This Is What Tiffany Haddish Did With $300 (from Kevin Hart) And A Dream
There's a heavy weight of truth that comes with being an independent woman. The sweet nectar of fulfillment tastes a little different when you're able to look back on your own hard work and self-fulfilled ideal of success.
For Tiffany Haddish, her journey from being homeless to being a box office-smashing actress was nothing short of hardship.
At a point in her early career, Tiffany was living out of her car in Beverly Hills and using money borrowed from actor/comedian Kevin Hart to utilize motel bathrooms. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Tiffany detailed the pivotal moment when Kevin learned that she was living in her car. At the time, both of the comedians were up-and-coming and had been working at The Laugh Factory. Kevin suggested that Tiffany use her pretty looks to take advantage of shacking up with a man for shelter.
That wasn't an option for Tiffany, because she knew the type of woman she was and what her end goal was. She told the mag:
"He saw all the stuff in my car. He had like this long discussion with me, you know? Basically like, 'You're a beautiful woman. You could stay with any man. Why don't you just stay with a man, like?' And I was also like, 'I'm not sleeping with nobody for a roof over my head. I'm just not that type of person.'
"And Kevin was like, 'Oh, that's real commendable, look at your homeless ass.' And he gave me $300 and told me I shouldn't be sleeping in my car. He was asking me where I was sleeping. I told him, 'Beverly Hills. If Imma be homeless, I'm gonna be homeless in the best area.' I would park my car in Beverly Hills and I would sleep over there, and the police would come every morning and make me move. That was like my wake-up call. I got to know a lot of police officers like that.
"Kevin gave me $300, told me to get a room for a week, and I was like, 'I don't know where you can get a room for a week in Los Angeles for $300, that's impossible.' But I got me a motel room, and he told me to write out a list of goals and start doing something every day toward those goals.'"
There is nothing wrong with receiving support from a counterpart, but there's something to be said about us looking deep within and recognizing our own abilities to be independent and create the life we've imagined for ourselves.
Even with homelessness staring Tiffany in the face every day, she was able to separate herself from the pulls of temptation to depend on someone else to get her out of her situation. A week later, Tiffany moved into a motel room with the $300 that Kevin had given her, and started goal-setting.
"I wrote: Get myself an apartment. Do these things, all these people I wanna work with, everything. I pretty much tackled almost all those goals."
By the next day, she received a call about an apartment that was available. At $550 a month, a broken refrigerator, and a stove "full of roaches," it was truly humble beginnings. But it was hers and she worked for it, and that what mattered most to Tiffany.
Tiffany has gone on to make her mark in Hollywood, including revitalizing the comedy genre with a role on The Carmichael Show and her breakout performance in the box office success Girls Trip. She has also written a book (The Last Black Unicorn), and has become the first spokesperson for Groupon that the company has had in decades. Tiffany and Kevin Hart are even in the process of a major full circle moment as the two are set to star in the upcoming Hart Beat Productions/Will Packer Productions comedy film Night School.
When asked how Kevin feels about her achieving major success, she revealed:
"When he sees me, he says he's so proud of me and stuff. And he's always giving me the best advice. And I try to listen to him. Sometimes I don't. And then I'll be like, 'Dang, I should've listened.' . . . Sometimes he gets on my nerves 'cause he tries to play the brother and tries to clown, but for the most part he's an awesome dude. I mean he gave me a job on Real Husbands of Hollywood, and I kept trying to give him his $300 back. He's like, 'I don't want that money. You keep that money. If I need you to be in something else, you just make sure you can do it.'
Then, when I got Night School and we were working on it, I tried to give him the money back again. He's like, 'I don't want your money. Just know your lines and be good in this damn movie.'
Olivia Jade is a writer and creative engineer, intersecting wellness, culture, womanism, and self-development. She waters the flowers in her mind so others can recognize their own internal garden. Link up: @akaoliviajade (Twitter and IG) oliviajade.co
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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ItGirl In Motion: DonYé Taylor Asked Herself This Question When Creating Her Brainchild
"Being an 'ItGirl' is all about being yourself and taking all of the elements that make you who you are and displaying them at your highest capability," creative brainiac DonYé Taylor says in the introduction of the limited video series, "ItGirl In Motion."
In partnership with Hyundai, xoNecole has unveiled the limited series in conjunction with our inaugural ItGirl 100 list. The list boasts 100 Black women who not only innovate and take up space when it comes to putting on for their cities, but also as the driving force behind brands that create impact for the culture. ItGirl DonYé Taylor is one of the 100 featured ladies who put her purpose into action.
ITGIRL IN MOTION with DONYE TAYLORwww.youtube.com
As a marketing consultant, content creator, and CEO, a driving force behind DonYé's ambitions has been to show others how she sees the world by "creating art and doing things that shift perspective." In founding her brainchild, Nüclei, which is coincidentally also home to the ever-so-chic chrome brain piggybank, DonYé briefly touched on the inspiration behind the brand. "I was like, 'What would it look like if I were to be of service to myself?' And that's what made me create Nuclei," she said.
Watch the video above to take a peek into the life of the LA-based ItGirl, the importance of Black women receiving our "flowers" while we're here, and the three things she believes are absolutely essential to any ItGirl.
See our ItGirl 100 list in full here. Click through the gallery below for some BTS moments of DonYé and our partnership with Hyundai.
CREDITS
Director: Mikkoh @mikkoh
Production Company: @30inthemorning
AD/Gimbal Op: @jeffreyrattanong
DP: @jucelandrin_
Editor: @30inthemorning
1st AC: Bonnie Delgado @bonniebellevue
2nd AC: Liz Robles @lizfatimarobles
FPV Drone Op: Kai Kevin Goh @kaivertigoh
Gaffer: Nelson Nguyen @nelson_ftw
Key Grip: Ames Hoang @mangothemaker
SLT: Jamon Tolbert @jamon.tolbert
Sound Mixer: Deyo Forteza @introducingdeyo
PA: Breyona Holt @exquisite_eye
PA: Aminah Muhammad @aminahmuhamm
BTS: Marika Belamarich @marikarosegold
Featured image by Marika Belamarich for xoNecole