re-watching Hayao Miyazaki cartoons like 'Howl's Moving Castle' and 'Princess Mononoke'.

''It has made me feel like I'm a little girl again. I love how wild his imagination is, and how gentle all his messages are, too. Especially on days that are rainy or cloudy, it brings a sliver of sunshine into my room.''

Despite being separated from her family, Liya has been in frequent contact with them amid the lockdown.

And the model is ''grateful'' that they've been able to stay connected during the health crisis.

She told The Cut: ''At the beginning, one of the things that occupied a lot of my time was making FaceTime and Zoom calls to my Lemlem team and my family members.

''Given that we are all isolated in different cities and countries - I am in France, my mother is in Ethiopia, and my brothers are scattered across the US - I am so grateful that we have this mode of video communication available to us.

''We all went into lockdown at different times, so we would swap stories literally for hours. Never in my life have I talked as much on the phone as I have in these past two months.

''Something about calling loved ones has changed during this time. We've slowed down a lot, taking more time to have deeper conversations with genuine concern about how everyone is doing. Calls have stopped being just for quick messages and sound bites.''