by Susan Lucci
I had the furniture from my New York dressing room shipped to the new one so I could decorate it exactly the same. It was my way of keeping a little piece of New York with me in our new surroundings. And besides, I liked my dressing room furniture and wanted to keep it. I’d think about how to fill all of that extra space once I got there. But the irony is that my new dressing room is actually smaller than my old one, though I do have a window—something I never even thought of having back in New York. Thankfully my furniture shimmied into the space well, and it looks great, like a little jewel box. I have a series of beautiful black-and-white framed cityscape shots on the walls so I can be reminded of the place we all left behind when we moved to L.A.; pictures of my husband, children, grandchildren; mementos from Annie Get Your Gun and Dancing with the Stars; and that beautiful framed picture of Bernard from Africa. And, just in case you’re wondering, I still don’t have my own bathroom. That’s showbiz!
I never thought we’d find a crew that was as good as the one we had in New York, but somehow, Julie Hanan Carruthers, our fantastic executive producer, and her team were able to put together yet another incredible group of professionals. I consider myself inordinately lucky to have this experience a second time in my career. Having such close contact and working with such great people twice is an extraordinary luxury. Although I miss everyone who didn’t make the move with us, I hope they know how much they are loved and appreciated for all of the years of hard work, dedication, and commitment they put in helping me and everyone at All My Children do the very best work we could do.
People often ask me what my plans are. It’s a funny question because when I took the part of Erica Kane, I didn’t plan on playing her forty years later. I’ve had a great opportunity, which is both a rarity and a gift. I don’t know many people who have held a single job spanning more than four decades, let alone many people who still feel as passionate about their work and their role as I do. Every time my contract came up for renewal, I would reevaluate my options. I’d ask myself, Am I happy? Do I want to continue this? For me, the answer has always been yes. Erica Kane would be a lot to walk away from for many reasons. For one thing, she is not a normal run-of-the-mill character. The role of Erica has allowed me so much range and room to play in and has garnered such a great response from the public that I wholeheartedly believe it is the reason so many people were willing to take a risk on me outside of daytime. I have enjoyed and cherished every one of my experiences. Erica has given me opportunities I’m not sure I would have otherwise had.
If I had not been given the freedom to play other parts in movies, or been able to pursue my interest in Broadway, to perform my nightclub act, or to develop products for HSN, I would have had to leave because I personally don’t think you can be an actress if you only play one part, no matter how great a part it may be. But I’ve been blessed to have both the part I love to play and the chance to expand my career!
When my contract comes up for renewal, it forces me to be conscious of my commitment to All My Children, and even more, to be conscious of my commitment to my own family. Many years ago, Helmut and I toyed with the idea of me leaving the show and moving to Vermont, where we would open a quaint inn. He’d take care of the kitchen while I ran the dining room. It would be just like old times. That thought lasted about two and a half seconds after Helmut told me that there was no place in Vermont that we could buy with big enough closets for all of my clothes and shoes.
So, as I look toward the future, I feel fantastic. My children tell me they’re proud of me. And my husband, God bless him, has remained by my side all this time. Helmut is a visionary with great life and business experience and he is a realist, too, while I am all about the arts. His creativity has helped us build franchises outside of All My Children, which keeps things interesting and fun.
As for me? Well, I will continue doing what I love most—acting—while being the best wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, and friend I can be.
I was only supposed to be on every other Tuesday. But thanks to you, I am here and I promise I will try my best to never let you down. I’m going back to that studio on Monday and am going to play Erica Kane for all she is worth!
—FROM MY EMMY ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, 1999
CHAPTER 19
A Fan Letter to My Fans
After taking a look back at my life and all of the experiences I’ve had in my career, I realized that there is one more fan letter that I feel compelled to write—and that is to you.
All my life, I wanted to be an actress. It’s one thing to dream about it as a little girl and another to make it a reality. You were there for me from day one. There has never been a moment in my professional career when I haven’t felt your presence and your loving applause, whether appearing live onstage or coming to you from Pine Valley as Erica Kane. I truly believe that my career has been the stuff that dreams are made of, and none of it would have been possible without you. So for that I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Your continued support means the world to me. I look forward to doing what I love to do for many more years and to having you come along on this joyous ride with me.
Wishing you as much love and happiness as you’ve given me.
Susan
MY FAVORITE THINGS
Trying to narrow down my five favorites of anything was extremely challenging for me because I don’t even like to give one birthday card to people! I like variation, choices, and options. So forgive me for giving you a few extra favorites here and there!
Five People I Admire Most
Oprah Winfrey
Meryl Streep
Tina Turner
Sophia Loren
Maya Angelou
Five Secrets to Perfect Skin
Using Youthful Essence-Hydration exfoliation and nutrients
Drinking hot water with lemon (honey optional)
Drinking lots of water and eating foods that internally hydrate, including cucumber, lettuce, blueberry, salmon, and avocado
Applying sunblock with a minimum of 15 SPF daily or 30 SPF when spending time outdoors
Maintaining a disciplined cleansing and hydration (moisturizing) routine. (Always take off your makeup!)
Bonus secret:
Getting a good night’s sleep (sleeping on your back is especially good for your skin)
Five Secrets to Keeping Fit
Practicing Malibu Pilates
Eating balanced low-fat, low-carb meals full of fresh fruit, vegetables, and fish
Staying active and playing sports you love, i.e., I love to walk, play tennis, ski, and ride my bike
Remaining in motion—my work definitely keeps me moving. There are lots of ways to be active, whether it’s through your work or running after your children. It doesn’t matter, as long as you move!
Getting regular check-ups, including a stress test, mammography, etc.
Five Secrets to Aging (While Kicking and Screaming All the Way!)
Do what you love to do and don’t be afraid to take on new challenges
Take care of yourself—physically and emotionally, nurture your spirit
Stay close to the people you love
Spend time with friends
Be grateful and give back
Five Secrets to Keeping Romance Alive in Your Relationship
Remember why you fell in love in the first place and never lose track of that…and never take a moment with each other for granted
Make time just for yourselves
Give credit where credit is due freely and often
Make love (I’d like to say freely and often, but I know life happens. Just try to make this happen whenever you can.)
Laugh, listen, celebrate, and sprinkle life with sexy surprises
Five Ways to Look Taller (Or No-Fail Ways to Fake Your Height!)
Wear high heels, preferably stilettos and platforms that blend with your skin tone
Stand up tall
Find the best tailor or dress maker you can
(remember, we are dealing with millimeters here!)
Dress in linear and monochromatic clothing
Try to keep your weight down. Proportion is everything!
Five Favorite Types of Music
Brazilian jazz
Motown
American jazz
Standards-American songbook
Broadway
Favorite Artists on my iPod (These are just some of many!)
Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, early Sinatra, Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Andrea Bocelli, Fergie, Pink, Steven Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Aretha Franklin, Aaron Copeland, Smokey Robinson, Quincy Jones, Peggy Lee, The Three Tenors, Brazilian jazz artists, including Antonio Carlos Jobim and Jiau Gilberto
Five Favorite Must-Have Items When I Travel
Simple, comfortable, yet stylish clothes that I wear in cozy layers
Easy on/off shoes for airport security
Lightweight pashmina or sweater coat
Extra moisturizer for lips, eyes, and hands
Scripts, magazines, and a good book for pleasure, pleasure, pleasure
Five Favorite Meals
Veal meatballs with rigatoni and a side of broccoli rabe or rapine
Simple grilled wild salmon with lemon wedges, steamed spinach, and a green salad with cucumbers
Roasted chicken with grilled asparagus or steamed broccoli and a big mixed green salad
Breakfast—I love Kashi cereal with blueberries, skim milk, and coffee. Or another refreshing alternative is a yogurt parfait made with low-or nonfat Greek yogurt, berries, and a sprinkling of granola on top
Thanksgiving dinner! I especially love stuffing with gravy, mashed potatoes with gravy, and gravy with gravy
Five Favorite Vacation Spots
U.S.—Deer Valley, Ut; Vail, CO; Palm Beach, FL; Pebble Beach, CA; Hamptons, Long Island; Saratoga Springs, New York, and the Adirondacks, Vermont. Of course I love NYC, too—even if you live in New York, it so much fun to stay in a hotel and take in all the sights as if you were discovering the city all over again! The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas is also a favorite.
Austria—The Alps, especially Lech, Ischgl, Zurs, Vienna, and Innsbruck
Paris and the South of France, especially La Reserve, outside of Monte Carlo
Italy, Sardinia, Capri, and Rome
Amanpuri in Phuket
Five Meals My Husband Taught Me to Cook
He taught me NOT to cook frozen pot pies and cheerleading tuna casseroles
Weinerschnitzel, German potato salad, pressed cucumber salad
Chicken breast Milanese with rice pilaf
Veal meatballs
Kippferl—Viennese crescent cookies
*I still want to learn how to make Knodel—these are Austrian dumplings…ready when you are Helmut!
Five Things No One Knows About Susan Lucci
I sleep on the right side of the bed.
I like to put my left shoe on first. I didn’t know this until I did Annie Get Your Gun, when the wardrobe helper backstage asked me which foot I prefer to put in first. Without thinking about it, I said, “My left.” For some reason, it just feels better to me.
Ever since my children went away to college, I keep the lights on in my children’s rooms in the house at night to feel their presence.
I can’t stand the smell of cigarette smoke.
I don’t like scary movies—I’ve felt this way ever since my brother took me to see Simba: Terror of the Mau-Mau when I was a little girl.
My All-Time Favorites:
Color: Red
Movies: To Kill a Mockingbird, Gone with the Wind, Dr. Zhivago, A Man and Woman, the James Bond movies, Roman Holiday, To Catch a Thief, The Easy Life, And God Created Woman, An American in Paris, Bringing Up Baby, Pat and Mike, The King’s Speech, The Lives of Others, Inglourious Basterds, Nine, It’s Complicated, and Road to Perdition, just to name a few.
Books: To Kill a Mockingbird, Gone with the Wind, The Secret Life of Bees, Nightfall, The Lion’s Game, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—again, only a few of favorites but all so powerful.
American designers: Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors
European designers: Jean Paul Gaultier, Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Chanel, Yves St Laurent
Makeup: Clé de Peau, Koh Gen Do
Shade of lipstick: Clinique—Think Bronze, Sugared Grapefruit; Chanel—Ipanema, Crazed, Violet Diamond, Lover; Guerlain—Delit de Fuchsia, Rose Malicieux
Nail polish: Manicure—Essie Limo-Scene, Pedicure—Essie Spaghetti Straps, UPS, Fishnet Stockings, and Bermuda Shorts; OPI Vodka and Caviar
Shoes: Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Prada, Louboutin
Fragrance: Susan Lucci Invitation—I really do wear this every day; Clive Christian-X for Women
Ice cream: Vanilla and chocolate, chocolate chip, Starbuck’s java chip, pistachio
Dessert: Ice cream profiteroles with dark chocolate sauce, affogato (my favorite is vanilla and chocolate ice cream with hot espresso poured over the top), and baked Alaska—which I think is nothing short of a dessert miracle
Meal: Thanksgiving
Car: Mercedes or Ferrari
Piece of jewelry: Wide gold bracelet that Helmut gave me for my first mother’s day
The Best Advice Anyone Has Ever Given Me Was:
“Study with the best.” This is the advice my father gave me when I was young and it was reiterated during my studies at Marymount.
“If you want to make it as an actress in New York, stay in New York.” Robert Dale Martin
The Worst Advice Anyone Has Ever Given Me Was:
“Never trust anyone over thirty!” My generation grew up on this advice.
If I weren’t an actress I’d be a: I y’am who I y’am…. But if I had to choose anyone else, I’d be Beyoncé.
My mantra: Live and let live…
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To Helmut, Liza, and Andreas—without each of you my story would not be nearly as rich or meaningful, not even close. Without you all my life wouldn’t be as full and my smile as wide.
To Royce, Brendan, and our new baby granddaughter who have added immeasurable joy to my life.
To Laura Morton, thank you for your intelligence, wit, patience, and being so darn hip and with it. And for making this process so much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. You’ve been there guiding me every time I called, texted, e-mailed, and you never once flinched or yawned. And to Laura’s fantastic assistant, Adam Mitchell, the behind-the-scenes guy who helped us seamlessly move through this process at breakneck speed.
To Mel Berger and Kenny DiCamillo who were the first to encourage me to write this book and then put the wheels in motion. I wouldn’t and couldn’t have done this without you. And to Graham Jaenicke for all of your hard work and assistance along the way. To Fran Curtis, who can and does make miracles happen.
To Hope Innelli, for being my editor extraordinaire, for bringing your experience, elegance, blood, sweat, and tears—no one could have helped me tell my story and share my vision better than you.
To Lisa Sharkey at Harper Collins and to Carrie Kania and the entire team at IT Books. What most comes to my mind is the song, “It Had to Be You…” I knew from the moment we met that you were the right publishing partners. I’m really glad you felt the same way and were so enthusiastic about being a part of this journey. Many thanks to Kevin Callahan, Michael Barrs, Alberto Rojas, Joseph Papa, Kim Lewis, Joyce Wong, Robin Billardello, Amanda Kain, Amy Bendell, Lisa Thong, and Susan Amster.
To Agnes Nixon, there are no words to tell you what an extraordinary presence you’ve been in my life and how grateful I am every day to have been put into your hands. Your wisdom and example helped shape my life and your words on the page made me feel I could fly.
To everyone at All My Children for your invaluable help in so many ways, especially Julie Hannan Carruthers, Nadine Aaronson, Enza Dolce, David Zyla, and Judy Wilson, all of w
hom I greatly admire and respect and who were kind enough to make the time to brainstorm with me; Sallie Schoneboom, who is no longer at All My Children but was such a big part of my life there for many years and continues to be such a good friend; Michael Cohen for his ever-present energy and warm smile; Ann Limongello, Marisa Dabney, and all of the staff and crew in New York and Los Angeles, who make going to work a pleasure and who take that creative ride with me every day.
To Shawn Gough for the magic of your music and for taking such good care.
To Helene LiPuma, our longtime personal assistant and director of mission control.
To Yolanda Perez and Martin whose photography is as beautiful as they are.
To Joyce Corollo, Robin Ostrow, and Michael Woll who always make me look and feel my best.
To Frida and Lina who hold down the fort and keep our house feeling like home.
To Kathleen DiCamillo for your warm encouragement to tell my story.
To Pat Johnson, for being my best friend, for all the love and laughter and always saying it like it is….
To Nelson DeMille, for your encouragement and generosity in offering me your sage advice; Sandy DeMille, for reminding me of the importance of history; my fairy goddaughter Katie Johnson for giving me your fresh and loving take on things; Kathy Kiernan, Frank Kiernan, Christine Fee, and Mary Hanlon—thank you all for your support and encouragement to write this book and for helping me to feel comfortable throughout the process.
And to my parents, without whom none of this would have been possible.