What Do Successful Moms Have In Common | Tirralan Watkins | MomCave Live - MomCave LIVE

Episode Transcript
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Jennifer Weedon Palazzo (00:00):
Welcome to MomCave LIVE where we may

(00:13):
have lost our minds, but wehaven't lost our sense of humor.
Hi, I'm Jen and I'm here withTirralan Watkins who is
Tinseltown mom. And hi, we'regoing to I'm going to go live on
all the platforms. So give meone second. Let's see if it goes
live on the Instagram as well.
Maybe we're Oh, wow. Okay, therewe are. So, Hi, tell everybody
how you became Tinseltown. Mom?

Tirralan Watkins (00:40):
Well, it started when I was just a child,
of course, daughter. So growingup, I was always pursuing
acting. I'm from the Bay Area.
So in the Bay Area, I was doingtheater and commercials and
everything that I could do inthe Bay Area. But we all know
that the capital of theentertainment industry is

(01:02):
Hollywood. Totally. Yeah. Soafter I got my undergrad degree,
in communications, I decided tomove to Los Angeles to pursue my
acting career further. So as Iwas pursuing my acting career,
I, and I'm not telling the fullfull story, because it's so

(01:22):
long. So as of course, you know,as you're pursuing a career, you
do dabble into other things. Soat the time, I started my own
talk show a local talk showcalled like, impact. It was like
on a cable access station. Yes.

The internet's Yes. cable access.

Yes. Your cable access. Yeah, yeah. So I
was doing my show on cableaccess. 20 plus years ago, and
actually my first Tinseltown mombefore I became Tinseltown mom
was Sherri Shepherd. It wasbefore she was a mom as well,
but she was my first your firstguest. Yeah, for my show. So I

(02:05):
did the show. And I interviewedlike an Olympian, another some
other actresses, comedians, etc.
While I was still pursuing myacting career, but eventually,
in I at my church, I decided tojoin a small writing group
called write on in there iswhere I met my husband, who was
pursuing a directing career. Soanyhow, long story short, we

(02:29):
eventually got married, I wentback to school, USC got a
master's in professionalwriting. And that is where I
started writing, blogging andeventually I started my own
blog, which my husband came upwith a name Tinseltown mom,
because I wasn't mom at thetime. We lived in Lala Land he's
pursuing his entertainmentcareer and mine. You were right.

(02:50):
All of that? Yes. So that's howI became Tinseltown. Mom.

Jennifer Weedon Palazz (02:58):
Awesome.
Well, if you're just joining us,this is Tirralan Watkins, known
as Tinseltown mom. And she hasinterviewed so many celebrities
and high profile moms successfulin anything from business to
medicine to of course, theacting world. And so that's what
I kind of want to ask you about.

(03:18):
Okay. Okay. And everybody who'swatching, feel free to jump in
ask anything in the comments.
This is all just for us to hangout and, and get the dirt
really?

Yeah. So

What?
Is there any common thread yousaw? What made all all of the
successful women that youinterviewed? Alike, in some way?
Yeah. something in common?

Yeah, that's a good question. Um, I feel like
they all had something in theirbackground that they had to
overcome in some way. Becauselike to get to the status that
these high profile moms get to,it's not just a walk in the
park, like, you have to overcomesome things, you have to develop
grit, and all these other thingsthat you have to develop to get

(04:06):
to the status level that they'reat. So I feel like all of these
women, these moms, went throughsomething challenging for them
to be able to actually breakthrough and get to that next
level. You know, sometimespeople go through things,
whether it's, you know,traumatic, or just just a
challenge in their career, andthey stop, and they don't keep

(04:27):
pursuing that thing. But if youcan actually go through it, and
just keep going and keep youreye on, you know, the thing,
that passion or whatever, like,I feel like you can break
through, and then you can helpsomeone else along the way
because you went throughsomething that they might be
going through.

Yeah, well, when Yeah. Yeah, that's a
good answer. When you look atthese people in magazines, and
such, you know, they just lookso happy and perfect and well
rested. And all the things thatwe don't feel, yeah, but right
now It's easy to forget thathuman every human being has
their story, right? Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, I've interviewed people who,
like, for example, I mentionedSherry, she's been homeless.
Plus some other things that shewent through. I've interview
moms, they've gone throughinfertility, just sexual trauma,
and having to overcome that andstill pursuing, you know, their
passions, just all kinds ofthings. But they didn't even let

(05:29):
that stop them from you know,going ahead in life and doing
the thing that they feel thatthey were called to do.

Right?
Well, even in your story, Ithink it's interesting, you
often start out feeling calledto do one thing, and for some
reason or other, you pivot inlife. Yes. What what was for you
like the deciding factor whenyou decided I'm gonna go back to
school and be a writer. I'mgonna, I'm gonna pivot as they
say.

Um, so honestly, I don't want to sound
like a prude. And I might fail.
It's okay.

That's okay. We have people of all
sorts here. Yes.

So because of my background, you know, being a
Christian and just having acertain standard and things that
I wouldn't would not do. Like, Icame to find that there were too
many things on the screen that Ididn't want to do. Interesting.
Yeah. So I was like, you know,what, I should just write about
the things that I want to do. Soeven when I went back to school,
like I double majored inscreenwriting, and also fiction.

(06:30):
So I thought I was going topursue the screenwriting, which
I still would like to pursue oneday, but I have so many things
on my plate. You know, I startedthinking, you know, let me just
write things that I would wantto be in I would want to promote
and things like that. So that'swhat kind of got me interested
in the writing aspect of it. Andthen, you know, just being in
that small writing group, likewith my husband, because he's

(06:52):
like a very proficient, he's anexcellent writer. He's just kind
of made that passion grow in me.
Okay. Yeah, it just kept goingfrom there.

I think that's a good lesson in
sometimes you start out insomething, and you don't know
all the ins and outs of it, orwhat, what lines, you might have
to cross that maybe you're notcomfortable crossing, you know,
things that just don't alignwith you whether it's for
religious reason, or moralreason, or whatever. Yeah. Like,

(07:24):
do I change everything now? Isthat Is that okay? And like,
yeah,

right. Yeah,

that's rough. But you did it. That's
awesome. Now I have to ask, doyou ever work with your husband?
Do you ever write together?

Um, we would like to write together one day,
one day. But as far as workingOh, yeah. You know what,
actually, we did produce a cleancomedy. Several years ago. Yeah,
I was a producer. He wrote it.
Yeah, I'm just thinking aboutit. Yeah, we did work together,
actually. And you're stillmarried. And we're still

(08:00):
married? Yeah. It wasn'tchallenging, though. It was
challenging first because youhave to learn how that person
works. And incorporate yourpersonality with theirs.

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. And also

his thesis because he has a master's in
film at USC. So I helped him onthe thesis with his final
project. I was a producer on theproject. Right. So yeah, okay.
Right back in my brain. Yeah, wehave worked together. But we
would like to, like do some moreprojects in the future.

Right.
My husband and I have workedtogether in several different
capacities. Oh, we were we'vebeen actors and films together.
We've attempted to write thingstogether. We were real estate
agents together and let me Wow,it was a disaster.

Wait did you guys pursue the same careers at
the same time?

Yeah.
Well, we met in acting school incollege, and then we were
actors. And then of course, weneeded money because we were
actors. Yeah. We both decided togo and become real estate
agents. And then we got hired atthe same office. And then they
said, Oh, you're married, youshould be a team. And man, that
was challenging. Because to be24/7, working with the person
that you know, you it's nice togo home to someone who wasn't

(09:16):
with you working all day. Andyes, to talk to you about
something else. Right? Yeah.

You guys are still actors at the time to
during real estate during Yeah,yeah. Wow.

That was always back. So we don't do
that anymore. But

it's so funny.
I got my real estate license toYeah. When I was doing the
acting thing. Yeah, cuz you'rethinking what can I do that's
flexible. I can still go onauditions and things like that.

Yeah.
Kind of brings us also to thelife of motherhood. So when
you're a kid, you have to find away to make a living that fits
in around the all encompassingness of being a mom. Right? Do
you when you interview all Thesereally successful moms, how do
they make it work? How do theybe a good mom, but still work?

Yeah, I feel like a lot of them have, they
all have different stories?
Because I, you know, I askedthat question, you know, as far
as the proverbial work lifebalance, and I feel like there's
no one answer or no commonthread. Yeah, like some people,
they make it work like somewomen who, let's say they're
traveling, they may not seetheir child for a couple of
months, but it works for them,because they see them during

(10:28):
some of the off months. Right.
And some of them, they may taketheir children with them when
they're on set, and they'rethere with them. So I feel like
there's a lot of differentanswers with that one. Yeah.
Yeah, especially I feel likewhen you have a high profile
position, I mean, honestly, youknow, most of them, you know,

(10:51):
they have like, nannies and, youknow, people that's going to
help them right, balance it all.
Because, you know, when you getto that level, they I mean, you
can afford to have that and theyhire help to help them. But I
know like the everyday mom, alot of them, they're just doing
it on their own, and they can'tafford, you know, a nanny or
someone else. So it's a littledifferent.

Well, going back to like the everyday
mom, all of us here, watch thesemoms. And when we think Wow,
she's doing so great. We have toremember that. She might have a
lot of help. Yeah, yeah. So Sothat's, that's good. And there
someday we will do.

Yeah, it's still hard even though you know,
it's still hard, but

Jennifer Weedon Pala (11:32):
different.
Different, different things thatare difficult

when you're right. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

Um, do you have a favorite celebrity
that you've interviewed? Um,

I've been asked this before, I think it's
Sherry. Yeah. I've interviewedher twice. Yeah. She's actually
a longtime friend from back inthe day too. But when I
interview her, I feel like she'sso authentic and real and funny.
Like, even the last time Iinterviewed her, like, our
interview went so long, like,way over and out. Like we I had

(12:08):
to, like, call her back, becausewe were just like, she can just
talk and just be transparent.
And, like, in my mind, I'm like,Oh, I'm definitely not going to
put that there. But she'll, youknow, she's so honest. Like, she
just says, what she wants tosay. And I'm like, I'm
definitely not going to put thisin the piece. Like, I don't want
to go here.

How far are we're gonna go here, right?
Yeah, yeah. So,

yeah, but um, you know, I started off
initially just focusing onCelebrity moms, but I've
expanded it to just high profilemoms, you know, moms at the top
of their game and their career.
So

well, there's so much crossover to,
um, in our world today. It's notlike movie stars, other people
now it's that start businessesand business people that get
reality shows. And yes,

I know. Right?
Yeah. Like, I feel like a lot ofbusinesses. There's high profile
businesses even like you can bea celebrity designer, a
celebrity chef, a great acelebrity shoe shiner. Do you
know what I'm saying? Like?
Yeah, like in any field, likeyou can elevate it to that
level?

I think that the internet and social
media sort of gave us that butyou might not have Yes. Yeah.
Okay. And tell me about youryour kids. How old are they?
And?

Yes, my kids are? I have two boys. They're 13
and 14 soon to be 15. Oh, wow.
Two teenagers. Yes. Going intoeighth and 10th grade?

Wow.
Well, not only do you look tooyoung for that, but I know I
look like a teenager.

I know. I get that all the time. So

I My oldest is about to turn 13. So
we bought this is one of yours.
Yeah. The teen years are goingto be a quite a ride. I can tell
already.

Yeah, I can't.
I mean, can't you tell that youfeel like it's gone by too fast?
What they hit hit the teenyears?

Of course, I know.I know it's a
cliche, but it's totally cliche,because it's true.

Yeah. I start thinking about how many more
years you have at home withthem. Right? Like, I feel like,
you know,

and then what will you do when
they're not at home? Like you'llhave we have a whole life ahead
of us. Yes. after that. Sothat's its whole the whole
challenge in and of itself?
Well, I

think that's why it's good for moms to have
passions outside their kids,too. Of course, some moms when
their kids graduate or go off.
They feel like they don't haveanything for themselves. Right.

Right.
You know, lost all the thingsyou were interested in in the
meantime.

Yeah.

That's really good stuff. Can you tell
everybody where they can findyou on all the social media
platforms, etc?

Yes, so you can find me at Tinseltown.
mom.com I also have a podcasttimeout with Tinseltown mom, you
You can find that on all theplatforms. And I have an online
shop accessories for women thatI sell. Yeah. Like accessory as
well like tote bags. Okay, caseson air pod cases, things like

(15:16):
that.

Very fun because you know, your kid
is going to steal half of thosethings. So you're gonna Yeah,
exactly, exactly. And if you getone that's mom themed, maybe
they won't steal it.

Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, I have a lot
of mom things themed stuff onthere. So

that's great. Well, thank you so much
for talking with me and sharinga little bit of what it's like
to talk to all of these highprofile women. And I hope we can
do this again soon.

Yes, I hope so. Thank you, Jen. Thanks.

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What Do Successful Moms Have In Common | Tirralan Watkins | MomCave Live

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