
Exposing Stacy Dash
Life with no regrets
Cover Story by Amira Kidd
Photos by: John Russo
Stylist Kendrick Osorio
As viewers of the big screen, we think we have an idea of who the
actors are who entertain us year after year. For example, in the eyes of
many women out there between the ages of thirty and thirty-six who
remember a show called “The Facts of Life,” one character always stood
out. It was a young black girl on roller skates by the name of Tootie.
Today this girl is a full-grown woman, her real name, Kim Fields. Though
she is married, probably with childern, no matter how mature she looks
when interviewed, even today, we only see Tootie. It is the same for us
who have watched Stacey Dash on film, the difference being that Dash
is quite matter of fact about the girl then and the woman now.
The saying “As if a girl’s reach should exceed
her grasp,” is a timeless quote from the character
Dee Davenport in the 1995 comedic
film “Clueless.” Who would have thought the
character’s words spoken then by actress Stacey
Dash would ring true for her today? It has
been thirteen years since “Clueless” first hit
theaters, and since then the still quirky, but a
much more matured, Stacey Dash has gone
from the likes of “Clueless” to appearing on
the hit show “Celebrity Circus,” the new film “Phantom Punch,” playing
opposite Ving Rhames and holding down her first business in a line of
lingerie called Letters of Marque. Dash is a charismatic personality, with
an open mind, and an idealistic outlook on life. Learn how she has taken
hold of her career and has made her life a success.
Sitting down to speak with Dash was fun, but not easy. As I asked
question after question, Dash was getting ready for the next day by
calming down her four-year-old daughter who didn’t care about the interview
going on. Instead, all Lola wanted to know was if Mommy was
going to fix her dinner or not. It was a pleasure to see Dash as the regular
everyday mother just trying to get to a place where she and her family
could relax for the rest of the evening. In fact, I felt as if I were intruding
on a private moment as little Lola demanded attention. All the while,
Dash kept herself calm by talking
and giggling at herself with
that contagious laugh, reminding
me of Dee Davenport, her
character in “Clueless.” Now at
41, (Not 42, as Dash points out)
Dash seems like she hasn’t aged
a bit, that is until she starts talking
about her career and life in
general.
Though she may be tired of
the question, any interviewer
with a clue has to ask her about
her role in the film “Clueless,”
and how this has affected the
roles she plays today. Unlike many other actors who feel that they have
been type cast because of certain roles in the past, Dash has a completely
different outlook on her experience in this fashion. She holds the character
Dee she played in the movie to the highest standards and enjoyed
every minute she was on the set and still loves to talk about the role.
Taking her age in stride, Dash feels that the film was a stepping stone to
greater roles and opportunities. Yes, it’s true, everyone remembers her
in “Clueless,” but who cares. Those same people who remembered her in
this film will love seeing the Stacey Dash of today. Being older, she loves
to show range and play more charismatic characters like the one she has
grown into today.
Dash’s love for range shows in a new opportunity she received when
asked by NBC’s producers of “Celebrity Circus” to join the show. What
many may not know is that as a child she had a talent for dancing, ballet
to be exact, and was even accepted to New York’s Harlem School of
Dance in the Harlem School of Art. The only reason she didn’t attend,
is that her mother refused to let her go. So when asked to do the show,
Dash was ecstatic and said yes without any questions. Of course what
she didn’t realize is that they would ask her to climb forty feet into the air
to achieve her tasks. Though terrified at the thought of the height, she
held it all in, listened to her trainer, Philippe, and since then has made
viewers’ hairs stand on end with the stunts she has performed in the
show. Though breaking some ribs earlier, she has gone on to get some
of the highest ratings of any celebrities competing with her. To Dash,
doing a celebrity show is getting the chance to think outside of the box
and show the audience just a tad more of what she is about.
Though Dash may be dancing dangerously with silk on “Celebrity
Circus,” away from television she has been working hard at wrapping up
the production of her new film entitled “Phantom Punch.” This will be a
dramatic film in which Dash will play the longtime wife of boxer Sonny
Liston. Based on the life story of Liston, it focuses on what is believed to
be the phantom punch from Muhammad Ali that ended Liston’s career.
Moving away from films such as “American Primitive,” also coming out
this year, where Dash plays Joy Crowley, a woman who has sworn that
she can turn a gay man straight, “Phantom Punch” will be her first plunge
into playing a strong, mature female character. Unlike the films “Clueless,”
and last year’s comedy, “I Could Never Be Your Woman,” Dash is
doing just what she has intended to do in her own way. She has phased
out of the teenage years and has acquired characters of women who
have a family and children. For this and many other reasons, in the film
business Dash has nothing that she would like to go back and do over
again even if she could. She has no regrets, believing every choice she
has made has molded her into who she is today.
Dash’s thoughts are matter of fact, in other words, straight to the
point. When asked how she felt when it came to being an older African-
American woman in film and
getting jobs compared to older
men of any color, this is what
she had to say, “I don’t know. I
can’t think about stereotypes
and clichés. Even if it’s harder
for older women to get roles,
can we say that this is true in
every case that just happens
to come up? I don’t think so.”
This kind of attitude led her to
thinking about posing for Playboy
in 2006; the only thing that
would keep her from turning
it down was getting a no from
her teenage son. Yes, that’s right, instead of just doing what she wanted,
what mattered most was what her children thought of her doing it, and
after asking her son and getting not just a yes, but why not, Dash took
the plunge.
Taking that plunge could have been a risqué move, but what was
more of a risk was putting herself on the line by starting her own lingerie
line. Come on, unless you have been on another planet everyone in
entertainment has done some sort of clothing line. Now whether all of
these lines are successful or not is another story and putting the time
and money into doing one is even worse, but this is exactly what Dash
did only a year ago. Five years ago, while caring for her six-month-old
Lola, Dash would wear a white combing jacket thought to be 150 years
old. Loving how not only lovely, but comfortable, it made her feel while
lounging around the house, she went shopping in hopes of finding
something similar, but to no avail. Wanting that same feel, she decided
to design herself another one, and what was meant to be only for her
became twenty-six pieces that everyone wanted a piece of. Four years
later, Dash now has her own line and some big plans to make it a common
line in the lingerie world.
Going back a little further than the Victorian era, more like the 17th
century, the pieces are one hundred percent cotton and silk-laced
whites. Designed with Chantilly lace and ruffles, her line includes a lot of
babydoll inspired items that just look gorgeous on the body. A year in
the making, this is just a start for Letters of Marque; Dash has already succeeded
in making the line a high end quality brand with over fifty stores
nationwide. Her goal is to not only focus on lingerie, but to make Letters
of Marque a lifestyle brand selling everything from curtains to furniture.
This plan is already in the making with an online store being created
as you read this. To give an example of just how strategic Dash is, she
refuses to have her name as part of the line, believing that the brand has
nothing to do with her; it’s about the line only. Looking for an alternative
to her own name, she found that her great-grandfather was a Dutchman,
a pirate to be exact, who was given a letter of marque to invade other
countries. Connecting the meaning behind the letter of marque with
the type of line she was providing, she felt that no other name would do.
It wasn’t easy putting her time into this line, but what one enjoys doing
makes it all the better.
What is not difficult for Dash is staying so young looking. For all the
ladies out there who are wondering what in the world she is doing, prepare
to be surprised. When asked what five beauty products she has to
have in her purse at any given moment, Dash had to back me up. For her
it’s only necessary to have two products with her at all times, Rosebud
Salve for the lips, to keep them poppin’ and Dr. Hauschka holistic skin
care products for the face. So okay, she doesn’t use or need a lot of those
beauty products out there, but what about the body? How does a fortyone-
year-old mother of two stay so fit? Dash really didn’t have an answer
for this. All she believes is that for right now, there is no need for her to
work out, because she gets her workouts from doing the show “Celebrity
Circus,” each week. She loves the rigorous process and it’s obvious from
her body with every show she does.
When talking to Dash, it’s plain to see that she has a lot on her mind,
yet I couldn’t help but ask her what she thinks about the political climate
in terms of Barack Obama running for president. What was most
important to her was that Obama is a symbol for all of those out there
who never say what if I had, because it’s a waste of time. Instead, Obama
figured out what he wanted and just went for it. Ecstatic with Obama
running for president, Dash says, “Obama’s nomination was necessary. I
was not at all shocked. It had to happen. What I like is that he is just being
human, idealistic by taking steps in what his ideals are.”
This seems to be close to the way Dash runs her own life; a seemingly
free-spirited individual for whom the word can’t just doesn’t exist in her
vocabulary. Her personality is more to the likes of Nike’s saying to “Just
do it,” than let me think about it first. She sees things like this: If a person
doesn’t get what they want in life, they shouldn’t be so quick to blame
others, but instead should take a good look at themselves. There should
be no reason a girl’s reach can’t exceed her grasp. To go further than
the first intended goal is to surpass all that one could ever imagine, and
Dash is doing just that through television, film and business.
Read the full exclusive interview with Stacy Dash in this issue of Monarch.
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