Catching Up with La La Anthony
By Jahaira Hooker
Star of VH1’s La La’s Full Court Life, La La Anthony is an actress, mother, entrepreneur, and the wife of Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. She has sustained a very successful career working her way up from an early age. One wonders how she balances a high-profile marriage and motherhood along with her many tireless projects, but she seems to have it all together, and we couldn’t be more proud of this Latina and all of her achievements.
You strike me as grounded, authentic, and kind. How do you maintain those qualities? And manage to balance it all?
I think it’s because I know what it’s like to not have, and I really worked hard to get to where I am. I did everything on my own; started really young when I was in high school working on the radio. I think that is what has helped me to remain grounded and humble.
You are hard working. Does this come naturally, or do you attribute it to the Influences of your Latino culture?
Yes, definitely! When you say I come across as genuine and down-to-earth, this is from growing up in a Spanish household—it’s all about family. On any given day, you can find all my titis and tios at the house, and we are all together as a family. We had each other, and we had love, and that’s really important to me. You find that a lot in the Latin community.
Where did you grow up, and what is your most memorable experience growing up?
I grew up in New York City and, by the time I was in middle school, I moved to New Jersey. By high school I had moved to Atlanta, so I moved around quite a bit. Some of my best memories in New York are of the summers just being outside BBQ-ing with family, loud music and having fun.
Your cosmetic line, MOTIVES by La La, launched back in February of 2012. What could you tell me about MOTIVES today?
MOTIVES is doing great! MOTIVES was already a makeup line that was created by my friend. I told her she needed to expand the brand to add more colors specifically for Hispanics and African-American women. I saw there was a void with my own personal experience shopping and having to mix up to four colors at times, just to create the right shade. So, I was happy when the opportunity came to work with Loren [Ridinger, Creative Director and Founder] to create MOTIVES by La La, essentially providing something for everybody, which is what makes the brand so popular today.
Subscribe to our Newsletter for Weekly Trending Topics
Who is the ‘MOTIVES’ woman?
The motives woman is confident. She could be a mom, a wife, a working woman… She comes in all forms. She knows what she likes, and wants to look good doing so. At the time of this interview La La was on her way to the airport headed to L.A. to promote an early screening of her new film ‘Think Like a Man Too.”
You are currently busy promoting, Think Like a Man Too, in theaters June 20th. How excited are you?
Obviously, I am very excited! This is the sequel to Think Like a Man, and it takes place in Vegas. It’s a battle of the sexes to see who could “do Vegas” better ‒guys vs. girls,‒ and all sorts of things happen while there. It’s a movie that will have you laughing the entire two hours.
Can we expect more films from you in the future?
Actually, I am also on a new television series called Power ‒that’s on the Starz network right now‒ with rapper 50 Cent [Curtis Jackson,] who is the executive producer. It just premiered its first season, and we already got picked up for a second, so there’s definitely a lot more to come from that.
Here at LatinTRENDS we love watching La La’s Full Court Life, now in its 5th season. Can we look forward to a 6th?
I don’t think so. It has been a great ride, and it has done so well, but I have so many other projects going on that I just don’t have that much time. Plus, it’s always good to go out with a bang. You don’t want to go out when you can’t give people anymore. You want to go out on top.
Moving on to The Love Playbook, did you enjoy the process of writing your own book?
I definitely enjoyed it, and I was so happy when it went #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s great to be able to reach out and inspire. You start talking to young women, and a lot of them don’t have great friends and family to talk to and guide them. That was what pushed me to write the book, and now it is doing so well. People who are so grateful and appreciative stop me constantly because of it. It has been a really great experience. Update: The sequel to the love playbook is currently being made into a movie with La La and Queen Latifa as producers.
Will there be a follow up book?
Definitely going to have a follow up, and the next thing I’m doing with that actual book is turning it into to a movie. I feel like it can be a great film, but yeah, definitely a follow-up book.
(This article was originally published in July/August 2014 cover / issue of LatinTRENDS Magazine)
Facebook
Instagram
RSS