 About me, about me. Okay. I grew up on a small farm in Cynthiana, Kentucky and know more about cows, tobacco, and frog gigging than the average girl. My dad always had my brother, sister, and I help him work, be it chopping wood, hauling rocks, or building a deck, labeling each event a “learning moment.” My mom, on the other hand, was the chauffeur, getting us to t-ball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and cheerleading events in record time, handling the curves on our back country roads like a pro. And perhaps the biggest characters in my growing up years were my mamaw and papaw, larger-than-life number-one-fans of anything we tried... even if we were really lousy. In second grade, I wrote a story about how my mom is the best, (she is), and it was printed in the town paper. I finished up my elementary writing career by winning the Soil Conservation Essay contest, of which my dad was really proud. In middle school, I tore through books and was introduced to the glorious Newberry panel, which was cool because it meant a field trip to Lexington. And in high school, my tenth grade writing teacher handed me a creative writing application to the Governor's School for the Arts, which is where, after being accepted, I discovered other kids like me and I realized that getting A's on English papers wasn't something that just anybody can do. I was told that I was special, that I had a talent, that I was a writer. But like any fickle teenager trying to choose a college and figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up, (p.s. why are we supposed to figure this out at age 18?), I went to college at the University of Kentucky and decided that writing was not as glamourous as acting. So I got a BFA in Theatre because I thought I'd be the next Julia Roberts, and then a BA in Advertising Copywriting because my dad wanted me to have a fallback plan. The only thing that ad degree did though was force me to take a summer internship – which I did – in Manhattan, where I caught the big city bug. I knew I'd come back one day, and that when I did, it'd be as an actress. In 2004, I made the move and found a home in Queens. After dating my then boyfriend for two years, long distance was tough going, but I knew I'd eventually regret it if I stayed in Kentucky for a boy. And the boy knew he needed to close the deal, so he wrote in to The Ellen DeGeneres Show and worked out a plan with her to propose to me on air. I was in full red tuxedo (Sardi's restaurant uniform) and we were both shocked to have Ellen standing next to us as he popped the question. That Valentine's Day in 2005 started a relationship with the show, as they had me appear regularly for the next year while we planned our wedding with their help. She introduced me to Vera Wang, sent us to Las Vegas for a surprise Bachelor/ette Party, filmed the wedding (best day of my life), and then wished us, 'Aloha,' as they sent us to Maui for our honeymoon. My husband had summer school to finish after we married, so I stayed in Kentucky with him til August when he made the move up to the Big Apple with me. During that summer, I found myself in line at a Lexington car dealership to audition for the game show Deal Or No Deal. I was dead last in line, number 2012, and was surprised a year later when, as my husband and I were getting settled into married life and city living, a producer from the show called me and asked me to be a contestant. I got lucky and had a great time, and although I didn't win the million (I did have it in my case - ouch!), I won enough to write and act full-time. And that leads us to now. I am in a few commercials, I've done print jobs and short films, but I've gotten back to writing. Square one. I've performed spoken word at The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, contributed frequently to anthologies and Underwired Magazine, and toured with an original two-woman show Becoming Woman with fellow writer/performer Ellen Hagan at high schools all over Kentucky, as well as at The International Fringe Festival and Pace University. I wrote a screenplay The Real Reality of Laura Beth in 2008 and finished a young adult novel Ricki Jo, 2.0 in 2009. I love having a job that I love. Writing my stories, drastically embellishing everything that's ever happened to me, and working from home is pretty doggone fantastic. I currently live in New York City with my husband. |
