By Chris Taylor
NEW YORK – As a popular talk show host, Sherri Shepherd’s job is to get celebrities to share their personal stories. But the most fascinating tale might be her own.
The host of Sherri, which kicked off its new season on Monday, has come a long way from her hardscrabble early days of getting evicted from her apartment as she tried to make it in show business.
She did just that, starring in shows like “30 Rock” and co-hosting “The View”. The final evidence that she hit it big: An upcoming star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
For Reuters “Life Lessons” series, we talked to Shepherd about what she learned along the way. The following interview is edited and condensed.
Q: When you were growing up in Chicago, what did your parents teach you about work ethic?
A: Sacrifice. My dad moved us to a town called Hoffman Estates, and he used to be a waiter at a restaurant which had a lot of racist pictures that would be outlawed now.
He wanted to provide a better life for us. He worked for that restaurant and used his tips so he could get me into photography class. My father took a lot of racist taunts at that restaurant, but he did it because he loved me.
Q: What was your first job as a teen?
A: I was a candy striper at Northwest Hospital in Schaumburg, Illinois. I was the person who wore the little pink-and-white uniform, brought food and water to patients and read to them. I liked seeing the smile on people’s faces.
My second one was working at Sears. I was promoted to the catalog retailing department and did gift wrapping. To this day, I can wrap a gift like nobody’s business.
Q: How did you get started in the entertainment world?
A: I was a legal secretary in California. One day, with eight other legal secretaries, we all went to the Comedy Store together.
Eddie Griffin and Andrew Dice Clay were there, making people laugh, and my friends thought I could do that, too. I got advice after the show, and Dice said, “Just do it.” I will forever owe those guys part of my career. “Do it scared” has become my motto.
Q: Was money tight in those early years?
A: I didn’t get a regular role until a show called “Holding the Baby” on Fox with Jennifer Westfeldt. I thought I had made the big time – and then they cancelled it.
Then I was on a show called “Cleghorne!” with Ellen Cleghorne. Again, I thought I made it – and again they cancelled it! I held onto all my checks and didn’t even cash them. I taped them to my wall.
Q: Did you make any money mistakes along the way?
A: A lot of people feel guilty when they make it and feel they have to reach back to take care of absolutely everybody. I did that, and I spent all my money.
The money you do make goes to commissions, taxes, agents, business managers, lawyers, publicists and glam teams. It’s a lot of money going out. I thought that the salary I made was the amount I was going to be able to spend. Oh no.
Q: How financially and emotionally challenging is it to care for a special needs child like your son?
A: You really have to advocate for them. It has been a journey, and it hasn’t been easy. Financially, it’s a lot – special needs school plus all of the therapy – physical, occupational, speech, psychological but that’s my child, and you do it for your child.
Q: How do you figure out where your charitable dollars have the most effect?
A: It has to be close to my heart. Move-In Day Mafia helps foster care kids who have aged out of the system and are starting their lives in college. Special Needs Network runs camps for children on the spectrum. My son was actually a counselor there.
Q: What life lessons do you try to pass on?
A: I remember back in the days when my car used to get repossessed, I would be on the bus going by Hollywood Boulevard, where the Walk of Fame is located. I would look at the stars and dream that I would have a star one day. Now I’m having a ceremony for it. Never let go of that dream.
