This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Keltie Knight, a 44-year-old, Emmy Award-winning Canadian television personality, host, and bestselling author based in Los Angeles. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I started my career as a professional dancer, moved to New York at 18, and became a Rockette. I started making YouTube videos, documenting my life backstage and in music videos. When my body started breaking down, I realized I needed to find a new career.
The only other thing I could do well was talk, and I loved show business, so I moved to LA. Someone in television asked me to start making videos for them, and I started in music. I made a show called “Fangirl,” where I ran around LA and went backstage with musicians I’d worked with. That’s how my career took off.
I’ve spent the last 17 years in the entertainment world, and I’ve been at E! for three and a half years. Here’s what a typical day looks like for me right now, in the lead-up to the Emmys.
7 a.m. — Wake up with the sun if I’m not already working
I like to wake up with the sun, or even sleep in a little. I worked really hard to have this schedule. For many years, I’d wake up at 3:45 a.m., be in the car by 4 a.m., and be on set by 4:15 a.m.
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On a show day, I’m in the car at 7 a.m. with 19 bags. We get to the trailer, and I’m reading last-minute emails and going over script changes. Someone’s painting my hair, someone’s putting a Spanx on me, someone’s painting my face, someone’s steaming a dress, and every five seconds, a different director or producer is coming in to say we have to do this or that.
Then we go down early for a rehearsal, and it’s the most insane 12 hours of my life. That’s why I do so much preparation beforehand — the day of, there really isn’t time to look at a script. I take the responsibility of representing E! very seriously.
8 a.m. — energy drink and a Pilates class
My day always starts with a Celsius Kiwi Guava Energy Drink.
I’m a big Pilates girl, so I try to take a reformer class in the morning, if it’s not a show day. I’ll often see a Hollywood publicist in my class, and it’s the best networking event I’ll attend that week.
9:30 a.m. — emails, reading, and liquids
After I work out, I usually sit in my home office doing emails. There’s so much minutiae to this job — I have to keep completely up to date with the news through publications such as “The Hollywood Reporter” and manage my relationships with publicists and production companies.
If I see a celebrity doing something new, I like to contact them or their publicist to offer my congratulations. I saw Sharon Stone got a new movie deal, so recently, I texted her, saying, “Oh my God, I’m so excited for you! When are you shooting?”
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People assume my work is very glamorous and easy because the fun part is walking down the red carpet in a gown. What people don’t see are days like today, when I’m in sweatpants all day researching and taking notes — I watch every single thing, read every article, and listen to every podcast. I need to know everything about these celebrities.
I’m often at my desk for 10-12 hours per day, living on Celsius, iced matcha, proper English tea, a Clif Bar, air, and incense. I’m the worst example of health. I like to drink most of my meals during the day.
11 a.m.— phone call with my co-host
I can’t live without my 45-minute daily call with Justin Sylvester, my co-host. He’s one of my best friends. On set, things will go wrong. I’m going to screw up, my dress breaks, or one of us isn’t feeling well. Having a person alongside me I can look to, know what he’s thinking, and know he can cover me — that keeps me calm.
People are going to trip, you’re going to say the wrong thing, and that’s what makes it great. If it were perfect, it would be so boring. I’m saying that as someone who fell on the Grammys carpet, and who lost a four-carat diamond from my engagement ring at the 2024 Golden Globes.
12 p.m. — an Emmy dress fitting
When it’s awards season, I have a lot of fittings for my dresses. We work with a couple of stylists, Bory Tan and Roberto Cardenas.
When I first started on red carpets, I really wanted to keep up with the Joneses — if Charlize Theron was in Gucci, I wanted to be in Gucci. Since last year, I’ve been trying to use my powers for good.
Last season, I had a drag queen design and make a bunch of my red-carpet dresses from scratch. We sketched them together, and I never felt more beautiful.
For this year’s Emmys, Bory found an up-and-coming designer, and we’re building something from scratch again. Renting a dress just to seem cool in Gucci isn’t meaningful, but wearing an up-and-coming designer on E! for four hours on the red carpet can change someone’s career.
1 p.m.— podcasting
I have a podcast called “Lady Gang” — we’ve been on for 10 years, and we often record two episodes in a day. I’m usually recording in the afternoon, around 1 p.m.
2 p.m.— food, sometimes
I’ll often finish recording and realize I haven’t eaten anything all day. I’ll run upstairs and eat a banana and a yogurt, then I’ll get another call and have to hop on.
For me, my work is my passion, and everything else — Pilates, nutrition, laundry, making sure my insurance is paid on my house — comes after. It’s made me incredibly successful, but I get laser-focused and put looking after myself second.
2:30 p.m. — Emmys homework
When I’m not recording the show, I spend a lot of time watching shows to stay up to date before the Emmys. I have a highlighted spreadsheet to keep up with it all, and make note cards, which I go back and read as part of my research.
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I really care about the celebrities I interview. I’m invested in their lives and their success. Someone like Dakota Fanning, whom I’ve been interviewing since she was a baby — watching her get an Emmy nomination was wonderful.
I think people assume entertainment journalists are out to take celebrities down. The truth is, we’re such an important part of these stars’ road to success, and I care so deeply that they have a great time at the Emmys and a great time with me.
4 p.m.— the other parts of my life
I’m an investor and advisor for Alta, an AI closet app, inspired by Alicia Silverstone in Clueless. I work with my New York team on that constantly, write a lot of their emails, and do brand meetings.
I also recently wrote a book, “The F*ck Them Theory: Self-Help for People Who Are Done Being the Bigger Person,” which is out this November. I’m planning my own book tour for that on top of everything else.
7 p.m. — DoorDash dinner
My husband, Chris Knight, and I always have dinner together — so, I’m embarrassed to say, my first real meal of the day is often dinner. Even worse, neither of us has the time to cook, so we use DoorDash. We do have one nice tradition, Pizza Friday, when we order a Domino’s pizza to the house.
I learned a long time ago in therapy that I was trying to be everything, and I really burned myself out. My therapist told me, “Anything you can’t do or don’t have time to do, pay someone else to do.” I know that’s an insane privilege, but the truth is, the extra $20 it costs me is worth it in time, because now I have more time to work on my businesses and my life.
There are thousands of entertainment journalists who want to host live from E! during award season, and maybe four people have ever had this job. I take that very seriously, so everything else has to come second. I’m like Travis Kelce in football season — I’m not thinking about Taylor Swift right now.
8 p.m.— 18-step skincare routine and a good book
I have so much to watch that sitting down in front of the television at night isn’t how I relax. The Emmys’ recognition of reality TV means I can at least watch shows like ‘Summer House’ without guilt.
I’m a big skincare junkie, so I do a nightly 18-step skincare routine — face, hands, everything — it’s my way to wind down. I’m loving Dr. Diamond’s retinol right now.
I love to read, and before I go to sleep, I always read something unrelated to work. I love escaping into other worlds through books like “The Midnight Library” and “The Husband.”
For my 40th birthday, my husband got me a complete set of all 56 first edition Nancy Drews, and they smell incredible.
10 p.m.— sleep
Ideally, I’m in bed starting to read at 8:15 p.m., but that’s not always possible. I’m childless by choice, so I’m an early-bed, early-rise person.
I need a lot of sleep, and unless I can’t put a book down, it’s lights out at 10 p.m.
