March 31, 2023 • 46 mins
This week, Rachel Zoe speaks with CAA Agent and Baby2Baby Board Member Maha Dakhil. On today’s episode, Maha talks about her childhood and how she grew up in an immigrant family who wasn't set on her career goal at first. She also opens up about managing her work, social and family life while seemingly remaining zen and perfect.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Every Genesis is a reminder to try something new, to
keep growing, keep hustling, keep beginning. At Genesis, they harness
that mindset into their performance suv. The GV seventy turn
heads with a stunning design inside and out. Discover intuitive
technology inside the GV seventy with a fourteen point five
(00:20):
inch infotainment system. The Genesis GV seventy is for those
who are making their mark on the world and want
to enjoy the luxurious amenities while they do it. So
go on and enjoy an exhilarating drive in the GV seventy.
Your Genesis GV seventy is waiting for you. Learn more
at Genesis dot com Genesis Keep Beginning. Hi everyone, I'm
(00:51):
Rachel Zoe and you're listening to Climbing in Heels. This
show is all about celebrating the most extraordinary superwoman who
will be sharing their incredible journeys to the top, all
while staying glamorous. Today with me, we have Maha Doc Hill,
motion picture agent at the Amazing Creative Artist Agency otherwise
(01:11):
known as CIA, who may have heard of it, and
she also sits with me and many other incredible women
on the board of the Amazing Baby to Baby. On
today's episode, Maha talks about growing up in an immigrant
family and Encino, California, and fostering her love of making
a difference in the world in a less conventional way.
(01:32):
She also opens up about managing her work, social and
family life, all while remaining very zen throughout the process,
or at least seemingly. I'm really really happy to talk
to you, because if I looked up climbing and heels
and my intention behind climbing and heels, I would put
(01:52):
you next to it, so I know you as like
badass mo right, like she's just crushes it everything whatever.
But you'd probably be like, hey, it's been like blood,
sweat and tears for however many years, twenty years or
whatever it is to get to where I am. And
I think a lot of people see women who are
(02:12):
at the top of their games and they just see
them there and they're like, oh my god, they're so lucky.
It's like almost the times take you laugh. And that's
where sort of the climbing in heels, whether you wear
heels or not, which I do know that you do
wear heels. I wear heels. I know you do. I
know you do. And it's funny because someone I had
(02:32):
on here, they were like, Rachel, you wear heels. I
don't wear heels. I'm like, you wear your own version
of heels. Everyone's got there metaphorical heels that I actually
wear the physical both heels. Yes, I agree with that.
I agree. And so first and foremost, I just want
to say, for those of you who don't know who
Maha is, she's literally probably one of the most successful agents, partners,
(02:54):
founders of a million important things like Time's Up, which
we're going to talk about, but also at the very
top of probably the most successful talent agency which has
now so many different things, not just talent CIA, and
also represents the biggest talent across the board in the
(03:15):
industry on all sides, not just actors, but directors, writers,
produce all of it. And so I want to talk
about first, I do want to go back a drop
to the beginning, because I always like to really understand
who were you as like a little girl, like were
you this like fearless, ambitious, like nutty little girl who
(03:37):
was like I'm going to do a million things and
no one mess with me. Or were you like timid
and sweet and shy like all the things so funny
and where did you grow up? Because I do want
to know that too. Okay, well, it's a funny thing
the beginning, because I like to think I'm still at
the beginning and that there's so many for me too.
I'm much more to go and many more chapters and acts.
(04:00):
But the real real beginning would be in Encino, California,
where I care you up, ye, and I grew up,
and I think this defined my relationship with women all around.
I grew up with two sisters who I'm very close with,
and I'm right in the middle of the two of them,
and we have a little brother, and that also defined
my relationship with men because we would tell our little
(04:22):
brother what to do as you should. He had no
chances with three sisters, by the way, he really didn't.
But he's got a chance at being a great husband
because he was nurtured by three very strong women, and
his mom too, so for strong women. So I grew
up in Encino, and you would think maybe that put
(04:44):
me in proximity to show business. But I grew up
with an immigrant family, a Muslim family. My parents came
from Libya, and Libya is pretty foreign to the rest
of the world. It's a really tiny population in Libya.
It's so even amongst the Arab world, Libby is really
small and really specific. And my parents, who were extremely
(05:09):
proud of their culture and heritage and came here seeking
freedom and education for their their kids, left so much
behind and that really defined our upbringing because that meant
we were driven by guilt. Sure, now, of course, be
great gratefault, don't compline. Yes, yes, yes, And they were
(05:34):
wonderful parents and they instilled really amazing values within us.
And all the values that they've instilled in each of
each of their kids is what guides us and opens
pretty much any path we've we've set ourselves on, and
that's been really key to to my upbringing into too,
(05:56):
I think the part of my life where I began
to embark on a career. But as immigrants, they didn't
have the shorthand they didn't have the assimilation, the acceptance,
or the knowledge to really share to open the doors
in the world of entertainment. So most immigrant families, and
this is pretty universal, want their kids to be highly
educated in fields that are extremely reliable and have reliable
(06:20):
paths to ascend. And the film business doesn't doesn't offer that.
TV doesn't offer that, the media world doesn't offer that.
I don't think the fashion world and most of these
worlds are more amorphous. And to my parents that was
very scary that you could study and be really worthy
and valuable and somehow be overlooked because you weren't favored
(06:41):
or you didn't look like the people who were doing
the thing that you want to do. So I wasn't
encouraged in this business at all growing up, but I
was drawn to it always. I was drawn to creative writing.
I was drawn to just movies, pop culture, music, dance.
All of those those arts were guiding me. And it
(07:05):
was a very subtle kind of more in the background
of my upbringing. I was going to say, but did
you want to do those things or you wanted to
be a part of those things like you are attracted
to them, or you wanted to actually do that. I
wanted to write as a kid, Okay, but I'm way
too social to be a real writer, so I can't.
(07:26):
I can write, but I don't write because I want
to talk more than I want to write, of course.
But that's what I started off with, you know, short
stories and creative, creative writing as a kid. I think
that was probably my big clue. But like I said,
I didn't know how to connect that to anything, so
that that's kind of how it began in my personality.
I'm still trying to analyze. I think I was all
(07:47):
the things that you said. I think at times I
was shy and timid growing up. Like I said, in
an immigrant background, you weren't always sure about when and
how to assert yourself. But I had a father who
was very strong and very clear or about our value
and encouraged us to take up space good and that
we were worthy. Was very very clear about that, and
(08:08):
that was defining. That's amazing though, because I had I
had a father like that. But I I've had a
lot of women on this podcast that were very um
to your point, sort of like stay in a safe path,
stay in a safe path, stay and that secure path,
you know, no risk taking. So that's that's pretty incredible
(08:29):
that you had a dad like that and have parents
like that, because I think for us when when our
parents are our cheerleaders, I think that makes everything easier.
You're not like going against the sort of like dream
when you're especially I think as an immigrant family. You're
sort of like, oh god, it's a little more scary.
I think, right to take that risk because what if
it doesn't work? And then they were right. Well, well
(08:53):
they didn't. To be honest, what they supported was they
supported the idea of big and bis in a big career,
but the film world was not something they supported at all.
So in essence, I remember having a very specific conversation
with my father after a college when he thought I
was going to law school and I thought I might
go to law school, but instead I did an internship
(09:15):
at CAN that opened my eyes up to all the
things I loved in one place, a red carpet, fashion,
social change, movies. It was I was a goner. And
what I said to him is that we share the
same goals, We shared the same destination. I want to
change the world. You want me to change the world,
but we don't share the same vision for the path.
(09:37):
Intert and I said, I've got your back. I know
what you want from me as you're a kid, but
I have to do it in this very different way
and it's not And he didn't understand. Because from there
I went off to be an assistant to directors and producers,
and I was buying doc food food and house sitting,
and we couldn't see the co relation big ambitions and
(10:02):
what my immediate you know, time looked like. So he
kept stuffing applications of the London School of Economics under
my door, and we just didn't speak very much during
this period, by the way, And that's that's and that's
a really big risk and a chance that I think
you took, and I think a lot a very successful
(10:23):
women had to take. They had to kind of go
against what was expected and what was okay and also
very often what was supported, you know, by their parents,
because I think a lot of parents, when you choose
the path that they want, they're happy to support you
financially and otherwise along the way. And then sometimes they're like, okay,
you do you but like see on the other side
(10:44):
kind of thing, right, So okay, So Ken, let's talk
about that, because I remember my first time going to
Kent Film Festival, and obviously like as a stylist and working,
but I remember and I always compare it to that
like Sarah Jessica moment when she gets to Paris for
the first time. It's like that you it's like you
(11:04):
you gasp for air because it doesn't seem real, right,
It's like what you see in movies. It's not real.
It's like it's like the grace Kelly, the so feel
around the like the steps and the gowns and the like.
It's the dream, right, I mean, it's really like the
dream of all of it. So there you are, You're
(11:25):
interning at the can Film Festival, and it's also Mayhem
by the way, Like I mean, our dear friend Jason
Weinberg long ago was like there with him, and he
was like he was just constantly white. He was just like,
you know, but I think here's a can fixture. So
(11:45):
basically your eyes light up. All of it comes together
before your eyes. You're an intern, And you know, I
had that moment when I went I crashed my first
fashion show and I was like twenty two years old,
and I said, Yep, I'm going to do this for
the rest of my life. I don't care if I
get paid, I don't care if I starve doing it,
but this is what I'm doing, right, And I imagine
(12:06):
that you had that moment of like, somehow, this is
my calling and I'm going to just go for it.
So how does that happen in real life? Because it
was much harder than even than it is now to
do this. So everything you just said I relate to
you crushing your fashion shows me going to my first Can,
(12:27):
and I kept doing I kept interning in the film
world as a like in the background, I did not
treat it as the front door. I treated it as
the side thing. And I probably would go to law school.
But once I went to CAN, and truly all of
my interests were encompassed right in that moment, in that space,
(12:52):
and I was taking a class at the time that
you see, like literally called Art and Social Change. I
really did feel like my calling as social justice oriented,
but instead of politics, I always felt compelled that art
and storytelling was way more effective. And I saw that
in Can. I saw people from corners of the most
(13:15):
remote parts of the world coming to Can with their movie.
And I love that. I loved all the different languages.
I loved seeing people from different cultures, backgrounds, demographics, and
I love fashion and I love the red carpet and
I love the glamour of the industry, and it was
all encompassed right right then. So I had this epiphany
(13:37):
that it's not a side thing. This is actually going
to be my thing. I have no idea what people
and can actually do, but somebody needs to make this
my job to be here again and again and again.
And it was many, many years before I returned, because
there is no real job that takes you to can
as an assistant really, unless you were you worked toward it,
(14:01):
and I at that point did not see the agent
path in front of me. I thought I would go
into something more creative work my way up can what
it went from being in the middle of can to
being as far away from Cana as possible for ten years? Right? Interesting? Okay, wow,
ten years? So then take me to CIA. So my
(14:25):
twenties were really tough because coming out of college and
then pivoting from law school and going into film and
like I just referred to jokingly running around buying dog
food and being an assistant and schlepping around. Ye, I
was not immediately seen and lifted up in this industry,
but somebody who cared and you know, gave me the access.
I took a lot of I'm sure you were lucky.
(14:49):
No got my ass same and I got I took
a lot of different jobs looking for an angle and
really starving for a mentor more than anything else. I
was hopefully going to find someone who understood I was
a bit different, I was a bit unconventional, and would
(15:09):
take a chance on me. But in fact, my I
guess my being unconventional made me stick out more in
some ways, being a woman that was extremely outspoken and
clear about you know, my values and my interests. I
you know, you were taught all through college and school
(15:30):
like raise your hands, speak up. Once I got into
the beginning of the film business late nineties early two thousands,
that wasn't really so celebrated. It was I kind of
stuck out in all in all the wrong ways, and
so you're probably you're probably perceived as difficult. I was
perceived as difficult, And you know, I don't think there's
(15:51):
enough difficult women in the business now that I know
all of the difficult amazing women who I who are
my friends, But at the time I was difficult and alone. Ye,
every Genesis is a reminder to try something new, to
keep growing, keep hustling, keep beginning. At Genesis, they harness
(16:11):
that mindset into their performance. SUV the GV seventy discover
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five infotainment system. The Genesis GV seventy is for those
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to enjoy luxurious amenities while they do it. I used
to dread driving around LA because of the traffic, the
(16:31):
stop and go, the blaring sun always getting directly into
my eyes no matter what time of day it is.
But thanks to Genesis, driving around here isn't too bad,
especially when I'm driving in style turnheads with the stunning
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(16:54):
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keep beginning. I do recall one person I worked for
saying to me, who I still know he's a great manager.
He said, you're like a plug that needs an outlet,
(17:16):
and he did at least recognize that that you're a
plug that doesn't have its outlet. I definitely have the talent.
You are the plug, gotta find your outlet, and so
that image really stuck in my mind so clearly, so vividly,
that I was looking for my outlet, and what it
really meant is I was looking for someone to open
the door. It wasn't so specific as too I thought
(17:37):
I wanted to produce. I thought maybe I wanted to
be a studio executive. But ultimately it came in the
form of the agency world, where this very tiny agency
was hiring and there was an agent there who had
been at William Morris, a very very senior agent starting
Emotion Picture Group. I sat with him, not to be
interviewed as an agent, but to be to just get
(17:59):
some guidance from him. A mutual friend set us up,
and because he was hiring agents, he thought I was
interviewing to be an agent, and he just mixed the
whole day up and interviewed me as if I was
an agent. And then at the end he said, this
is a little awkward, but do you have clients like
I'm seeing a great agent. And I understand quickly understood
that there was a big misunderstanding, but used it to
(18:21):
my advantage and I said, I have no clients, but
I could do this job. And I just started pitching myself.
And it was a small enough agency. You couldn't do
that at a big agency because there's a mail room
and there's a change program. But it's this tiny place.
This was my first role. Mentor. He's looked at me
and said, you don't have clients, so you have no experience,
but you have you have the gift of gab and
(18:42):
that's what we do. And you are an advocate and
that's what we do. And so he took me under
his wing. You hired me as a coordinator and two
years after being there. I'll do the long story, short version.
I was hired at CIA and that sounds easy, but
it wasn't all the stuff that happened in of course.
But this is a podcast, not a mini series. No listen,
I mean that's the thing. You're really like a five
(19:04):
part podcast. It like fitting you into one is really challenging.
I'm going to try to fit myself into one and
make your life. No, it's all good. I can talk
to you for a week straight. But the thing is,
you know your road was hard. It was not easy.
You've earned it tenfold or a thousandfold, you know. I
(19:26):
used to say. People used to be like, well, Rachel,
to use your voice, and I was like, yeah, but
if I used my voice in the early two thousands,
then I was called difficult, you know. And it was
really just simply funny because I'm always very polite, I'm
always very kind, but it was simply just like kind
of protecting like people or clients or things like that.
But somehow it was like if if like Roger said
(19:48):
it to someone, no, no one say a word, right.
And so I think you've really helped to make women's
voices louder. And I think that you brought something up
that I find so interesting because I think traditional parents
of past and still now, but we're trying to change that, right,
(20:08):
But they really see these paths as like take the safe,
secure path, right. But what's so interesting You said something like, oh,
it's going to do law and change the world, but
you felt like storytelling and film and writing and all
of that really does change the world. And what I've
seen over the last you know, ten years, fifteen years,
(20:30):
is how much film does change the world and does
change that the narrative of the world. Right, Like look
at this year's Oscars. I mean absolutely that's crazy what's happening,
and it's incredible. It's obviously what should have always been,
and you know, everything takes ten thousand times longer than
(20:52):
it should. But I think you are a huge, you know,
proponent of all of this change, and I think I
do want to talk about times UP obviously, like I
don't think we met through Baby to Baby. We met
through probably clients over the years, but long before that.
But but you you are very active as a board
(21:14):
member for Baby to Baby and I love that. But
I do want to talk about times UP because I
think it's important to really amplify why you started that
and what that's doing, because I think you were so
ahead there and it's obviously working well. I think it
was so amazing and continues to carry on from Times
(21:35):
Up is in that moment, all of us difficult women
got together and I don't even know if we realized
we were organizing, but because we're all problems solving types,
many of us got in a room and just thought
we would take this crisis as an opportunity to see
(21:56):
what we could do to affect change and you know,
and raise the standards for women everywhere, not just in
our industry, but to use our industry as as the
as the propeller and um and that was really the thinking.
And so many incredible women came into a room and
(22:17):
we immediately realize that if it wasn't a baby shower,
we weren't always It was really illuminating to me to
be with really strong, powerful, intellectual, artistic, incredible women of
all walks of the business. We've never been alone together
(22:39):
to to to to ideate, and it was a it
was a different feeling. You weren't thinking twice before you
opened your mouth, you know you were, You were not
adapting yourself into the conversation. And I think what we
all realized was um the power of our unity that
we many of the women, especially actresses, have been particularly siloed,
(23:03):
and maybe it's been ingrained for them to even be competitive.
And it was beautiful to see them all come together
around different initiatives. It was beautiful to see them connect
with domestic workers and farmers and women of other many
other industries, of completely different socioeconomics and to say I
see you and actually we have really similar days in
(23:26):
certain ways. When it comes from to the lens of
the mail gaze on all of us. So I think
a lot got done just in that one moment because
it was the moment presented itself and everybody was ready
to meet it. It certainly had so many challenges because
(23:46):
we weren't set up. Yeah, of course it was a
it was a crisis that we all sort of responded
to and none of it was done perfectly, but it was.
It was incredible. But I think it's continue it's continuing
in a different in a different way now. To be candid,
(24:07):
it hit enough challenges that a lot of organizations challenge,
which is it got held up to the own standards
that it's set and in some ways wasn't able to
meet of course the standards, But a lot is living
on and continues on in so many of the women
that I've met through times up continuing to do incredible work.
And many of us now are focused on abortion and
(24:31):
and working with an underground, not to underground network of
women across industries who are extremely focused on getting our
rights back in that area into and helping medical providers
in different states get the aid that they need. So
that's become the focus. So let me ask you a question,
how is it? And I'm sure you get asked this
(24:52):
on the daily, but like, how do you manage to
do what you do? Because you do happen to be
an agent to the biggest talents in the world across
the board. You know Tom Chris because that's casual, I mean,
and Hathaway, Race Witherspoon, you know her who who also
(25:14):
like hello Sunshine and like every so you not only
represent talent, but also talent that goes on to also
do the biggest things that you obviously advocate, support and
probably initiate or help ideate with all of these things.
But I also think that but you also on the
board a baby to baby. You're also working with like
(25:35):
a million directors and writers. You're also a mother and right,
by the way, the biggest job. And so I mean,
my question to you is do you and I've never
seen you, by the way, not smiling, you know, and
I know that you definitely of course you're human. You
(25:58):
have overwhelmed moments like I know for me, I have
those like breakdown crying in my part room moments. But
like I guess, like my question for you is what
are you most proud of? What are you challenged with
the most? Obviously being a working mother. I'm going to
answer that part, but I bet you have another answer.
(26:19):
But I think, um, you know, I'm just curious because
I think you just you really are doing one billion
things and really well and like crushing all of them.
So my question is how do you do that and
stay very You come off very zen to me, So
(26:40):
that is a big compliment. I think that is because
I kind of try to hold it all together with
a true North philosophy that is pretty flexible, okay forgiving okay,
meaning that I want to be the best mom in
the world. I want to be the best advocate agent
(27:02):
for my clients. I want to be the best leader
at my company, and I want to be a mentor
and help others, you know, the way the way I
was looking for. I want to be a philanthropist. I
want to you know, be able to contribute to the
greater world. And I think that I see all of
the things I just said is integrated. As opposed to
(27:24):
a mom. I'm an. I see myself as a whole
human that wants to do all these things, and throughout
my day different aspects of my interests are going to
take up more of my time in anyone given moment,
and then I find, you know, the balance when one
of them is sort of more all consuming than the other.
(27:45):
So I don't really expect every day to go perfectly
well and balanced. I'm totally okay being out of balance
and being completely consumed by work and not seeing my
kids for a couple of days. That's just what it is.
And then I'm really happy to soak them up for
the time that I that I can. And I think
it's all about the quality of what you do as
(28:05):
a rust to being scattered and showing up to everything
and being able to check a box that your you know,
role call you're here and you know they remind me
I'm on my phone a lot. Yeah, Yeah, totally. So
I'd rather be with them a little less but really
focused and have a more quality conversation with them than trying,
you know, to do all the things. Now, that doesn't
(28:27):
mean you're not going to hear them screaming while I'm
on a concred carl, of course, because I am trying
to do it all at once. That that kind. But
I just accept that life's going to be out of
balance and that different things are going to happen in
different phases. And what my client. My clients all need
different things at different yea, not to compare them to
kids or not kids, but everybody everything requires something different
(28:50):
from me. And I just feel really at peace with
it's not going to all be perfect, yep, but no
one can do it better than me for each of
the Sure the needs that are required of me so
interesting because I say, like, you just kind of want
to be the best at what it is that you're doing, right.
So like when you're with your kids, you want to
(29:11):
be the best mom in that moment, right or in
those moments, And when you're with your clients, it's like
you have to do that the best, right. And I
think it's sort of like if you just keep that,
it's sort of like what I'm doing right now, I
need to do the best at right, like and I
think that's what we tell our kids, right, try your best,
do your best, right, But there's still so much left
to do. You're not ever done right, No, And my
(29:35):
appetite is pretty insatiable for action, for fun, for you know,
you know, for just getting things done. So I'm a
little bit addicted to doing too much. And it's like
they say, you give it to a busy person. It'll
get done faster. It's somehow fitted into my day, of course.
And what do you have And I don't know if
you can actually answer this, but maybe do you have
(29:58):
a favorite part, have something that you're doing now or
that you're excited to start, or something that's like this
is apps besides being mom, I'm going to take that out.
I think there's I mean, this job is so fulfilling
in the sense that the way I see it, in
the way I've approached it is really from a place
of being an advocate and opening doors and connecting people
(30:20):
who wouldn't have met otherwise and matching people to opportunities.
That is extremely fulfilling. And I think coming out of
the last few years opening more doors for women in
our business is just the most exciting. Yeah, and you know,
gratifying aspect of what we do. I have many really
(30:41):
wonderful male clients and I think that are them great
allies and feminists too. Those are the kinds of men
I'm drawn to working with. Ye Tom included, and he's
a sweetheart, supportive, it's a sweetheart, and I but seeing
women have more real estate, have more agency, have more equity,
(31:01):
and then also watching those women open doors for other women,
that is just to me, the pinnacle. And I want
to talk about that for one second because the mentor.
You were talking about mentoring, and I had a feeling
you were going to say that because like you, I
did not have any mentors. I had my parents, you know,
but different, it's that's different. Um, I didn't have a woman. Really.
(31:26):
I had a few guys later, like a bet later
that were that were real champions and real mentors. Um.
But I would have died for that in that moment,
you know. But I had like Tommy Hilfiger was probably
my first mentor, Mark Jacobs um kind of taught me
sort of how to deal with different things that were
(31:47):
thrown at me. And I think I think that's why
being an advocate for women is so important. I think
that watching you be such an advocate for women is
incredible because I think you're sort of like, I need
to now do what I didn't have because I know
how valuable that is, right, And I think I don't know,
(32:11):
so are you sort of formalizing like do you mentor
personally or are you trying to sort of create mentors
for other women or probably all of the above. I
think all of the above. I have specific women at
this company I'm mentoring. I feel like you mentor everyone
you say hello too, though, like I literally feel like
by people know by being in your universe, people just
(32:33):
go maha, what about this? Well what do you think
of this? And I just feel like you're just going
to share your like love and knowledge for everything you've
done with all the people that you care about. Right,
I see you're doing sort of being a middle sister,
which is I had a sister to an older one
to look up to, and I had a younger one
that I had, you know, I want to be looked
(32:55):
up to. All, well, she's my younger sisters like our
oldest always always. But there are specific people I mentor.
But what I relish and in my role of getting
to be a leader at this company is being able
to model it. And so it's scaled up because what
you don't want what I what was hard, as you know,
(33:16):
is the luck aspect of hoping you find your mentor.
But if you try to put systems in place or
invite a culture of mentorship, then everyone's kind of is
doing it and it's transformative. And it was interesting to
me because there were so many women at sea who
are senior to me. When I got here nineteen years ago.
(33:36):
They were all quite amazing and very powerful and there
in their own rights and so and they were really
really great to me. I think that it's an interesting
thing I have to be aware of now that I'm
also older, is there's just there's generational gaps between all
of us. So like what they're going through what I
was going through is different than what women you know
(33:59):
who came before me had had to go through and
had to face. And I'm reminded that it was you know,
it was even more difficult. And I just keep going
back to the younger me, like I saw things in
a really specific way and being told all the time,
this is the way you should do it, and this
is how you you know, you'll get ahead, and be
careful of this and be careful of that. That's all
based on someone else's experience. I'm really careful not to
(34:22):
limit people wh my own experience. I share it and
there's something you can draw from it. But I'm very
aware that that every generation's got their own set of challenges.
But mentorship is is crucial and I still want to
be mentored. I still want, you know, to live in
my tell me what to do totally. I want to
(34:43):
touch on something because I think in the traditional sense,
I think people are like some people don't even know
what an agent is. Most people outside of the industry
don't actually know. Like my parents will still say to me,
what's an agent versus a manager? And what is publicist
versus like it's it's it's not something that's a given.
But I think you know, what I always like to
tell young people coming up in any industry is that
(35:05):
the title is the title. It's what you actually make
of that. What do you turn that into. It may
have a role defined a job description, right, but clearly
you've taken the job description of an agent and taken
it to such a completely different stratosphere, which I think
has really changed the conversation. There's a handful of incredible
(35:29):
women agents and managers and publicists like you know, MEREDITHA.
Sullivan or like you know that have really changed the
game for what these roles were of past. And I
think for you, you've really turned the term being an
agent into something so completely diversified and totally different. And
(35:50):
so I think my last sort of question, because I
could ask you ten thousand would probably be like, what
would you share with young people that are listening and
being like, oh my god, I want to be her,
or like, oh my god, my dream her job is
my dream job. How do I ever become that? Because,
(36:11):
like I'm telling you everyone, I mean, you have made it.
If MAHA's your agent, you have made it. If she
is representing you, I can tell you you're good. You're
gonna have to work your house up, but you're good.
You have fully made it. At that point, what would
you say to these young people or even not young people,
(36:33):
people looking to do a career pivot or anything and
being like I want to do what she does. I
want to be an agent, I want to do this,
I want to do that. What would you say to that?
Because it's terrifying. It is a terrifying place to walk into.
It is, and I want to demystify right because it
was right. It was imagine yourself at home, being comfortable
(36:53):
and being yourself and being your full self. Right. So
I think it starts with your own comfort in your
own skin, and the way you walk in the world
and what you what you bring into a room, because
being an agent is really a people It is one
thousand percent and your presence is felt, Yes it is,
(37:14):
and it's how you connect to people and what your
ability to empathize, understand the actual human that you're you're
dealing with, and then how to read the entire room
and then to figure out locate yourself in the situation
and locate the person's situation and be able to read
you know, a thousand words a minute of psychology speak
(37:36):
of what needs to get done to define success. It's
a really hard thing to teach. It really does stem
from from personality because it's not just hard work. And
I am alarmed. I'm going to sound like an old
lady because I'm not sure you know that hard work
is has the same value that it used to. People
(37:56):
are all looking for for shortcuts or ways to get
out of it. You know, I've learned so much about
quiet quitting, which I don't Oh my god, don't like
I said this is this needs to be a five
part podcast, Yes, exactly, so we can complain about oh yeah, yeah,
oh yeah, we got a lot. We got a lot
to talk about that, but here they are. So I'm
not going to complain about the generation. I acknowledge you're here.
(38:17):
I'm going to tell you that you're here, You're valuable,
you're doing it differently. You still have to you really
do have to work hard. You've got to love it.
Do you love movies? Do you love books? Do you
love storytelling? You? Do you love people? Do you love people?
And and go find your person. It is much easier
(38:39):
to find a mentor now than it was, you know
when you and I were coming up, Rachel. People are
much more generous, and they're looking for you because I'm
really looking for hard working, intelligent, sparkly humans to put
on the path. They really are. I know, I am,
I know, I know. You are very hard to find,
very hard, harder to find, harder to fine. So we're
(39:01):
looking for you. Show up. That would be my Yeah.
By the way, you couldn't be more right. And I
have to say, it's like that thing we hear with
our kids now that never had a name or title,
that it's not your IQ, it's your EQ. And I
think in these professions, your EQ is so freaking valued
(39:25):
and valuable. And it's funny. I always say, like the
thing I don't worry about my kids, I really don't
worry about them walking into a room and understanding the room.
And I think that's sort of the thing I think
as anything in business, any business, I think an ability
to read the room. And you know, I think you
were a sociology major as well, right, I was a
(39:47):
social major. One would argue it may have served us
in some ways, but but I would say that the
biggest takeaway, I think there is really for people to
learn that how to how to talk to people, and
how to read people, and how to read a room.
And I think being an agent is probably I actually
(40:09):
would argue that any role in that room of stylist,
har sellist, manager, publicist, agent, you have to read that
room and know your role in that room right and
know what you are there to bring to the table.
And the agent really is the ringleader, I have to say.
And you are such a ringleader, by the way, You're
such a Ringleaderney, I'm such a bearer of bad news
(40:30):
most of the time. But I think that's why I'm
smiling so hard. I know, but you're also a real
but you also bear a lot of good news. So
there you go. It's like being an entrepreneur, It's like
being an entrepreneur highs or high lows are low, you know,
But I love you madly. I respect you, um just immeasurably,
(40:52):
and I don't I don't say that about a lot
of people, but I do. You are just the real deal,
and I think what you've a called umplished is next level.
And I love how much you bring it to all
the things that you do in all aspects of not
just your work, but your life on all sides, your
personal life, your professional life, your philanthropic life, and clearly
(41:12):
to your clients because they adore you so and you
also throw a really great party. Let's just say, I
mean now I want to start my own podcast. I
have so many questions follow ups for you. Well, we
can do a part two, we can go part too,
or we can just go have lunch or a dinner
or a cocktail, all of the above the above. Have
(41:33):
a beautiful day, go crush life today. I know you well,
and then like, go home and have dinner with your family.
Thanks for having me, Oh my God, appreciate and admiring
you so much as well, right back, and I can't
wait to talk about more. Okay, everyone, it's that time
(41:54):
in the show when I answer to listener questions. So
let's see what we have today. If you could go
back to graduate school, what would you want to study?
Given your career today. I can answer that so easily. Business,
corporate finance and business. I know you will probably be
shocked to hear that from me, but I mean that
(42:17):
really through to my core. I really wish that I
got my MBA in corporate finance and business. And I
recommend to anyone who will listen, study business because it
will apply to literally anything you do or will want
to do in your life on some level. Okay, who
made your pink sequin and feather dress for your curatur
(42:39):
event the other day? That was a favorite dress. I
thought it was a little much, and my team made
me wear it because it was in Malibu, so I
was going for a little more earthy, but I went
the other way. I went from Malibu Barbie. But I
have to say it was so fun to wear. And
it's a designer called Taller Marmo t A L l
(42:59):
Er and then m A R M. I find myself
wearing them a lot because their clothes are so fun
and so me and I'm so comfortable in them. Okay,
don't forget to submit your questions for next week's episode.
All you have to do is dm us your questions
to at Climbing and Heels Pod on Instagram and I
might just answer your question. Welcome back to Currently with Katore,
(43:25):
where I share my latest style obsessions, all of which
you can access through my shopping community Kretur. I'm all
about starting your year off with little luxuries to elevate
your every day, so I stalked or curated e storefront
with trendy accessories, she come furnishings and more that will
make you feel so refreshed as always, everything has my
(43:46):
stamp of approval and is available for a very exclusive price.
I know you're going to love shopping with us, so
I'm also giving Climbing and Heels listeners an additional twenty
five percent off your first purchase with code Climb twenty
five Climb twenty five. So what are you waiting for?
Head to curatour dot com that cu are at eure
(44:11):
dot com and get started today. Thank you so much
to Maha for coming on the podcast today and opening
up about how she manages her insanely busy life and schedule.
Every day. She digs on another challenge and then actually
still wants more. I have to say I don't use
(44:35):
this term very loosely, and I would say that Maha
really just blows my mind. I have seen her in action,
I know many of the people that she represents in
different areas of the industry. She is beautiful, she has style.
I just want to add that because I want to
give in and she is just the absolute definition of
(44:57):
someone climbing in heels because she works so hard. Her journey,
like many I've had on the podcast, has not been easy.
None of this was luck. It was sheer, ambition, drive, determination,
clear intelligence, but also, as she said, the sort of
gift of really knowing how to work a room and
(45:20):
knowing your place in that room. And that is something
that can't be learned, but I think it's incredible to
find a mentor that it it does and watch and learn.
That's my takeaway for today. So if you want more
Climbing and Heels content, follow me at Rachel's zo and
at Climbing in Heels Pod on Instagram for more updates
(45:42):
on upcoming guests, episodes, and all things creatur. And I
will see you next week. Five
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at Genesis dot com Genesis Keep Beginning. Hi everyone, I'm
(00:51):
Rachel Zoe and you're listening to Climbing in Heels. This
show is all about celebrating the most extraordinary superwoman who
will be sharing their incredible journeys to the top, all
while staying glamorous. Today with me, we have Maha Doc Hill,
motion picture agent at the Amazing Creative Artist Agency otherwise
(01:11):
known as CIA, who may have heard of it, and
she also sits with me and many other incredible women
on the board of the Amazing Baby to Baby. On
today's episode, Maha talks about growing up in an immigrant
family and Encino, California, and fostering her love of making
a difference in the world in a less conventional way.
(01:32):
She also opens up about managing her work, social and
family life, all while remaining very zen throughout the process,
or at least seemingly. I'm really really happy to talk
to you, because if I looked up climbing and heels
and my intention behind climbing and heels, I would put
(01:52):
you next to it, so I know you as like
badass mo right, like she's just crushes it everything whatever.
But you'd probably be like, hey, it's been like blood,
sweat and tears for however many years, twenty years or
whatever it is to get to where I am. And
I think a lot of people see women who are
(02:12):
at the top of their games and they just see
them there and they're like, oh my god, they're so lucky.
It's like almost the times take you laugh. And that's
where sort of the climbing in heels, whether you wear
heels or not, which I do know that you do
wear heels. I wear heels. I know you do. I
know you do. And it's funny because someone I had
(02:32):
on here, they were like, Rachel, you wear heels. I
don't wear heels. I'm like, you wear your own version
of heels. Everyone's got there metaphorical heels that I actually
wear the physical both heels. Yes, I agree with that.
I agree. And so first and foremost, I just want
to say, for those of you who don't know who
Maha is, she's literally probably one of the most successful agents, partners,
(02:54):
founders of a million important things like Time's Up, which
we're going to talk about, but also at the very
top of probably the most successful talent agency which has
now so many different things, not just talent CIA, and
also represents the biggest talent across the board in the
(03:15):
industry on all sides, not just actors, but directors, writers,
produce all of it. And so I want to talk
about first, I do want to go back a drop
to the beginning, because I always like to really understand
who were you as like a little girl, like were
you this like fearless, ambitious, like nutty little girl who
(03:37):
was like I'm going to do a million things and
no one mess with me. Or were you like timid
and sweet and shy like all the things so funny
and where did you grow up? Because I do want
to know that too. Okay, well, it's a funny thing
the beginning, because I like to think I'm still at
the beginning and that there's so many for me too.
I'm much more to go and many more chapters and acts.
(04:00):
But the real real beginning would be in Encino, California,
where I care you up, ye, and I grew up,
and I think this defined my relationship with women all around.
I grew up with two sisters who I'm very close with,
and I'm right in the middle of the two of them,
and we have a little brother, and that also defined
my relationship with men because we would tell our little
(04:22):
brother what to do as you should. He had no
chances with three sisters, by the way, he really didn't.
But he's got a chance at being a great husband
because he was nurtured by three very strong women, and
his mom too, so for strong women. So I grew
up in Encino, and you would think maybe that put
(04:44):
me in proximity to show business. But I grew up
with an immigrant family, a Muslim family. My parents came
from Libya, and Libya is pretty foreign to the rest
of the world. It's a really tiny population in Libya.
It's so even amongst the Arab world, Libby is really
small and really specific. And my parents, who were extremely
(05:09):
proud of their culture and heritage and came here seeking
freedom and education for their their kids, left so much
behind and that really defined our upbringing because that meant
we were driven by guilt. Sure, now, of course, be
great gratefault, don't compline. Yes, yes, yes, And they were
(05:34):
wonderful parents and they instilled really amazing values within us.
And all the values that they've instilled in each of
each of their kids is what guides us and opens
pretty much any path we've we've set ourselves on, and
that's been really key to to my upbringing into too,
(05:56):
I think the part of my life where I began
to embark on a career. But as immigrants, they didn't
have the shorthand they didn't have the assimilation, the acceptance,
or the knowledge to really share to open the doors
in the world of entertainment. So most immigrant families, and
this is pretty universal, want their kids to be highly
educated in fields that are extremely reliable and have reliable
(06:20):
paths to ascend. And the film business doesn't doesn't offer that.
TV doesn't offer that, the media world doesn't offer that.
I don't think the fashion world and most of these
worlds are more amorphous. And to my parents that was
very scary that you could study and be really worthy
and valuable and somehow be overlooked because you weren't favored
(06:41):
or you didn't look like the people who were doing
the thing that you want to do. So I wasn't
encouraged in this business at all growing up, but I
was drawn to it always. I was drawn to creative writing.
I was drawn to just movies, pop culture, music, dance.
All of those those arts were guiding me. And it
(07:05):
was a very subtle kind of more in the background
of my upbringing. I was going to say, but did
you want to do those things or you wanted to
be a part of those things like you are attracted
to them, or you wanted to actually do that. I
wanted to write as a kid, Okay, but I'm way
too social to be a real writer, so I can't.
(07:26):
I can write, but I don't write because I want
to talk more than I want to write, of course.
But that's what I started off with, you know, short
stories and creative, creative writing as a kid. I think
that was probably my big clue. But like I said,
I didn't know how to connect that to anything, so
that that's kind of how it began in my personality.
I'm still trying to analyze. I think I was all
(07:47):
the things that you said. I think at times I
was shy and timid growing up. Like I said, in
an immigrant background, you weren't always sure about when and
how to assert yourself. But I had a father who
was very strong and very clear or about our value
and encouraged us to take up space good and that
we were worthy. Was very very clear about that, and
(08:08):
that was defining. That's amazing though, because I had I
had a father like that. But I I've had a
lot of women on this podcast that were very um
to your point, sort of like stay in a safe path,
stay in a safe path, stay and that secure path,
you know, no risk taking. So that's that's pretty incredible
(08:29):
that you had a dad like that and have parents
like that, because I think for us when when our
parents are our cheerleaders, I think that makes everything easier.
You're not like going against the sort of like dream
when you're especially I think as an immigrant family. You're
sort of like, oh god, it's a little more scary.
I think, right to take that risk because what if
it doesn't work? And then they were right. Well, well
(08:53):
they didn't. To be honest, what they supported was they
supported the idea of big and bis in a big career,
but the film world was not something they supported at all.
So in essence, I remember having a very specific conversation
with my father after a college when he thought I
was going to law school and I thought I might
go to law school, but instead I did an internship
(09:15):
at CAN that opened my eyes up to all the
things I loved in one place, a red carpet, fashion,
social change, movies. It was I was a goner. And
what I said to him is that we share the
same goals, We shared the same destination. I want to
change the world. You want me to change the world,
but we don't share the same vision for the path.
(09:37):
Intert and I said, I've got your back. I know
what you want from me as you're a kid, but
I have to do it in this very different way
and it's not And he didn't understand. Because from there
I went off to be an assistant to directors and producers,
and I was buying doc food food and house sitting,
and we couldn't see the co relation big ambitions and
(10:02):
what my immediate you know, time looked like. So he
kept stuffing applications of the London School of Economics under
my door, and we just didn't speak very much during
this period, by the way, And that's that's and that's
a really big risk and a chance that I think
you took, and I think a lot a very successful
(10:23):
women had to take. They had to kind of go
against what was expected and what was okay and also
very often what was supported, you know, by their parents,
because I think a lot of parents, when you choose
the path that they want, they're happy to support you
financially and otherwise along the way. And then sometimes they're like, okay,
you do you but like see on the other side
(10:44):
kind of thing, right, So okay, So Ken, let's talk
about that, because I remember my first time going to
Kent Film Festival, and obviously like as a stylist and working,
but I remember and I always compare it to that
like Sarah Jessica moment when she gets to Paris for
the first time. It's like that you it's like you
(11:04):
you gasp for air because it doesn't seem real, right,
It's like what you see in movies. It's not real.
It's like it's like the grace Kelly, the so feel
around the like the steps and the gowns and the like.
It's the dream, right, I mean, it's really like the
dream of all of it. So there you are, You're
(11:25):
interning at the can Film Festival, and it's also Mayhem
by the way, Like I mean, our dear friend Jason
Weinberg long ago was like there with him, and he
was like he was just constantly white. He was just like,
you know, but I think here's a can fixture. So
(11:45):
basically your eyes light up. All of it comes together
before your eyes. You're an intern, And you know, I
had that moment when I went I crashed my first
fashion show and I was like twenty two years old,
and I said, Yep, I'm going to do this for
the rest of my life. I don't care if I
get paid, I don't care if I starve doing it,
but this is what I'm doing, right, And I imagine
(12:06):
that you had that moment of like, somehow, this is
my calling and I'm going to just go for it.
So how does that happen in real life? Because it
was much harder than even than it is now to
do this. So everything you just said I relate to
you crushing your fashion shows me going to my first Can,
(12:27):
and I kept doing I kept interning in the film
world as a like in the background, I did not
treat it as the front door. I treated it as
the side thing. And I probably would go to law school.
But once I went to CAN, and truly all of
my interests were encompassed right in that moment, in that space,
(12:52):
and I was taking a class at the time that
you see, like literally called Art and Social Change. I
really did feel like my calling as social justice oriented,
but instead of politics, I always felt compelled that art
and storytelling was way more effective. And I saw that
in Can. I saw people from corners of the most
(13:15):
remote parts of the world coming to Can with their movie.
And I love that. I loved all the different languages.
I loved seeing people from different cultures, backgrounds, demographics, and
I love fashion and I love the red carpet and
I love the glamour of the industry, and it was
all encompassed right right then. So I had this epiphany
(13:37):
that it's not a side thing. This is actually going
to be my thing. I have no idea what people
and can actually do, but somebody needs to make this
my job to be here again and again and again.
And it was many, many years before I returned, because
there is no real job that takes you to can
as an assistant really, unless you were you worked toward it,
(14:01):
and I at that point did not see the agent
path in front of me. I thought I would go
into something more creative work my way up can what
it went from being in the middle of can to
being as far away from Cana as possible for ten years? Right? Interesting? Okay, wow,
ten years? So then take me to CIA. So my
(14:25):
twenties were really tough because coming out of college and
then pivoting from law school and going into film and
like I just referred to jokingly running around buying dog
food and being an assistant and schlepping around. Ye, I
was not immediately seen and lifted up in this industry,
but somebody who cared and you know, gave me the access.
I took a lot of I'm sure you were lucky.
(14:49):
No got my ass same and I got I took
a lot of different jobs looking for an angle and
really starving for a mentor more than anything else. I
was hopefully going to find someone who understood I was
a bit different, I was a bit unconventional, and would
(15:09):
take a chance on me. But in fact, my I
guess my being unconventional made me stick out more in
some ways, being a woman that was extremely outspoken and
clear about you know, my values and my interests. I
you know, you were taught all through college and school
(15:30):
like raise your hands, speak up. Once I got into
the beginning of the film business late nineties early two thousands,
that wasn't really so celebrated. It was I kind of
stuck out in all in all the wrong ways, and
so you're probably you're probably perceived as difficult. I was
perceived as difficult, And you know, I don't think there's
(15:51):
enough difficult women in the business now that I know
all of the difficult amazing women who I who are
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keep beginning. I do recall one person I worked for
saying to me, who I still know he's a great manager.
He said, you're like a plug that needs an outlet,
(17:16):
and he did at least recognize that that you're a
plug that doesn't have its outlet. I definitely have the talent.
You are the plug, gotta find your outlet, and so
that image really stuck in my mind so clearly, so vividly,
that I was looking for my outlet, and what it
really meant is I was looking for someone to open
the door. It wasn't so specific as too I thought
(17:37):
I wanted to produce. I thought maybe I wanted to
be a studio executive. But ultimately it came in the
form of the agency world, where this very tiny agency
was hiring and there was an agent there who had
been at William Morris, a very very senior agent starting
Emotion Picture Group. I sat with him, not to be
interviewed as an agent, but to be to just get
(17:59):
some guidance from him. A mutual friend set us up,
and because he was hiring agents, he thought I was
interviewing to be an agent, and he just mixed the
whole day up and interviewed me as if I was
an agent. And then at the end he said, this
is a little awkward, but do you have clients like
I'm seeing a great agent. And I understand quickly understood
that there was a big misunderstanding, but used it to
(18:21):
my advantage and I said, I have no clients, but
I could do this job. And I just started pitching myself.
And it was a small enough agency. You couldn't do
that at a big agency because there's a mail room
and there's a change program. But it's this tiny place.
This was my first role. Mentor. He's looked at me
and said, you don't have clients, so you have no experience,
but you have you have the gift of gab and
(18:42):
that's what we do. And you are an advocate and
that's what we do. And so he took me under
his wing. You hired me as a coordinator and two
years after being there. I'll do the long story, short version.
I was hired at CIA and that sounds easy, but
it wasn't all the stuff that happened in of course.
But this is a podcast, not a mini series. No listen,
I mean that's the thing. You're really like a five
(19:04):
part podcast. It like fitting you into one is really challenging.
I'm going to try to fit myself into one and
make your life. No, it's all good. I can talk
to you for a week straight. But the thing is,
you know your road was hard. It was not easy.
You've earned it tenfold or a thousandfold, you know. I
(19:26):
used to say. People used to be like, well, Rachel,
to use your voice, and I was like, yeah, but
if I used my voice in the early two thousands,
then I was called difficult, you know. And it was
really just simply funny because I'm always very polite, I'm
always very kind, but it was simply just like kind
of protecting like people or clients or things like that.
But somehow it was like if if like Roger said
(19:48):
it to someone, no, no one say a word, right.
And so I think you've really helped to make women's
voices louder. And I think that you brought something up
that I find so interesting because I think traditional parents
of past and still now, but we're trying to change that, right,
(20:08):
But they really see these paths as like take the safe,
secure path, right. But what's so interesting You said something like, oh,
it's going to do law and change the world, but
you felt like storytelling and film and writing and all
of that really does change the world. And what I've
seen over the last you know, ten years, fifteen years,
(20:30):
is how much film does change the world and does
change that the narrative of the world. Right, Like look
at this year's Oscars. I mean absolutely that's crazy what's happening,
and it's incredible. It's obviously what should have always been,
and you know, everything takes ten thousand times longer than
(20:52):
it should. But I think you are a huge, you know,
proponent of all of this change, and I think I
do want to talk about times UP obviously, like I
don't think we met through Baby to Baby. We met
through probably clients over the years, but long before that.
But but you you are very active as a board
(21:14):
member for Baby to Baby and I love that. But
I do want to talk about times UP because I
think it's important to really amplify why you started that
and what that's doing, because I think you were so
ahead there and it's obviously working well. I think it
was so amazing and continues to carry on from Times
(21:35):
Up is in that moment, all of us difficult women
got together and I don't even know if we realized
we were organizing, but because we're all problems solving types,
many of us got in a room and just thought
we would take this crisis as an opportunity to see
(21:56):
what we could do to affect change and you know,
and raise the standards for women everywhere, not just in
our industry, but to use our industry as as the
as the propeller and um and that was really the thinking.
And so many incredible women came into a room and
(22:17):
we immediately realize that if it wasn't a baby shower,
we weren't always It was really illuminating to me to
be with really strong, powerful, intellectual, artistic, incredible women of
all walks of the business. We've never been alone together
(22:39):
to to to to ideate, and it was a it
was a different feeling. You weren't thinking twice before you
opened your mouth, you know you were, You were not
adapting yourself into the conversation. And I think what we
all realized was um the power of our unity that
we many of the women, especially actresses, have been particularly siloed,
(23:03):
and maybe it's been ingrained for them to even be competitive.
And it was beautiful to see them all come together
around different initiatives. It was beautiful to see them connect
with domestic workers and farmers and women of other many
other industries, of completely different socioeconomics and to say I
see you and actually we have really similar days in
(23:26):
certain ways. When it comes from to the lens of
the mail gaze on all of us. So I think
a lot got done just in that one moment because
it was the moment presented itself and everybody was ready
to meet it. It certainly had so many challenges because
(23:46):
we weren't set up. Yeah, of course it was a
it was a crisis that we all sort of responded
to and none of it was done perfectly, but it was.
It was incredible. But I think it's continue it's continuing
in a different in a different way now. To be candid,
(24:07):
it hit enough challenges that a lot of organizations challenge,
which is it got held up to the own standards
that it's set and in some ways wasn't able to
meet of course the standards, But a lot is living
on and continues on in so many of the women
that I've met through times up continuing to do incredible work.
And many of us now are focused on abortion and
(24:31):
and working with an underground, not to underground network of
women across industries who are extremely focused on getting our
rights back in that area into and helping medical providers
in different states get the aid that they need. So
that's become the focus. So let me ask you a question,
how is it? And I'm sure you get asked this
(24:52):
on the daily, but like, how do you manage to
do what you do? Because you do happen to be
an agent to the biggest talents in the world across
the board. You know Tom Chris because that's casual, I mean,
and Hathaway, Race Witherspoon, you know her who who also
(25:14):
like hello Sunshine and like every so you not only
represent talent, but also talent that goes on to also
do the biggest things that you obviously advocate, support and
probably initiate or help ideate with all of these things.
But I also think that but you also on the
board a baby to baby. You're also working with like
(25:35):
a million directors and writers. You're also a mother and right,
by the way, the biggest job. And so I mean,
my question to you is do you and I've never
seen you, by the way, not smiling, you know, and
I know that you definitely of course you're human. You
(25:58):
have overwhelmed moments like I know for me, I have
those like breakdown crying in my part room moments. But
like I guess, like my question for you is what
are you most proud of? What are you challenged with
the most? Obviously being a working mother. I'm going to
answer that part, but I bet you have another answer.
(26:19):
But I think, um, you know, I'm just curious because
I think you just you really are doing one billion
things and really well and like crushing all of them.
So my question is how do you do that and
stay very You come off very zen to me, So
(26:40):
that is a big compliment. I think that is because
I kind of try to hold it all together with
a true North philosophy that is pretty flexible, okay forgiving okay,
meaning that I want to be the best mom in
the world. I want to be the best advocate agent
(27:02):
for my clients. I want to be the best leader
at my company, and I want to be a mentor
and help others, you know, the way the way I
was looking for. I want to be a philanthropist. I
want to you know, be able to contribute to the
greater world. And I think that I see all of
the things I just said is integrated. As opposed to
(27:24):
a mom. I'm an. I see myself as a whole
human that wants to do all these things, and throughout
my day different aspects of my interests are going to
take up more of my time in anyone given moment,
and then I find, you know, the balance when one
of them is sort of more all consuming than the other.
(27:45):
So I don't really expect every day to go perfectly
well and balanced. I'm totally okay being out of balance
and being completely consumed by work and not seeing my
kids for a couple of days. That's just what it is.
And then I'm really happy to soak them up for
the time that I that I can. And I think
it's all about the quality of what you do as
(28:05):
a rust to being scattered and showing up to everything
and being able to check a box that your you know,
role call you're here and you know they remind me
I'm on my phone a lot. Yeah, Yeah, totally. So
I'd rather be with them a little less but really
focused and have a more quality conversation with them than trying,
you know, to do all the things. Now, that doesn't
(28:27):
mean you're not going to hear them screaming while I'm
on a concred carl, of course, because I am trying
to do it all at once. That that kind. But
I just accept that life's going to be out of
balance and that different things are going to happen in
different phases. And what my client. My clients all need
different things at different yea, not to compare them to
kids or not kids, but everybody everything requires something different
(28:50):
from me. And I just feel really at peace with
it's not going to all be perfect, yep, but no
one can do it better than me for each of
the Sure the needs that are required of me so
interesting because I say, like, you just kind of want
to be the best at what it is that you're doing, right.
So like when you're with your kids, you want to
(29:11):
be the best mom in that moment, right or in
those moments, And when you're with your clients, it's like
you have to do that the best, right. And I
think it's sort of like if you just keep that,
it's sort of like what I'm doing right now, I
need to do the best at right, like and I
think that's what we tell our kids, right, try your best,
do your best, right, But there's still so much left
to do. You're not ever done right, No, And my
(29:35):
appetite is pretty insatiable for action, for fun, for you know,
you know, for just getting things done. So I'm a
little bit addicted to doing too much. And it's like
they say, you give it to a busy person. It'll
get done faster. It's somehow fitted into my day, of course.
And what do you have And I don't know if
you can actually answer this, but maybe do you have
(29:58):
a favorite part, have something that you're doing now or
that you're excited to start, or something that's like this
is apps besides being mom, I'm going to take that out.
I think there's I mean, this job is so fulfilling
in the sense that the way I see it, in
the way I've approached it is really from a place
of being an advocate and opening doors and connecting people
(30:20):
who wouldn't have met otherwise and matching people to opportunities.
That is extremely fulfilling. And I think coming out of
the last few years opening more doors for women in
our business is just the most exciting. Yeah, and you know,
gratifying aspect of what we do. I have many really
(30:41):
wonderful male clients and I think that are them great
allies and feminists too. Those are the kinds of men
I'm drawn to working with. Ye Tom included, and he's
a sweetheart, supportive, it's a sweetheart, and I but seeing
women have more real estate, have more agency, have more equity,
(31:01):
and then also watching those women open doors for other women,
that is just to me, the pinnacle. And I want
to talk about that for one second because the mentor.
You were talking about mentoring, and I had a feeling
you were going to say that because like you, I
did not have any mentors. I had my parents, you know,
but different, it's that's different. Um, I didn't have a woman. Really.
(31:26):
I had a few guys later, like a bet later
that were that were real champions and real mentors. Um.
But I would have died for that in that moment,
you know. But I had like Tommy Hilfiger was probably
my first mentor, Mark Jacobs um kind of taught me
sort of how to deal with different things that were
(31:47):
thrown at me. And I think I think that's why
being an advocate for women is so important. I think
that watching you be such an advocate for women is
incredible because I think you're sort of like, I need
to now do what I didn't have because I know
how valuable that is, right, And I think I don't know,
(32:11):
so are you sort of formalizing like do you mentor
personally or are you trying to sort of create mentors
for other women or probably all of the above. I
think all of the above. I have specific women at
this company I'm mentoring. I feel like you mentor everyone
you say hello too, though, like I literally feel like
by people know by being in your universe, people just
(32:33):
go maha, what about this? Well what do you think
of this? And I just feel like you're just going
to share your like love and knowledge for everything you've
done with all the people that you care about. Right,
I see you're doing sort of being a middle sister,
which is I had a sister to an older one
to look up to, and I had a younger one
that I had, you know, I want to be looked
(32:55):
up to. All, well, she's my younger sisters like our
oldest always always. But there are specific people I mentor.
But what I relish and in my role of getting
to be a leader at this company is being able
to model it. And so it's scaled up because what
you don't want what I what was hard, as you know,
(33:16):
is the luck aspect of hoping you find your mentor.
But if you try to put systems in place or
invite a culture of mentorship, then everyone's kind of is
doing it and it's transformative. And it was interesting to
me because there were so many women at sea who
are senior to me. When I got here nineteen years ago.
(33:36):
They were all quite amazing and very powerful and there
in their own rights and so and they were really
really great to me. I think that it's an interesting
thing I have to be aware of now that I'm
also older, is there's just there's generational gaps between all
of us. So like what they're going through what I
was going through is different than what women you know
(33:59):
who came before me had had to go through and
had to face. And I'm reminded that it was you know,
it was even more difficult. And I just keep going
back to the younger me, like I saw things in
a really specific way and being told all the time,
this is the way you should do it, and this
is how you you know, you'll get ahead, and be
careful of this and be careful of that. That's all
based on someone else's experience. I'm really careful not to
(34:22):
limit people wh my own experience. I share it and
there's something you can draw from it. But I'm very
aware that that every generation's got their own set of challenges.
But mentorship is is crucial and I still want to
be mentored. I still want, you know, to live in
my tell me what to do totally. I want to
(34:43):
touch on something because I think in the traditional sense,
I think people are like some people don't even know
what an agent is. Most people outside of the industry
don't actually know. Like my parents will still say to me,
what's an agent versus a manager? And what is publicist
versus like it's it's it's not something that's a given.
But I think you know, what I always like to
tell young people coming up in any industry is that
(35:05):
the title is the title. It's what you actually make
of that. What do you turn that into. It may
have a role defined a job description, right, but clearly
you've taken the job description of an agent and taken
it to such a completely different stratosphere, which I think
has really changed the conversation. There's a handful of incredible
(35:29):
women agents and managers and publicists like you know, MEREDITHA.
Sullivan or like you know that have really changed the
game for what these roles were of past. And I
think for you, you've really turned the term being an
agent into something so completely diversified and totally different. And
(35:50):
so I think my last sort of question, because I
could ask you ten thousand would probably be like, what
would you share with young people that are listening and
being like, oh my god, I want to be her,
or like, oh my god, my dream her job is
my dream job. How do I ever become that? Because,
(36:11):
like I'm telling you everyone, I mean, you have made it.
If MAHA's your agent, you have made it. If she
is representing you, I can tell you you're good. You're
gonna have to work your house up, but you're good.
You have fully made it. At that point, what would
you say to these young people or even not young people,
(36:33):
people looking to do a career pivot or anything and
being like I want to do what she does. I
want to be an agent, I want to do this,
I want to do that. What would you say to that?
Because it's terrifying. It is a terrifying place to walk into.
It is, and I want to demystify right because it
was right. It was imagine yourself at home, being comfortable
(36:53):
and being yourself and being your full self. Right. So
I think it starts with your own comfort in your
own skin, and the way you walk in the world
and what you what you bring into a room, because
being an agent is really a people It is one
thousand percent and your presence is felt, Yes it is,
(37:14):
and it's how you connect to people and what your
ability to empathize, understand the actual human that you're you're
dealing with, and then how to read the entire room
and then to figure out locate yourself in the situation
and locate the person's situation and be able to read
you know, a thousand words a minute of psychology speak
(37:36):
of what needs to get done to define success. It's
a really hard thing to teach. It really does stem
from from personality because it's not just hard work. And
I am alarmed. I'm going to sound like an old
lady because I'm not sure you know that hard work
is has the same value that it used to. People
(37:56):
are all looking for for shortcuts or ways to get
out of it. You know, I've learned so much about
quiet quitting, which I don't Oh my god, don't like
I said this is this needs to be a five
part podcast, Yes, exactly, so we can complain about oh yeah, yeah,
oh yeah, we got a lot. We got a lot
to talk about that, but here they are. So I'm
not going to complain about the generation. I acknowledge you're here.
(38:17):
I'm going to tell you that you're here, You're valuable,
you're doing it differently. You still have to you really
do have to work hard. You've got to love it.
Do you love movies? Do you love books? Do you
love storytelling? You? Do you love people? Do you love people?
And and go find your person. It is much easier
(38:39):
to find a mentor now than it was, you know
when you and I were coming up, Rachel. People are
much more generous, and they're looking for you because I'm
really looking for hard working, intelligent, sparkly humans to put
on the path. They really are. I know, I am,
I know, I know. You are very hard to find,
very hard, harder to find, harder to fine. So we're
(39:01):
looking for you. Show up. That would be my Yeah.
By the way, you couldn't be more right. And I
have to say, it's like that thing we hear with
our kids now that never had a name or title,
that it's not your IQ, it's your EQ. And I
think in these professions, your EQ is so freaking valued
(39:25):
and valuable. And it's funny. I always say, like the
thing I don't worry about my kids, I really don't
worry about them walking into a room and understanding the room.
And I think that's sort of the thing I think
as anything in business, any business, I think an ability
to read the room. And you know, I think you
were a sociology major as well, right, I was a
(39:47):
social major. One would argue it may have served us
in some ways, but but I would say that the
biggest takeaway, I think there is really for people to
learn that how to how to talk to people, and
how to read people, and how to read a room.
And I think being an agent is probably I actually
(40:09):
would argue that any role in that room of stylist,
har sellist, manager, publicist, agent, you have to read that
room and know your role in that room right and
know what you are there to bring to the table.
And the agent really is the ringleader, I have to say.
And you are such a ringleader, by the way, You're
such a Ringleaderney, I'm such a bearer of bad news
(40:30):
most of the time. But I think that's why I'm
smiling so hard. I know, but you're also a real
but you also bear a lot of good news. So
there you go. It's like being an entrepreneur, It's like
being an entrepreneur highs or high lows are low, you know,
But I love you madly. I respect you, um just immeasurably,
(40:52):
and I don't I don't say that about a lot
of people, but I do. You are just the real deal,
and I think what you've a called umplished is next level.
And I love how much you bring it to all
the things that you do in all aspects of not
just your work, but your life on all sides, your
personal life, your professional life, your philanthropic life, and clearly
(41:12):
to your clients because they adore you so and you
also throw a really great party. Let's just say, I
mean now I want to start my own podcast. I
have so many questions follow ups for you. Well, we
can do a part two, we can go part too,
or we can just go have lunch or a dinner
or a cocktail, all of the above the above. Have
(41:33):
a beautiful day, go crush life today. I know you well,
and then like, go home and have dinner with your family.
Thanks for having me, Oh my God, appreciate and admiring
you so much as well, right back, and I can't
wait to talk about more. Okay, everyone, it's that time
(41:54):
in the show when I answer to listener questions. So
let's see what we have today. If you could go
back to graduate school, what would you want to study?
Given your career today. I can answer that so easily. Business,
corporate finance and business. I know you will probably be
shocked to hear that from me, but I mean that
(42:17):
really through to my core. I really wish that I
got my MBA in corporate finance and business. And I
recommend to anyone who will listen, study business because it
will apply to literally anything you do or will want
to do in your life on some level. Okay, who
made your pink sequin and feather dress for your curatur
(42:39):
event the other day? That was a favorite dress. I
thought it was a little much, and my team made
me wear it because it was in Malibu, so I
was going for a little more earthy, but I went
the other way. I went from Malibu Barbie. But I
have to say it was so fun to wear. And
it's a designer called Taller Marmo t A L l
(42:59):
Er and then m A R M. I find myself
wearing them a lot because their clothes are so fun
and so me and I'm so comfortable in them. Okay,
don't forget to submit your questions for next week's episode.
All you have to do is dm us your questions
to at Climbing and Heels Pod on Instagram and I
might just answer your question. Welcome back to Currently with Katore,
(43:25):
where I share my latest style obsessions, all of which
you can access through my shopping community Kretur. I'm all
about starting your year off with little luxuries to elevate
your every day, so I stalked or curated e storefront
with trendy accessories, she come furnishings and more that will
make you feel so refreshed as always, everything has my
(43:46):
stamp of approval and is available for a very exclusive price.
I know you're going to love shopping with us, so
I'm also giving Climbing and Heels listeners an additional twenty
five percent off your first purchase with code Climb twenty
five Climb twenty five. So what are you waiting for?
Head to curatour dot com that cu are at eure
(44:11):
dot com and get started today. Thank you so much
to Maha for coming on the podcast today and opening
up about how she manages her insanely busy life and schedule.
Every day. She digs on another challenge and then actually
still wants more. I have to say I don't use
(44:35):
this term very loosely, and I would say that Maha
really just blows my mind. I have seen her in action,
I know many of the people that she represents in
different areas of the industry. She is beautiful, she has style.
I just want to add that because I want to
give in and she is just the absolute definition of
(44:57):
someone climbing in heels because she works so hard. Her journey,
like many I've had on the podcast, has not been easy.
None of this was luck. It was sheer, ambition, drive, determination,
clear intelligence, but also, as she said, the sort of
gift of really knowing how to work a room and
(45:20):
knowing your place in that room. And that is something
that can't be learned, but I think it's incredible to
find a mentor that it it does and watch and learn.
That's my takeaway for today. So if you want more
Climbing and Heels content, follow me at Rachel's zo and
at Climbing in Heels Pod on Instagram for more updates
(45:42):
on upcoming guests, episodes, and all things creatur. And I
will see you next week. Five
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