July 15, 2025 • 42 mins
From her early years as a competitive figure skater to navigating Hollywood fame, actress Julie Benz (from “Angel” & “Dexter”) learned about resilience and learning to choose herself … often the hard way.
In her conversation with Jennie, she opens up about the moments that shaped her path; including a career-changing injury, a difficult divorce and how she learned to take the “granny lane,” both on the road and in a slow-and-steady, grounded approach to life.
Follow the "I Choose Me" Podcast on Instagram and TikTok
Follow Jennie on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Girl. Hi, everyone,
welcome to I Choose Me. This podcast is about choices
and how our choices shape who we are today. I
love sitting down with inspiring guests and talking about what
(00:22):
it really means to put yourself first. You probably know
my guest from shows like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Dexter,
and Defiance, and today we are going to talk about
real life, about resilience, reinvention, and what choosing yourself really
(00:43):
looks like. Please welcome actress, advocate and all around amazing
woman Julie Ben's to the podcast. Okay, wait, how do
we know each other? To start with? Was our first
meet like actual meat at a convention?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yeah, I thought so, but I honestly, when we met,
I felt like I'd known you forever.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Well, I have known you forever because I was a
huge nine fan.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
I felt like that, probably because I was a huge
Dexter fan. So it was just like I was meeting
my old friend. Yeah that's what it felt like. I
loved it. How do you how you like and doing
those conventions?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh god, I've been doing them forever. I love them.
I mean it's it's great to be a part of well,
because I started with Buffy and Angel and to be
a part of a show that has such a global
following and that fans come together and they hang out,
they meet, some of them fall in love, get married.
(01:43):
I'm now at the stage where little kids that I
met like twenty years ago are now full grown adults.
So they come back and say hi, and I'm like, well,
that's kind of weird, weird, but they're really wonderful.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
But you have a whole that you have a whole
new generation of fans.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Then yes, yes, And then with Dexter feeds into that.
It seems like a large part of my career feeds
into the convention life.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
So the vibes at the conventions are so much different
than I thought they would be, you know. And I
have gotten so much personally, as like from meeting fans
and from hanging out with them.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yes, do you feel that way? Yeah, I mean I've
become friends with some of them.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Some things just random I call them friends.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, And I think it's just such a
great way to like I always say that it's so
great to be part of a show where the fans
are just as passionate about the show as we were
making it and to be a part of that world
and have that synergy. And then some people you just
meet and you're just like, hey, you don't want to
hang out with you? Right?
Speaker 1 (02:49):
We could be friends, like, you know, instantly.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Like there was when I was on Defiance, which was
a show I did for sci Fi. There we would
live tweet the show and there was a group of
women and that were so snarky and so fun, and
they would life tweet with us. That I ended up
at dragon Con when you're hosting them in my hotel room, oh,
to watch the finale of the season, and we had
(03:12):
a glass. And I'm still in touch with all of
them and like we're still friends.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I love that. That sounds like something I would totally do, Like,
come on, guys, let's hang out. Hang out my room
so lonely. Oh that's so cool.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I've made some really good friends and we've gone to
dinners and hang out at Dave's bar and just I
don't know, I just they're friends, yeah, plain and simple. Yeah,
But there is that weird like how did the friendship begin?
Like they were they're super fans, right, you know, and
then they somehow sort of like ease into just being cool,
(03:48):
like we're friends, we're equals.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yes, well, I think also you have to be open
to it. I mean I do see so many actors
at conventions that they don't want to have an experience,
they don't want to have a connection. I like having
a connection. I like meeting people. I like learning about
other people I like. I think that's one of the
reasons why I'm an actor. So I'm open to having
(04:12):
a connection.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yeah, I used to be really shut off to it,
just connections in general. I literally used to walk around
my head down, my eyes down, never meeting people's gaze,
you know. But I've changed so much now that I
really like thrive.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
But do you think that was because with nine oh
two and oh it was such a global phenomena that
you really couldn't you had to keep your head down.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
I think so. I think I've always just been uncomfortable
in the spotlight. I've always been like, I just want
to blend in. I just want to be normal. I'm
from Illinois, like I just I'm not a Hollywood person
at all. So I felt like I had to do
that in order to sort of like stay in my
comfort bubble. But now I've realized that bubble only existed
(05:05):
because I was creating it in my head, right, So
I feel so much more freedom when it comes to
like connecting with other people and meeting people and just
shooting the shit with, you know, anybody on the street.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yeah, I'm always shocked when people know who I am.
I'm like, how, like, how how do you know? I
don't ever lead with that, So I'm always shocked when
someone is like I'm a huge fan and I'm like, oh,
thank you. That's like so flattering because I don't lead
with that. That's not how I define myself. But you know,
(05:37):
like I was at the grocery store the other day
and the guy bagging my groceries was telling me about you.
Just started talking about how he wants to be a
teacher and how he had finally got out a certification,
and I was like, wow, I believe in you, like
you're going to do it. And then he was like,
I'm a huge fan. I was like, oh, that's so sweet.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Like it's the best feeling when you can give somebody
that support that they might not be getting in their
real life. And it seems I know, for me, it's
really genuine. But I can tell from you it's really
genuine too.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Well. I think everybody needs somebody to say I believe
in you. Oh yeah, like I tell every I say
it's so much to strangers, and I think it's kind
of like they get taken aback by it, probably, But
I think we all need to be told like, I
believe in you. I know you're going to do that.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
It feels good to lift people up. Yeah, I mean
so much better than the opposite, yea, being closed off
and like you're better than people like all that. Yeah,
celebrity juice that flows. Okay, I want to talk about
the beginning because I know you were a competitive figure skater.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I was, and you started when you were two years old.
Three years old, three.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Years old, okay, anyway, that's a tiny little person. Yes,
you were probably super tiny too.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yes. So there was an ice rink at the local mall,
and my mom was looking for something that the family
could do together, like a family activity. So she took us,
my brother, sister, and I for group lessons. And I'm
the youngest in the family and my brother and sister.
The group lessons they were like like group one Group
(07:09):
two all the way up till ten, Group ten, and
my brother and sister moved through those lessons fairly quickly.
I was in group one for like nine months, and
my mother couldn't figure out why it was because I
was super cute. I was super cute. I had like
these chubby little cheeks and those like blonde, super blonde hair.
And I thought ice skating was people just push you
(07:33):
around on the ice, because people would they'd be like, oh,
you're so cute, and they would just push me around.
And that's what I thought skating was. I didn't realize
like I had to skate on my own, and so
then my mother put a ban on people pushing me around,
and so so you had to learn. I had to learn.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah, you told me a funny story about your mom
loved to go shopping. Yes, we were talking because we're
both born in nineteen seventy two. Yes, and we were
talking about I don't even know how this came up,
but leaving your kids in the car. We were talking
about we didn't use seatbelts when we were little. We
didn't have car seats until we were eight years old.
They do now, and we still survive somehow, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
My mom used to leave us in the car and
she'd go shopping in the mall. She was a shopaholic,
and she would leave us in the back of the
station wagon and we would just entertain ourselves.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Wow. Yeah, And I asked you if it was hot,
and you're like, well, she left the windows. God, wait,
so maybe the whole like let's go ice skating at.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
The mall at the well also, because she would leave
us at the rink and then she would go and shop.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
The family time, family time. It's so funny. Was that
your childhood dreamed to be a professional skater?
Speaker 2 (08:48):
No, you know, my parents are suckers for your kids
are so talented. So they really believed that we were
super talented. And we worked really hard. I mean I
trained eight hours a day, seven days a week, two
weeks off a year.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Yeah, from the ages of what from like three until
I officially retired at sixteen. I had an injury at
thirteen and so I had I was off for about
six months, and so that's when I finally got to
experience life and go like, oh wait, I don't know
if this is what I want to do.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
And also you're basically giving up your life to do
that if you're not like super passionate about it.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Yeah, I mean it was. It wasn't until I was
in college and I was I was in the theater
program and I had a breakdown in class and I
finally admitted and finally I had a like it was
a breakdown revelation moment where I realized, like I didn't
(09:48):
love skating. I was told I loved it. So my
brother and sister, they were junior national ice dance champions.
They were really good. They loved it. Mother loved it,
my father loved it. I didn't love. I was the
little kid, like I was the little sister. And I
think for me when I when I had that injury,
(10:11):
my mother that's when I had my She exposed me
to acting because I was off and she knew I
love to perform, which that part is true. She dragged
me to audition for a play and that's when I
started going like, oh, this feels better. I like this,
this this is something that I really enjoy doing. And
(10:34):
then that's how I shifted into acting.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
That's lucky that you found that at that age. You know, yes,
a lot of people takes a lot longer than that. Yes,
I'm curious what was your injury? Because I watch ice
skating and I hold my breath because that ice looks
really hard. It is when you're doing crazy things on
like a metal plane. But really, what did you do?
What happened?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
So? I had a stress fracture in my to be
a bone, and it was because I had a growth
spur and and just from all the jumping, like in
the impact landing over time, I had a stress fracture.
But because it was the middle of competition season, you know,
I was basically told, suck it up, Buttercup, get through
(11:16):
competition season and then we'll take you to the doctor.
By that time I went to the doctor, I had
the stress fracture, had like fractured the whole bone, and
so then I was put in a cast for a
fairly long period of time. And then when I went back,
I couldn't jump as well because of the muscle loss.
(11:37):
So I started ice dancing, which is what my brother
and sister did. So I met ice dancing.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Less jumping, less sleeping and leaping. Okay, I don't even
know if I've ever seen ice dancing. You have, I have?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
You have?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I just don't know that the difference. I got a
look closer. So that wasn't your childhood dream. It was
your family's sort of like dream thrust upon.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
You, Yes, which I think happens. Yeah, in families, especially
back then. I think now we're you know, children have
more of a voice of what they want to do
and more of a say. But you know, in the
seventies and eighties, it was this is what we do.
We are a family of ice skaters. We're all going
(12:23):
to the Olympics. Like that was the plan. And I
was the first one to break the plan.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
How did they take that?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
They were fine with it.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Actually my mom loved the fact that I wanted to
be an actor. She said she loved that.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
She was like, okay, let's give it.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
So she was the first one to be like, yeah, okay,
you can pivot, you can do this instead. So yeah,
So from there, you went onto NYU and went to
NYU to study acting. You were at tish I was
same place that my oldest daughter went.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
I believe I could be completed.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Did she study acting?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
She was actually a gallatint yes, yes, so she was
in your dorms probably, Yeah, which dorm? Oh care I
can't remember. I have another one, my third daughter going
into a dorm this fall.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
No, no, oh no.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
She's staying local. Thank god, Oh god. But you finished
at NYU and you pretty much just jumped right into
your career. Yes, so well in the pavement.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
When I was at NYU, I booked my very first
television series, like my first month of freshman year.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Okay, that's exciting.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
And it was a sitcom that ABC and Nick at
Night were doing. It was called high Honey, I'm Home.
And they had a rule at NYU that you weren't
supposed to be auditioning professionally your freshman year, and I'm
not a rule follower, so they tried to kick me
out of school. But I had a teacher stand up
(13:53):
for me and say, you know, if you kick her out,
I'd quit, and so I was able to stay. I
was given a D for the semester, but no one
has ever asked me my grade point average, so doesn't matter.
So yeah, so I did the pilot and then that
show got picked up, so I took a semester off
(14:13):
to do the series.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Was that in New York?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
It shot in Orlando, Florida. Okay, so I took a
semester off, and I realized at that time it really
wasn't ready to work professionally. Like I was really struggling.
I was on location, I was with a bunch of
adults and then some little kids, Like there was nobody
my age to hang out with. I was nineteen, and
(14:37):
it just I was really lonely. I was really struggling,
and I realized, like, this isn't for me right now
at this point in my life. And so then the
show got canceled, thank god, and I went back to
college and I finished up, and then I moved out
to La. Ah.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And did you get an agent right away or how
did that all kind of about how did the path unfold
for you?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Well, I had met my manager, who was my manager
for thirty some years before until he retired. I met
him when I was about fourteen years old in Pittsburgh,
and I had been going to New York for auditions
and so I he moved out to LA a year
(15:23):
before I graduated college. And so then when I graduated,
he's like, we'll come out to LA and so yeah,
and then just started I started working right away.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Did you did you use the Thomas Guide to find
your way around town.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Oh my god. So I moved out in January of
ninety four, two weeks before the earthquake, the big earthquake,
and the ten Freeway had collapsed. Yeah, and I didn't
know where the ten Freeway was, so I didn't take
a freeway for a long time because I was too
afraid I was going to like drive off of it.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Luckily, you can get around LA without the freeways.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yes, And I lived in Brentwood at that time, so
it was fairly convenient. But yeah, that Thomas Guide was
I just remember having to pull over and like look,
like flip through the coordinating.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
I have my Thomas Guide, you do. I found it
my mom's house, and it's like a coveted archive piece
for me.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Well, mine was probably covered in like peanut butter stuff
because I would always eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
It was like my audition food.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
In the car.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
In the car because you'd have like six seven auditions
a day and you're driving all over town and I'd
have like little like little snack packs of like peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches and like crackers and anything. They
keep the energy up.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
And now we don't even have to leave our house
to audition.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I hate it.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
You don't like doing the auditions from home?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
I I don't know. I miss the energy I miss.
I miss sitting in a waiting room with other actors.
You do, I do. I miss that camaraderie. I miss
feeling like you're a part of something. It's really hard
for me to audition at home.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, it's hard to get in the right space. It
is just weird.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
It's weird, it's lonely. I find it so lonely and isolating.
I recently had my first in person audition in five years.
How it was so exciting, Like it was like I
was like, oh, we are back.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
That is amazing. I didn't get the part, but you
had a good time with the audition.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
It fed my soul, Like it really fed my soul
because I was like, maybe now this is a sign
we'll start getting back into rooms again.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
I would love that.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I read that an acting coach once told you were
never going to make it in the industry. Yes, okay,
we've all had you know, people say mean things to us,
but that's pretty hardcore from somebody that you looked up to.
I'm sure, but how did you turn that negative messaging
into like the fuel that fired you to keep going?
(18:12):
You know?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
So that happened when I did a Carnegie Mellon summer
program the I think it was between junior and senior year.
It was like an acting program and like you lived
there and it was like six weeks where they exposed
you to full on like what it would be like
if you came to Carnegie Mellon And it was one
of the teachers there, and honestly, in my brain, I
(18:35):
mean I just thought, Wow, what a loser you are,
like telling a sixteen year old that you'll never make
it in this industry and and you're not even working. Really,
you're teaching act yet.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Right, What did you do when he like when he
said that, it was she Well, what did you do
when she said that? To your face?
Speaker 2 (18:57):
I mean I just looked at her and I was like, well,
that's your opinion, and that's not everybody else's opinion.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
I have.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Like I had a manager an agent in New York,
so I was like, I go to New York for auditions, Like,
what do you do? I had a big bigo.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Yeah, no, but it sounds like you had to stand
up for yourself.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Yes, And I think she was the voice teacher, like
the speaking voice teacher, and she just thought my voice
was awful. And I remember my manager saying to me,
he said, well, sometimes the thing that makes you unique
is also the thing that makes people not like you.
(19:37):
And he goes, you do have a very unique voice,
so that's what makes you different than somebody else. So
it's okay, and some people aren't gonna like it, and
that's okay. So but I still have the report card
from her. I still keep it just as a reminder
(19:58):
that I had, I had the nerve at that age
to kind of stand up for myself. But I've always
you know, I feel like i've I think in order
when you come from the Midwest and you want you're
not born into the industry and you want to be
an actor, everybody tells you, good luck, honey, you're not
(20:19):
gonna make it. Yeah, So I think there is a
bit of that youthful belief in yourself, the ego that
comes out and says I'm going to prove you wrong.
You know.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Do you think that has carried with you in your
adult life? Like until now, do you have that streak
within you still.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Oh, definitely, definitely. I still I mean, I still think
like I'm the only one for the part.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
I still feel that that's a really good mindset, Like
that's incredible, and it's not a fake confidence.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I mean I do always say like why not me? Like,
if you're going to choose somebody, then why not choose me.
You know, I'm a hard worker. I've you know, I
work very very hard at my job. I show up
on time, I'm prepared, I always have a good, good energy,
good spirit, Like why not me?
Speaker 1 (21:19):
So that's the best thing you can say to yourself.
Why not? Yeah, with any obstacle that you're coming up
against in your life. Yes, And I didn't really start
thinking that until I was in my fifties.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Yeah. And it took me. It was really hard for
me to get there because I was so full of
self doubt and so full of insecurities, and you know,
just had let the business sort of have its way
with my mind and my soul.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, until I was like, no, well, you were under
a microscope. I've never been. I've never been. I've never
experienced that, like I've never I've been a part of
some great shows yes, but I've never been like under
a microscope like I've always felt I've been able to
keep my personal life and my work separate and keep everything,
(22:11):
you know, separate, normal, and I was never I mean,
the level of fame that you reached very quickly was astounding.
I mean that's once in a lifetime.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Yeah, that was a wild ride. Yeah, so it definitely
had an impact on my development in a lot of ways. Yes,
but you said you're from the Midwest. Yes, I think
that there's something about the grit of a Midwestern Yeah.
Do you feel that too.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Oh, totally totally. Like there's nothing wrong with nepotism at all.
And I love like, I love like, I understand it.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
I see why not?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Why not? Right? If I had kids, I'd be like
why not? If I can help you, why not? But
for me to like, I just feel like coming from
Pittsburgh where I didn't know any other actors and I
had to like forge my way and like and just
be like, I'm going to do this no matter what, Like,
(23:16):
this is what I'm doing and I'm either going to
sink or swim, like that's it. Those are the two options.
So I'm going to choose to swim that I feel
that I still have that in me.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
I think that's such an incredible trait, you know. I
think it's it says a lot about who you are.
And also we were talking earlier also about your driving style,
which is now I'm getting.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
A little bit of a contradictory message because you said,
I know I'm slow and steady, you're the slow lane.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Kind of got I'm in the fast lane.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Like, yeah, yeah, I'm slow and steady. I'm a Taurus,
like you know, I'm a tourist, very very like you
get that when you get there, give yourself enough time
to get there. You don't need to speed. I don't
need to show off, right, I know.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I think that was younger me, like it was like
I am a crazy la driver now, but I've gotten
a little bit more mellow, And I think my husband
Dave has really helped me with that because he's like
an eighty year old man in the body and in
all of his life, and he drives really slow. So
I kind of find it so comforting that I started
to adopt it.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah, I'm just slow and steady, you know. I also
I was in a lot of car accidents as a kid.
Because my mother was a terrible driver.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
So wait, how many like roughly?
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (24:39):
And are we talking like fender benders?
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Are we talking no major like where the car was totaled?
Oh no, yeah, yeah she was not. She didn't learn
to drive until she was thirty years old.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I mean she should have waited a little longer. Maybe
she should have started earlier. That is crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
But yeah, so that we had a couple. I was
in a couple of massive car accidents. I mean two
of them I was in the hospital for because I
had like massive concussion and whiplash. And so I think
when you have experienced car accidents on that level, you
just kind of go like, you know what, I'm gonna
take the granny lane. I'm perfectly happy in the granny lane.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
I'm gonna think of you now when I'm in the
granny lane. I'm gonna enjoy it. Be like this is
something that works for her. We talk a lot about
learning to choose ourselves on this podcast. When would you
say you started to first consciously think about the importance
of choosing yourself, the importance of self care.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
M I mean, I really think up until I got
divorced from my first husband I was. I mean, I
was very motivated and set on my path of what
I wanted to do, but the rest of my life
(26:05):
I was kind of just going along with everybody else.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
How old were you when you got divorced?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
I was thirty four, and had you been married twenty four?
I got married too, so you were married at twenty four. Yeah.
And I remember hearing Terry Hatcher had written a book
and I can't remember the title, but something about eating
the burnt toast. And I remember seeing her on the
(26:33):
view talking about it and about how women take the
burnt toast. And that's when I realized, like, that's what
I was doing in my marriage. I was taking the
burnt toast, the burnt piece of toast, every single time.
And I really started. I was struggling, obviously in the marriage,
and I ended up filing for divorce because I was like,
(26:55):
I can't do this anymore. I'm losing myself. Who I am,
I'm not being I'm not able to grow, not able
to become a grown up. I had married somebody older,
and he's a lovely man. It's just the dynamic just
wasn't working. And I think for me that was the
(27:15):
first time I really like chose myself was deciding to
get divorced, because it was I grew up in a
very devout Catholic family. Divorce was very much looked down upon,
and I never thought like, I didn't get married thinking
I would get divorced. So it was it was a
(27:38):
very difficult decision. But I honestly felt like I was suffocating,
Like I felt like I was just I couldn't breathe,
you know. And then I would go on location and
I would smoke cigarettes and drink and like all this
bad behavior, and I like and be like, why did
I why Why do I feel like? Why am I
(27:59):
acting like this? And I was like, it's because I'm
not able to just be me. So that was like,
really the first time.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
That's good, that's you know, that's a significant moment in
your life and so important in that time when you
realized I have got to take care of myself in
a different way. Yes, yes, how do you I know
we follow each other on social media? How do you
like social media? What do you think of it? We
(28:33):
were saying before we're instagram we.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Are instam instagrammys, instagrammy, your instagrammys.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
I love it? Did you just come up I do.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
I love Instagram.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
You're not a TikToker.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
I've tried the TikTok. I've tried it. You know, it's
just it's a time suck.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
It just it just feels like it's killing your brain cells.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, it's too much information. It's like it's addictive. And
I for me, like during the pandemic, it was recommended
that I try the TikTok and I did a couple
videos and it was super cute.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Are you dancing? Did you do the dancing?
Speaker 2 (29:23):
I did one dancing. My husband said he was like,
if you do the TikTok, you're not allowed to dance,
and so because he was like, please, don't be that lady,
like please.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
And so what if you want? By the way, but.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I did the one. I did it once and it
was super funny and cute, and then I did I
did a lot of lip syncing videos which were a
lot of fun. And then I did a couple other
videos and some of them went viral, which was great.
But I just was like, it takes too much time
(30:00):
to like film it, edit it, come up with the idea,
do the sound, do that. It was like too much,
So I.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Mean that's why kids go to college and major in
it now, I know, because of people.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Like us, because we don't know how to do it. No.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
I think it's definitely like there's such a so much
significance in like the younger generation. We're basically our moms
now and we're looking at what we were and thinking, Oh,
the kids these days, what they what they can do.
But I think they're just they're used to it in
a way that doesn't they don't feel like it's robbing
(30:38):
them of their life.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
I know. I know. I don't know if that's a
good thing or bad, but I feel like it it
affects your attention span.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Uh yeah, so my kids can literally, like especially my
youngest who's eighteen, who is really in the TikTok generation,
It's like you've got three seconds with her, yeah, before
she's onto something else, not listening to you, already talking
about something else, thinking about what she's going to talk about.
(31:07):
It's so worrisome.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Yeah, because that's what I noticed. It was happening to
me when I was doing it. It sounds like a drug.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Yeah, I was on the TikTok.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
I was on the TikTok. I couldn't read books anymore
because like my focus was gone, and I didn't like that, right,
because I love to read. I love to just sit
and focus and read a book and just be in
a whole other world. And I found that, you know,
just the scrolling even now, it's even still with Instagram,
(31:38):
Like I have to keep my scrolling in check me too,
because I'm like, why am I sitting here doing this
when I have a really great book sitting next to
my bed that I could go read.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yeah, I'll get sucked in, Like I'll go to look
at something and then I'll just get sucked in and
then five minutes I'm like, oh my god, hate myself
right now, Like put that phone down. Yeah, this is too,
it's too. It takes over your brain in the weirdest way.
I don't know how it does it.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
And I get influenced very easily. For me too, I'm like, oh,
I want to buy that shirt, I want that mask
and care I want that I.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Need not everything, everything, saw anything. I will buy anything
basically on TikTok if it's a cool, if it looks great.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Listen, if you are on there saying that you use something,
I am like Jenny, I'm buying it right now.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
I know I'm very selective about the things that I
promote because I know how influential it can be. And
I don't want to be like buy all these crappy
things right to take it very seriously. I don't want
to be responsible for people going bankrupt having just stuff
they don't need. How do you stay grounded and in
(32:51):
touch with your sense of self or your self worth?
Even like it is it through those times of like
I'm going to read book, I'm gonna just sit here
quietly and you know, be in my own world for
a minute, Like what do you how do you do
it well?
Speaker 2 (33:10):
I mean I really I think I get myself worth
from being a good person and being a good friend
two people. I mean, in some ways, it's being in
service of others and trying to help out where others
(33:32):
might be like my friends might be failing in one
area of their life. Like like I had one of
my close friends she's a mom of four kids, and
like helping out with the kids when her life gets
too busy, and and just helping other people. And my
love language is cooking for others. Like that's really to me,
(33:56):
it's very intimate, like if I were to have you
over and make you dinner, it's like a very like.
It's it's how I express like my love and friendship
to people. Is like, I'm going to cook for you.
I like that, So.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
You can cook for me anytime.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
You want to come over, I'll cook for you.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
No one ever cooks for me. My oldest daughter's cooked
for me, and that's about it. My husband orders for
me right, which I appreciate too.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
No one cooks for me ever.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Would you like somebody to cook for you?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
No, I enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
I like to do it.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
I love being in the kitchen. I mean I I
enjoy it. It's it's a creative outlet for me, and
it's especially helpful during the times when work is slow.
I start getting creative in the kitchen. You know, I
wish I filmed it.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
More, but it kind of pulls you out of it.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
It's too hard.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Again, President, I forget. I'll forget. I forget like steps
one through five, and you're like, oh, no, yeah, I
gotta do that again.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
Is so true.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
I read that you said you love to cook and clean.
I do chores.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I do. I was like my sister, I do I
love doing chores. I love it.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
What's your favorite chore?
Speaker 2 (35:19):
I love vacuuming and mopping my floors.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Vacuuming is so like meditation.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Oh, it's so relaxing, and people hate it, I know,
and I love it.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
I I what kind of vacuum do you have?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (35:33):
I have like just it's a stick vacuum, like a
you know, yeah, like a cordless.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
A cordless That's the way I love it. And then
I love to mop my floor because my house is
mid century and I have these giant windows and you
can see any dirt on the floor and it drives
me up a wall. And I've got big dogs that
go in the pool and then come running in the
house with wet feet, and so I'm probably vacuuming and
(35:59):
mopping like every other day.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Okay, wait, this is going to be really boring to
some people. But how do you mop? Because I want
to be better mopping. I want to be better mopper.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
You want to be a better mobb per too.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
It's like a goal.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Well, I use the banaa the spray spray, and then
I just swish it around because you don't want to
put too much water on a wood floor.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Right, But do you ever feel like you're just squishing
around like the dirt and like, oh no, it all
comes up, it goes on the thing, it goes.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
On the pad.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Yeah, okay, God, I'm going to break out my Bona
on floor cleaner kit. I know I have one.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
Fwhere it's the best thing.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
I'm going to get it. Okay. So have we talked
about the fact I think we have that my husband
was at your wedding? Yes, your parent husband, Yes, he
was someone's date. I think your makeup artist.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Yes, Kels Kelsey.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
Yes, they used to be really good friends.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Did he have a good time at the wedding?
Speaker 1 (36:53):
He said he had a blast.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
It was a great wedding. I'm going to it was
an amazing wedding. Lest still talk about it. And it
was thirteen years ago.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
I mean it must have been good that your marriage
is still thriving after thirteen years. Like that's a symbolic thing,
like when you have a great wedding, Yeah, and everybody's
happy and.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Well, you know, I didn't really want to have a
wedding like I wasn't because I had a big wedding
and I was kind of leaning towards like, let's elope,
But my husband had never been married before and then
and it wasn't that he wanted a big wedding. It
was just that we wanted to celebrate all the people
(37:35):
that helped get us to this amazing point in our
relationship together. And so that's how we looked at it
as was it was a celebration of all the people
that were there who were a part of getting us
to Yeah, this stage, it takes a village, and it
(37:57):
did for us because we neither one of us. We
weren't looking for a relationship when we first started dating.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
How did you guys meet?
Speaker 2 (38:06):
I was we were set up to have a one
night stand, a one night stand.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
It turned into thirteen years of one night.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Stand, yeah, eighteen if you could count. Yeah, so it
and it took us a while to even admit we
were dating. We were like, no, we're just looking up.
We weren't looking for a relationship. So it really kind
of happened organically our relationship and for us, it was
(38:40):
just so great to be able to celebrate like all
the people in our lives. And we had it at
the Soden House, which.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
I heard all about it. By the way, A.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Beautiful home, not a typical wedding venue, which is what
I want, Which that's what I imagined. I was like,
I don't want I don't want the all the church
and this and then that I had that. I went
something that is more like a swanky Hollywood party, and
that's exactly what it was.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
That sounds like fun. I wish I was there. I
know we'll get married again. The vow things your vows.
I want to do that.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
I want to do it too. I wish that that
house it changed owners and they don't rent it out anymore.
But I wish we could do the wedding again again.
It was so much fun.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
How do you think your marriage has grown over these
years together? Because you know, you've been together a significant
amount of time. That's a success story that's happening for you.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
I mean, we've been through a lot. We also keep
our relationship off social media. It's a very important for
the both of us. I mean I maybe post about
it once on our anniversary and then on a birthday
or something. But like we you know, we we don't
(40:06):
believe in throwing keeps throwing it out how we feel
about each other, like that's personal to us. It's very intimate.
And then you know, we lead very different lives, like
we like very different things we have. I always joke
around we have nothing in common, like just our core values.
(40:28):
But other than that, like he likes sports and like
gay go sports. He likes to watch like war movies
and documentaries, and I like rom coms and you know,
fantasy shows.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
And I think her husband should hang out and we
should hang out, but that they can be happy doing
their thing. Yeah, because it's the same for me. And
I don't know if that's like all. I know, it's
not all guys, but it's it's good to have differences.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Well, I think it's great. So I was married. My
first husband wasn't actor, and it was I always say,
there's room. There's only room for one peacock in the family,
and it was I mean, I think that was part
of the problem. Yeah, and also you know, we we
liked all the same things. I love that my husband
(41:19):
and I are so completely different. You know, I read books,
he doesn't. You know, he's not an actor. I am like,
it's just it's just for me, it's it's very it
gives me space than to be able to be myself.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
Right because that autonomy is so important in a relationship.
I feel like, don't you Yeah, okay. I always ask
everyone this at the end of the podcast, Julie e
Ban's what was your last I choose me moment?
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Oh? Is this morning I worked out?
Speaker 1 (41:52):
There? You go?
Speaker 2 (41:52):
There, you go every morning every morning I choose me,
I go to the gym, I work out. That's me
choosing me. And that's that's why you have that boy,
I do you know it's it's really for mental health purposes.
I find that that's where I center myself. I don't
have my phone with me. I'm not looking at my phone.
I'm not watching TV. I'm not I'm just focused on
(42:18):
lifting a weight or you know, counting the rep counting
the reps. And it's very meditative for me. And nothing
is allowed to interfere with my workout schedule. Drives my
husband up a wall.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
But it's on the calendar.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
If if i'm you know, if it's a day I'm
scheduled to work out, he's got to wait. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
So good for you. Yeah, thank you so much for
being on my pood. I loved it.
You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Girl. Hi, everyone,
welcome to I Choose Me. This podcast is about choices
and how our choices shape who we are today. I
love sitting down with inspiring guests and talking about what
(00:22):
it really means to put yourself first. You probably know
my guest from shows like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Dexter,
and Defiance, and today we are going to talk about
real life, about resilience, reinvention, and what choosing yourself really
(00:43):
looks like. Please welcome actress, advocate and all around amazing
woman Julie Ben's to the podcast. Okay, wait, how do
we know each other? To start with? Was our first
meet like actual meat at a convention?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yeah, I thought so, but I honestly, when we met,
I felt like I'd known you forever.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Well, I have known you forever because I was a
huge nine fan.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
I felt like that, probably because I was a huge
Dexter fan. So it was just like I was meeting
my old friend. Yeah that's what it felt like. I
loved it. How do you how you like and doing
those conventions?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh god, I've been doing them forever. I love them.
I mean it's it's great to be a part of well,
because I started with Buffy and Angel and to be
a part of a show that has such a global
following and that fans come together and they hang out,
they meet, some of them fall in love, get married.
(01:43):
I'm now at the stage where little kids that I
met like twenty years ago are now full grown adults.
So they come back and say hi, and I'm like, well,
that's kind of weird, weird, but they're really wonderful.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
But you have a whole that you have a whole
new generation of fans.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Then yes, yes, And then with Dexter feeds into that.
It seems like a large part of my career feeds
into the convention life.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
So the vibes at the conventions are so much different
than I thought they would be, you know. And I
have gotten so much personally, as like from meeting fans
and from hanging out with them.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yes, do you feel that way? Yeah, I mean I've
become friends with some of them.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Some things just random I call them friends.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, And I think it's just such a
great way to like I always say that it's so
great to be part of a show where the fans
are just as passionate about the show as we were
making it and to be a part of that world
and have that synergy. And then some people you just
meet and you're just like, hey, you don't want to
hang out with you? Right?
Speaker 1 (02:49):
We could be friends, like, you know, instantly.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Like there was when I was on Defiance, which was
a show I did for sci Fi. There we would
live tweet the show and there was a group of
women and that were so snarky and so fun, and
they would life tweet with us. That I ended up
at dragon Con when you're hosting them in my hotel room, oh,
to watch the finale of the season, and we had
(03:12):
a glass. And I'm still in touch with all of
them and like we're still friends.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I love that. That sounds like something I would totally do, Like,
come on, guys, let's hang out. Hang out my room
so lonely. Oh that's so cool.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I've made some really good friends and we've gone to
dinners and hang out at Dave's bar and just I
don't know, I just they're friends, yeah, plain and simple. Yeah,
But there is that weird like how did the friendship begin?
Like they were they're super fans, right, you know, and
then they somehow sort of like ease into just being cool,
(03:48):
like we're friends, we're equals.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yes, well, I think also you have to be open
to it. I mean I do see so many actors
at conventions that they don't want to have an experience,
they don't want to have a connection. I like having
a connection. I like meeting people. I like learning about
other people I like. I think that's one of the
reasons why I'm an actor. So I'm open to having
(04:12):
a connection.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yeah, I used to be really shut off to it,
just connections in general. I literally used to walk around
my head down, my eyes down, never meeting people's gaze,
you know. But I've changed so much now that I
really like thrive.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
But do you think that was because with nine oh
two and oh it was such a global phenomena that
you really couldn't you had to keep your head down.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
I think so. I think I've always just been uncomfortable
in the spotlight. I've always been like, I just want
to blend in. I just want to be normal. I'm
from Illinois, like I just I'm not a Hollywood person
at all. So I felt like I had to do
that in order to sort of like stay in my
comfort bubble. But now I've realized that bubble only existed
(05:05):
because I was creating it in my head, right, So
I feel so much more freedom when it comes to
like connecting with other people and meeting people and just
shooting the shit with, you know, anybody on the street.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yeah, I'm always shocked when people know who I am.
I'm like, how, like, how how do you know? I
don't ever lead with that, So I'm always shocked when
someone is like I'm a huge fan and I'm like, oh,
thank you. That's like so flattering because I don't lead
with that. That's not how I define myself. But you know,
(05:37):
like I was at the grocery store the other day
and the guy bagging my groceries was telling me about you.
Just started talking about how he wants to be a
teacher and how he had finally got out a certification,
and I was like, wow, I believe in you, like
you're going to do it. And then he was like,
I'm a huge fan. I was like, oh, that's so sweet.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Like it's the best feeling when you can give somebody
that support that they might not be getting in their
real life. And it seems I know, for me, it's
really genuine. But I can tell from you it's really
genuine too.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Well. I think everybody needs somebody to say I believe
in you. Oh yeah, like I tell every I say
it's so much to strangers, and I think it's kind
of like they get taken aback by it, probably, But
I think we all need to be told like, I
believe in you. I know you're going to do that.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
It feels good to lift people up. Yeah, I mean
so much better than the opposite, yea, being closed off
and like you're better than people like all that. Yeah,
celebrity juice that flows. Okay, I want to talk about
the beginning because I know you were a competitive figure skater.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I was, and you started when you were two years old.
Three years old, three.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Years old, okay, anyway, that's a tiny little person. Yes,
you were probably super tiny too.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yes. So there was an ice rink at the local mall,
and my mom was looking for something that the family
could do together, like a family activity. So she took us,
my brother, sister, and I for group lessons. And I'm
the youngest in the family and my brother and sister.
The group lessons they were like like group one Group
(07:09):
two all the way up till ten, Group ten, and
my brother and sister moved through those lessons fairly quickly.
I was in group one for like nine months, and
my mother couldn't figure out why it was because I
was super cute. I was super cute. I had like
these chubby little cheeks and those like blonde, super blonde hair.
And I thought ice skating was people just push you
(07:33):
around on the ice, because people would they'd be like, oh,
you're so cute, and they would just push me around.
And that's what I thought skating was. I didn't realize
like I had to skate on my own, and so
then my mother put a ban on people pushing me around,
and so so you had to learn. I had to learn.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah, you told me a funny story about your mom
loved to go shopping. Yes, we were talking because we're
both born in nineteen seventy two. Yes, and we were
talking about I don't even know how this came up,
but leaving your kids in the car. We were talking
about we didn't use seatbelts when we were little. We
didn't have car seats until we were eight years old.
They do now, and we still survive somehow, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
My mom used to leave us in the car and
she'd go shopping in the mall. She was a shopaholic,
and she would leave us in the back of the
station wagon and we would just entertain ourselves.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Wow. Yeah, And I asked you if it was hot,
and you're like, well, she left the windows. God, wait,
so maybe the whole like let's go ice skating at.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
The mall at the well also, because she would leave
us at the rink and then she would go and shop.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
The family time, family time. It's so funny. Was that
your childhood dreamed to be a professional skater?
Speaker 2 (08:48):
No, you know, my parents are suckers for your kids
are so talented. So they really believed that we were
super talented. And we worked really hard. I mean I
trained eight hours a day, seven days a week, two
weeks off a year.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Yeah, from the ages of what from like three until
I officially retired at sixteen. I had an injury at
thirteen and so I had I was off for about
six months, and so that's when I finally got to
experience life and go like, oh wait, I don't know
if this is what I want to do.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
And also you're basically giving up your life to do
that if you're not like super passionate about it.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Yeah, I mean it was. It wasn't until I was
in college and I was I was in the theater
program and I had a breakdown in class and I
finally admitted and finally I had a like it was
a breakdown revelation moment where I realized, like I didn't
(09:48):
love skating. I was told I loved it. So my
brother and sister, they were junior national ice dance champions.
They were really good. They loved it. Mother loved it,
my father loved it. I didn't love. I was the
little kid, like I was the little sister. And I
think for me when I when I had that injury,
(10:11):
my mother that's when I had my She exposed me
to acting because I was off and she knew I
love to perform, which that part is true. She dragged
me to audition for a play and that's when I
started going like, oh, this feels better. I like this,
this this is something that I really enjoy doing. And
(10:34):
then that's how I shifted into acting.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
That's lucky that you found that at that age. You know, yes,
a lot of people takes a lot longer than that. Yes,
I'm curious what was your injury? Because I watch ice
skating and I hold my breath because that ice looks
really hard. It is when you're doing crazy things on
like a metal plane. But really, what did you do?
What happened?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
So? I had a stress fracture in my to be
a bone, and it was because I had a growth
spur and and just from all the jumping, like in
the impact landing over time, I had a stress fracture.
But because it was the middle of competition season, you know,
I was basically told, suck it up, Buttercup, get through
(11:16):
competition season and then we'll take you to the doctor.
By that time I went to the doctor, I had
the stress fracture, had like fractured the whole bone, and
so then I was put in a cast for a
fairly long period of time. And then when I went back,
I couldn't jump as well because of the muscle loss.
(11:37):
So I started ice dancing, which is what my brother
and sister did. So I met ice dancing.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Less jumping, less sleeping and leaping. Okay, I don't even
know if I've ever seen ice dancing. You have, I have?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
You have?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I just don't know that the difference. I got a
look closer. So that wasn't your childhood dream. It was
your family's sort of like dream thrust upon.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
You, Yes, which I think happens. Yeah, in families, especially
back then. I think now we're you know, children have
more of a voice of what they want to do
and more of a say. But you know, in the
seventies and eighties, it was this is what we do.
We are a family of ice skaters. We're all going
(12:23):
to the Olympics. Like that was the plan. And I
was the first one to break the plan.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
How did they take that?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
They were fine with it.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Actually my mom loved the fact that I wanted to
be an actor. She said she loved that.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
She was like, okay, let's give it.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
So she was the first one to be like, yeah, okay,
you can pivot, you can do this instead. So yeah,
So from there, you went onto NYU and went to
NYU to study acting. You were at tish I was
same place that my oldest daughter went.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
I believe I could be completed.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Did she study acting?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
She was actually a gallatint yes, yes, so she was
in your dorms probably, Yeah, which dorm? Oh care I
can't remember. I have another one, my third daughter going
into a dorm this fall.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
No, no, oh no.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
She's staying local. Thank god, Oh god. But you finished
at NYU and you pretty much just jumped right into
your career. Yes, so well in the pavement.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
When I was at NYU, I booked my very first
television series, like my first month of freshman year.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Okay, that's exciting.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
And it was a sitcom that ABC and Nick at
Night were doing. It was called high Honey, I'm Home.
And they had a rule at NYU that you weren't
supposed to be auditioning professionally your freshman year, and I'm
not a rule follower, so they tried to kick me
out of school. But I had a teacher stand up
(13:53):
for me and say, you know, if you kick her out,
I'd quit, and so I was able to stay. I
was given a D for the semester, but no one
has ever asked me my grade point average, so doesn't matter.
So yeah, so I did the pilot and then that
show got picked up, so I took a semester off
(14:13):
to do the series.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Was that in New York?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
It shot in Orlando, Florida. Okay, so I took a
semester off, and I realized at that time it really
wasn't ready to work professionally. Like I was really struggling.
I was on location, I was with a bunch of
adults and then some little kids, Like there was nobody
my age to hang out with. I was nineteen, and
(14:37):
it just I was really lonely. I was really struggling,
and I realized, like, this isn't for me right now
at this point in my life. And so then the
show got canceled, thank god, and I went back to
college and I finished up, and then I moved out
to La. Ah.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And did you get an agent right away or how
did that all kind of about how did the path unfold
for you?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Well, I had met my manager, who was my manager
for thirty some years before until he retired. I met
him when I was about fourteen years old in Pittsburgh,
and I had been going to New York for auditions
and so I he moved out to LA a year
(15:23):
before I graduated college. And so then when I graduated,
he's like, we'll come out to LA and so yeah,
and then just started I started working right away.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Did you did you use the Thomas Guide to find
your way around town.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Oh my god. So I moved out in January of
ninety four, two weeks before the earthquake, the big earthquake,
and the ten Freeway had collapsed. Yeah, and I didn't
know where the ten Freeway was, so I didn't take
a freeway for a long time because I was too
afraid I was going to like drive off of it.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Luckily, you can get around LA without the freeways.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yes, And I lived in Brentwood at that time, so
it was fairly convenient. But yeah, that Thomas Guide was
I just remember having to pull over and like look,
like flip through the coordinating.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
I have my Thomas Guide, you do. I found it
my mom's house, and it's like a coveted archive piece
for me.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Well, mine was probably covered in like peanut butter stuff
because I would always eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
It was like my audition food.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
In the car.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
In the car because you'd have like six seven auditions
a day and you're driving all over town and I'd
have like little like little snack packs of like peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches and like crackers and anything. They
keep the energy up.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
And now we don't even have to leave our house
to audition.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I hate it.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
You don't like doing the auditions from home?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
I I don't know. I miss the energy I miss.
I miss sitting in a waiting room with other actors.
You do, I do. I miss that camaraderie. I miss
feeling like you're a part of something. It's really hard
for me to audition at home.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, it's hard to get in the right space. It
is just weird.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
It's weird, it's lonely. I find it so lonely and isolating.
I recently had my first in person audition in five years.
How it was so exciting, Like it was like I
was like, oh, we are back.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
That is amazing. I didn't get the part, but you
had a good time with the audition.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
It fed my soul, Like it really fed my soul
because I was like, maybe now this is a sign
we'll start getting back into rooms again.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
I would love that.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I read that an acting coach once told you were
never going to make it in the industry. Yes, okay,
we've all had you know, people say mean things to us,
but that's pretty hardcore from somebody that you looked up to.
I'm sure, but how did you turn that negative messaging
into like the fuel that fired you to keep going?
(18:12):
You know?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
So that happened when I did a Carnegie Mellon summer
program the I think it was between junior and senior year.
It was like an acting program and like you lived
there and it was like six weeks where they exposed
you to full on like what it would be like
if you came to Carnegie Mellon And it was one
of the teachers there, and honestly, in my brain, I
(18:35):
mean I just thought, Wow, what a loser you are,
like telling a sixteen year old that you'll never make
it in this industry and and you're not even working. Really,
you're teaching act yet.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Right, What did you do when he like when he
said that, it was she Well, what did you do
when she said that? To your face?
Speaker 2 (18:57):
I mean I just looked at her and I was like, well,
that's your opinion, and that's not everybody else's opinion.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
I have.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Like I had a manager an agent in New York,
so I was like, I go to New York for auditions, Like,
what do you do? I had a big bigo.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Yeah, no, but it sounds like you had to stand
up for yourself.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Yes, And I think she was the voice teacher, like
the speaking voice teacher, and she just thought my voice
was awful. And I remember my manager saying to me,
he said, well, sometimes the thing that makes you unique
is also the thing that makes people not like you.
(19:37):
And he goes, you do have a very unique voice,
so that's what makes you different than somebody else. So
it's okay, and some people aren't gonna like it, and
that's okay. So but I still have the report card
from her. I still keep it just as a reminder
(19:58):
that I had, I had the nerve at that age
to kind of stand up for myself. But I've always
you know, I feel like i've I think in order
when you come from the Midwest and you want you're
not born into the industry and you want to be
an actor, everybody tells you, good luck, honey, you're not
(20:19):
gonna make it. Yeah, So I think there is a
bit of that youthful belief in yourself, the ego that
comes out and says I'm going to prove you wrong.
You know.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Do you think that has carried with you in your
adult life? Like until now, do you have that streak
within you still.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Oh, definitely, definitely. I still I mean, I still think
like I'm the only one for the part.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
I still feel that that's a really good mindset, Like
that's incredible, and it's not a fake confidence.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I mean I do always say like why not me? Like,
if you're going to choose somebody, then why not choose me.
You know, I'm a hard worker. I've you know, I
work very very hard at my job. I show up
on time, I'm prepared, I always have a good, good energy,
good spirit, Like why not me?
Speaker 1 (21:19):
So that's the best thing you can say to yourself.
Why not? Yeah, with any obstacle that you're coming up
against in your life. Yes, And I didn't really start
thinking that until I was in my fifties.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Yeah. And it took me. It was really hard for
me to get there because I was so full of
self doubt and so full of insecurities, and you know,
just had let the business sort of have its way
with my mind and my soul.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, until I was like, no, well, you were under
a microscope. I've never been. I've never been. I've never
experienced that, like I've never I've been a part of
some great shows yes, but I've never been like under
a microscope like I've always felt I've been able to
keep my personal life and my work separate and keep everything,
(22:11):
you know, separate, normal, and I was never I mean,
the level of fame that you reached very quickly was astounding.
I mean that's once in a lifetime.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Yeah, that was a wild ride. Yeah, so it definitely
had an impact on my development in a lot of ways. Yes,
but you said you're from the Midwest. Yes, I think
that there's something about the grit of a Midwestern Yeah.
Do you feel that too.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Oh, totally totally. Like there's nothing wrong with nepotism at all.
And I love like, I love like, I understand it.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
I see why not?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Why not? Right? If I had kids, I'd be like
why not? If I can help you, why not? But
for me to like, I just feel like coming from
Pittsburgh where I didn't know any other actors and I
had to like forge my way and like and just
be like, I'm going to do this no matter what, Like,
(23:16):
this is what I'm doing and I'm either going to
sink or swim, like that's it. Those are the two options.
So I'm going to choose to swim that I feel
that I still have that in me.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
I think that's such an incredible trait, you know. I
think it's it says a lot about who you are.
And also we were talking earlier also about your driving style,
which is now I'm getting.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
A little bit of a contradictory message because you said,
I know I'm slow and steady, you're the slow lane.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Kind of got I'm in the fast lane.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Like, yeah, yeah, I'm slow and steady. I'm a Taurus,
like you know, I'm a tourist, very very like you
get that when you get there, give yourself enough time
to get there. You don't need to speed. I don't
need to show off, right, I know.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I think that was younger me, like it was like
I am a crazy la driver now, but I've gotten
a little bit more mellow, And I think my husband
Dave has really helped me with that because he's like
an eighty year old man in the body and in
all of his life, and he drives really slow. So
I kind of find it so comforting that I started
to adopt it.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah, I'm just slow and steady, you know. I also
I was in a lot of car accidents as a kid.
Because my mother was a terrible driver.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
So wait, how many like roughly?
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (24:39):
And are we talking like fender benders?
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Are we talking no major like where the car was totaled?
Oh no, yeah, yeah she was not. She didn't learn
to drive until she was thirty years old.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I mean she should have waited a little longer. Maybe
she should have started earlier. That is crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
But yeah, so that we had a couple. I was
in a couple of massive car accidents. I mean two
of them I was in the hospital for because I
had like massive concussion and whiplash. And so I think
when you have experienced car accidents on that level, you
just kind of go like, you know what, I'm gonna
take the granny lane. I'm perfectly happy in the granny lane.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
I'm gonna think of you now when I'm in the
granny lane. I'm gonna enjoy it. Be like this is
something that works for her. We talk a lot about
learning to choose ourselves on this podcast. When would you
say you started to first consciously think about the importance
of choosing yourself, the importance of self care.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
M I mean, I really think up until I got
divorced from my first husband I was. I mean, I
was very motivated and set on my path of what
I wanted to do, but the rest of my life
(26:05):
I was kind of just going along with everybody else.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
How old were you when you got divorced?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
I was thirty four, and had you been married twenty four?
I got married too, so you were married at twenty four. Yeah.
And I remember hearing Terry Hatcher had written a book
and I can't remember the title, but something about eating
the burnt toast. And I remember seeing her on the
(26:33):
view talking about it and about how women take the
burnt toast. And that's when I realized, like, that's what
I was doing in my marriage. I was taking the
burnt toast, the burnt piece of toast, every single time.
And I really started. I was struggling, obviously in the marriage,
and I ended up filing for divorce because I was like,
(26:55):
I can't do this anymore. I'm losing myself. Who I am,
I'm not being I'm not able to grow, not able
to become a grown up. I had married somebody older,
and he's a lovely man. It's just the dynamic just
wasn't working. And I think for me that was the
(27:15):
first time I really like chose myself was deciding to
get divorced, because it was I grew up in a
very devout Catholic family. Divorce was very much looked down upon,
and I never thought like, I didn't get married thinking
I would get divorced. So it was it was a
(27:38):
very difficult decision. But I honestly felt like I was suffocating,
Like I felt like I was just I couldn't breathe,
you know. And then I would go on location and
I would smoke cigarettes and drink and like all this
bad behavior, and I like and be like, why did
I why Why do I feel like? Why am I
(27:59):
acting like this? And I was like, it's because I'm
not able to just be me. So that was like,
really the first time.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
That's good, that's you know, that's a significant moment in
your life and so important in that time when you
realized I have got to take care of myself in
a different way. Yes, yes, how do you I know
we follow each other on social media? How do you
like social media? What do you think of it? We
(28:33):
were saying before we're instagram we.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Are instam instagrammys, instagrammy, your instagrammys.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
I love it? Did you just come up I do.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
I love Instagram.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
You're not a TikToker.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
I've tried the TikTok. I've tried it. You know, it's
just it's a time suck.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
It just it just feels like it's killing your brain cells.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, it's too much information. It's like it's addictive. And
I for me, like during the pandemic, it was recommended
that I try the TikTok and I did a couple
videos and it was super cute.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Are you dancing? Did you do the dancing?
Speaker 2 (29:23):
I did one dancing. My husband said he was like,
if you do the TikTok, you're not allowed to dance,
and so because he was like, please, don't be that lady,
like please.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
And so what if you want? By the way, but.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I did the one. I did it once and it
was super funny and cute, and then I did I
did a lot of lip syncing videos which were a
lot of fun. And then I did a couple other
videos and some of them went viral, which was great.
But I just was like, it takes too much time
(30:00):
to like film it, edit it, come up with the idea,
do the sound, do that. It was like too much,
So I.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Mean that's why kids go to college and major in
it now, I know, because of people.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Like us, because we don't know how to do it. No.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
I think it's definitely like there's such a so much
significance in like the younger generation. We're basically our moms
now and we're looking at what we were and thinking, Oh,
the kids these days, what they what they can do.
But I think they're just they're used to it in
a way that doesn't they don't feel like it's robbing
(30:38):
them of their life.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
I know. I know. I don't know if that's a
good thing or bad, but I feel like it it
affects your attention span.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Uh yeah, so my kids can literally, like especially my
youngest who's eighteen, who is really in the TikTok generation,
It's like you've got three seconds with her, yeah, before
she's onto something else, not listening to you, already talking
about something else, thinking about what she's going to talk about.
(31:07):
It's so worrisome.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Yeah, because that's what I noticed. It was happening to
me when I was doing it. It sounds like a drug.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Yeah, I was on the TikTok.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
I was on the TikTok. I couldn't read books anymore
because like my focus was gone, and I didn't like that, right,
because I love to read. I love to just sit
and focus and read a book and just be in
a whole other world. And I found that, you know,
just the scrolling even now, it's even still with Instagram,
(31:38):
Like I have to keep my scrolling in check me too,
because I'm like, why am I sitting here doing this
when I have a really great book sitting next to
my bed that I could go read.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yeah, I'll get sucked in, Like I'll go to look
at something and then I'll just get sucked in and
then five minutes I'm like, oh my god, hate myself
right now, Like put that phone down. Yeah, this is too,
it's too. It takes over your brain in the weirdest way.
I don't know how it does it.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
And I get influenced very easily. For me too, I'm like, oh,
I want to buy that shirt, I want that mask
and care I want that I.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Need not everything, everything, saw anything. I will buy anything
basically on TikTok if it's a cool, if it looks great.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Listen, if you are on there saying that you use something,
I am like Jenny, I'm buying it right now.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
I know I'm very selective about the things that I
promote because I know how influential it can be. And
I don't want to be like buy all these crappy
things right to take it very seriously. I don't want
to be responsible for people going bankrupt having just stuff
they don't need. How do you stay grounded and in
(32:51):
touch with your sense of self or your self worth?
Even like it is it through those times of like
I'm going to read book, I'm gonna just sit here
quietly and you know, be in my own world for
a minute, Like what do you how do you do
it well?
Speaker 2 (33:10):
I mean I really I think I get myself worth
from being a good person and being a good friend
two people. I mean, in some ways, it's being in
service of others and trying to help out where others
(33:32):
might be like my friends might be failing in one
area of their life. Like like I had one of
my close friends she's a mom of four kids, and
like helping out with the kids when her life gets
too busy, and and just helping other people. And my
love language is cooking for others. Like that's really to me,
(33:56):
it's very intimate, like if I were to have you
over and make you dinner, it's like a very like.
It's it's how I express like my love and friendship
to people. Is like, I'm going to cook for you.
I like that, So.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
You can cook for me anytime.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
You want to come over, I'll cook for you.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
No one ever cooks for me. My oldest daughter's cooked
for me, and that's about it. My husband orders for
me right, which I appreciate too.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
No one cooks for me ever.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Would you like somebody to cook for you?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
No, I enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
I like to do it.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
I love being in the kitchen. I mean I I
enjoy it. It's it's a creative outlet for me, and
it's especially helpful during the times when work is slow.
I start getting creative in the kitchen. You know, I
wish I filmed it.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
More, but it kind of pulls you out of it.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
It's too hard.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Again, President, I forget. I'll forget. I forget like steps
one through five, and you're like, oh, no, yeah, I
gotta do that again.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
Is so true.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
I read that you said you love to cook and clean.
I do chores.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I do. I was like my sister, I do I
love doing chores. I love it.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
What's your favorite chore?
Speaker 2 (35:19):
I love vacuuming and mopping my floors.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Vacuuming is so like meditation.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Oh, it's so relaxing, and people hate it, I know,
and I love it.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
I I what kind of vacuum do you have?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (35:33):
I have like just it's a stick vacuum, like a
you know, yeah, like a cordless.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
A cordless That's the way I love it. And then
I love to mop my floor because my house is
mid century and I have these giant windows and you
can see any dirt on the floor and it drives
me up a wall. And I've got big dogs that
go in the pool and then come running in the
house with wet feet, and so I'm probably vacuuming and
(35:59):
mopping like every other day.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Okay, wait, this is going to be really boring to
some people. But how do you mop? Because I want
to be better mopping. I want to be better mopper.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
You want to be a better mobb per too.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
It's like a goal.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Well, I use the banaa the spray spray, and then
I just swish it around because you don't want to
put too much water on a wood floor.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Right, But do you ever feel like you're just squishing
around like the dirt and like, oh no, it all
comes up, it goes on the thing, it goes.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
On the pad.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Yeah, okay, God, I'm going to break out my Bona
on floor cleaner kit. I know I have one.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
Fwhere it's the best thing.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
I'm going to get it. Okay. So have we talked
about the fact I think we have that my husband
was at your wedding? Yes, your parent husband, Yes, he
was someone's date. I think your makeup artist.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Yes, Kels Kelsey.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
Yes, they used to be really good friends.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Did he have a good time at the wedding?
Speaker 1 (36:53):
He said he had a blast.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
It was a great wedding. I'm going to it was
an amazing wedding. Lest still talk about it. And it
was thirteen years ago.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
I mean it must have been good that your marriage
is still thriving after thirteen years. Like that's a symbolic thing,
like when you have a great wedding, Yeah, and everybody's
happy and.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Well, you know, I didn't really want to have a
wedding like I wasn't because I had a big wedding
and I was kind of leaning towards like, let's elope,
But my husband had never been married before and then
and it wasn't that he wanted a big wedding. It
was just that we wanted to celebrate all the people
(37:35):
that helped get us to this amazing point in our
relationship together. And so that's how we looked at it
as was it was a celebration of all the people
that were there who were a part of getting us
to Yeah, this stage, it takes a village, and it
(37:57):
did for us because we neither one of us. We
weren't looking for a relationship when we first started dating.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
How did you guys meet?
Speaker 2 (38:06):
I was we were set up to have a one
night stand, a one night stand.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
It turned into thirteen years of one night.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Stand, yeah, eighteen if you could count. Yeah, so it
and it took us a while to even admit we
were dating. We were like, no, we're just looking up.
We weren't looking for a relationship. So it really kind
of happened organically our relationship and for us, it was
(38:40):
just so great to be able to celebrate like all
the people in our lives. And we had it at
the Soden House, which.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
I heard all about it. By the way, A.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Beautiful home, not a typical wedding venue, which is what
I want, Which that's what I imagined. I was like,
I don't want I don't want the all the church
and this and then that I had that. I went
something that is more like a swanky Hollywood party, and
that's exactly what it was.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
That sounds like fun. I wish I was there. I
know we'll get married again. The vow things your vows.
I want to do that.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
I want to do it too. I wish that that
house it changed owners and they don't rent it out anymore.
But I wish we could do the wedding again again.
It was so much fun.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
How do you think your marriage has grown over these
years together? Because you know, you've been together a significant
amount of time. That's a success story that's happening for you.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
I mean, we've been through a lot. We also keep
our relationship off social media. It's a very important for
the both of us. I mean I maybe post about
it once on our anniversary and then on a birthday
or something. But like we you know, we we don't
(40:06):
believe in throwing keeps throwing it out how we feel
about each other, like that's personal to us. It's very intimate.
And then you know, we lead very different lives, like
we like very different things we have. I always joke
around we have nothing in common, like just our core values.
(40:28):
But other than that, like he likes sports and like
gay go sports. He likes to watch like war movies
and documentaries, and I like rom coms and you know,
fantasy shows.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
And I think her husband should hang out and we
should hang out, but that they can be happy doing
their thing. Yeah, because it's the same for me. And
I don't know if that's like all. I know, it's
not all guys, but it's it's good to have differences.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Well, I think it's great. So I was married. My
first husband wasn't actor, and it was I always say,
there's room. There's only room for one peacock in the family,
and it was I mean, I think that was part
of the problem. Yeah, and also you know, we we
liked all the same things. I love that my husband
(41:19):
and I are so completely different. You know, I read books,
he doesn't. You know, he's not an actor. I am like,
it's just it's just for me, it's it's very it
gives me space than to be able to be myself.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
Right because that autonomy is so important in a relationship.
I feel like, don't you Yeah, okay. I always ask
everyone this at the end of the podcast, Julie e
Ban's what was your last I choose me moment?
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Oh? Is this morning I worked out?
Speaker 1 (41:52):
There? You go?
Speaker 2 (41:52):
There, you go every morning every morning I choose me,
I go to the gym, I work out. That's me
choosing me. And that's that's why you have that boy,
I do you know it's it's really for mental health purposes.
I find that that's where I center myself. I don't
have my phone with me. I'm not looking at my phone.
I'm not watching TV. I'm not I'm just focused on
(42:18):
lifting a weight or you know, counting the rep counting
the reps. And it's very meditative for me. And nothing
is allowed to interfere with my workout schedule. Drives my
husband up a wall.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
But it's on the calendar.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
If if i'm you know, if it's a day I'm
scheduled to work out, he's got to wait. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
So good for you. Yeah, thank you so much for
being on my pood. I loved it.
Hosts And Creators
Tori Spelling
Jennie Garth
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.