Garcelle Beauvais Talks Big Ambitions For Her Book 'Love Me As I Am'

We love Garcelle!

Source: Erick Robinson / Erick Robinson

We’re closing out Black Women’s History month with an exclusive interview with Garcelle Beauvais, who released her memoir, ‘Love Me As I Am,’ earlier this month. The book is a candid look at Garcelle’s rollercoaster ride of life which includes work as a model, actress, producer, and humanitarian. The story takes us from her birth and early childhood in Haiti to her adolescence in Boston before shining a light on her days as a young model in New York, continuing with her move to Los Angeles and the many ups, downs, and ups, both personal and professional, she experienced in her three-decade acting career, including her massive fame as an actress and the first Black castmate of the of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” franchise. Through it all, we’ve watched Garcelle shine and are excited to follow her new chapter as an author.

“I felt at the time that I’m in a good place personally and professionally and I also feel like I made peace with a lot of things in my past and this was a good time to share my story, my journey,” Garcelle told BOSSIP Sr. Content Director Janeé Bolden about why now was the perfect time to write ‘Love Me As I Am.’ “Hopefully, it will inspire women — and men, I’ve heard from a few men who said they’ve connected with this book, and also women who’ve gone through divorce at a later stage in life when you’re not looking to be divorced. It’s another way to connect with my fans.”

We were curious if Garcelle drew inspiration from any other authors before writing her own book, or if there was a book that set the tone for the trajectory she’d like hers to take.

“If I’m going to say I want my book to be on this level I’d say Michelle Obama [‘Becoming’]” Garcelle said ” When I read books I’m always feeling empowered by women who are brave and can speak about things that they are their truth and aren’t feeling like we can’t talk. I feel like I grew up in an era where we don’t share stories and everything is kept in the house, you don’t know what your neighbors are doing, you neighbors don’t know what you’re doing and I feel like now we can share stories and connect. I didn’t hear women talking about miscarriages growing up, but now we can hear stories and help one another. For me the book that I’ve read in the past encourage me to be brave and speak out.”

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As you can probably imagine, sharing such a personal story wasn’t the easiest thing for Garcelle, and the stunning actress admitted to BOSSIP that some things were harder than others to discuss with the public.

“Finally being able to talk about my relationship or lack of a relationship with my father,” Garcelle said, when asked about the more challenging parts to write. “I really think that has really shaped me in the men that I’ve chosen. Also talking about my divorce more. Just the journey I’ve been through. Sometimes people from the outside looking in think that everything is perfect. No one I know has a perfect life and that definitely includes me.”

In recent years, the veteran actress has become a fixture on unscripted television thanks to her role as one of the heavily discussed “Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills,” and as the newest co-host on “The Real,” which recently wrapped it’s final episode after cancellation rumors were confirmed earlier this month.

“Sometimes I’m like ‘Holy crap!’ with ‘Housewives’ — that’s a whole other animal unto itself,” Garcelle said of the unscripted turn her career has taken. “The fact that I have cameras in my house, I have cameras in my car, exposing my children and whoever is in my life, but this was a time when I really wanted to be home more. A lot of projects don’t shoot in L.A., so the last few years I was traveling so much and I have my kids half the time. It was important for me to start getting jobs that were closer to home with my boys. They were starting to be teenagers and I wanted to be around. ‘Housewives’ came at a good time when I felt I was open to it. With ‘The Real’ I just love that platform and it had been a dream of mine. So yeah I’m sharing everything.”

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For fans of RHOBH, Garcelle has hit a few bumps in her several seasons of filming, so we had to ask where things stand with her fellow ‘Housewives’ today.

“Those friendships evolve,” Garcelle told BOSSIP. “It’s really ebb and flow and I mean that in the true sense. I hate when people say, ‘Oh what is your storyline?’ because you have seven other people who can derail your storyline in a matter of seconds. It’s more improv, if I had to put a word on it, because you can’t control what other people say and do. so you really can’t go in there going I’m going to do exactly this and it’s going to go exactly this way. But Sutton and I have a really good relationship. Kyle and I are in a good place. It just depends. I feel like I ended the season with Kyle well, with Sutton well, and with all the other women but until it airs and until I get to the reunion who knows?”

Because plastic surgery is a hot topic for the women of all of the ‘Housewives’ franchises, we were curious about Garcelle’s stance on being an actress of a certain age and whether she’s been pressured to make “changes” or considered cosmetic surgery.

“To each his own,” Garcelle said, of her thoughts on those who choose to go under the knife or the needle, however she added that her personal preference is to stay natural. “The only thing I’ve done is taken out my implants, but I’ve never had Botox or anything like that. I saw my mom who was 81 when she passed away and she was still so beautiful, her cheekbones were high, and for me I feel like I’m so blessed with what God and my parents gave me that I don’t want to mess with that. I feel like I may regret it. It’s also like, this is who I am, this is me. I feel like we also have to grow old gracefully. That’s what I’m going to do.”

A true content queen, we had to ask Garcelle whether her sex, love and relationships podcast “Going to Bed with Garcelle” has gotten her into any trouble with past loves.

“I never mention anyone’s name,” Garcelle said, confirming that she hasn’t gotten any complaints so far. “I wouldn’t do that because that’s their life too. The podcast isn’t about shedding light on people it’s more about connecting with my guests on the show and feeling liberated to talk about sex. Growing up we didn’t talk about sex. I didn’t hear people talk about sex, especially in a Haitian culture, culturally you don’t talk about that stuff. For me it’s really about empowering my guest, having a great time, feeling liberated and no one has ever left the podcast and said ‘Can you take this out?’ or ‘I really regret talking about that’ because it’s all about love and sharing stories.”

Cheers to sharing stories! We love to see Garcelle doing all of the things.

Source: Erick Robinson / Erick Robinson

And speaking of all of the things, on today’s episode of ‘Daily Blast Live,’ she revealed that she’d love to step into the shoes of late night talk show host in her next career chapter. The actress said that after learning that James Corden will make his exit from ‘The Late Late Show’ in 2023 she would love to be considered to host.

“I would love that spot. First of all, I am a talk show host in my heart, in my blood. And it’s about time that we have a black woman and late night, enough with the white guys [laughter]. Give me the shot, I won’t disappoint.”

Garcelle never disappoints! If you’re not already following her on social media you can follow her on Instagram and Twitter and make sure to pick up her book ‘Love Me As I Am’ — it’s available now!