Bankrate: You do seem pretty down-to-earth. Do you have your extravagant side?
Lisa Lampanelli:
Oh yeah. For 15 years I earned crummy money, but
something happened last year -- after the Pam
Anderson roast -- where I started earning percentages
of theaters. So my big thing was that I bought
my first two pairs of Jimmy Choo and Gucci shoes.
I had four pairs, and they had these beautiful
bags they came in. They were just so gorgeous
that I got hooked, and I'm like, "I'm not a girl.
How did that happen?" But it just took off. And
I had this closet full of Manolo Blahnik's because
I was addicted to "Sex and the City," so I felt
I had to be like them. I wear them each once because
they're 5-inch heels, and who can wear those?
Retarded. So I love those, and I love really expensive
Gucci purses, although I priced one at $3,700,
and I couldn't do it. I have my limits. I can
say, OK, $1,300, I can do it, but when you see
$3,700, you go, "Oh my god, that's too much."
So I can't believe I turned into a girl. I also
love really expensive makeup, because when you
hit 45 you better make it expensive or you might
as well look like Tammy Faye. I also go to Canyon
Ranch, that health spa, once a month, for 10 grand
a week. I love that, because you lay around the
pool, you get massages, all that spiritual awakening
crap that I make fun of, but actually believe
in. I love spending money, dude. I don't know
what happened. I snapped. I love room service,
because I don't even look at the bill, I just
sign it. You know what my most proud thing is?
I'll go into Dior or something, and they'll think
I'm a lowlife, 'cause I'm just me. And I won't
even look at prices and I'll be like, "I'll just
take that, that and that," and it feels just like
"Pretty Woman." I just pray that when they give
me the receipt, it wasn't too much. It always
scares me a little going, "Was that awful bracelet
$1,000? It better be $200." Oh, and my other addiction:
I spent $5,000 on hair extensions so I could look
young without plastic surgery.
Bankrate:
What's your favorite out of all these? Lisa
Lampanelli: The Canyon Ranch. It's just so relaxing. It's the 800 different
activities that I ignore, like all these exercise classes that I totally blow
off. Every day I say, "I'm gonna do stretching class, relaxation and meditation
and breathing." I end up just getting massages and sitting by the pool and going
into the Jacuzzi and being lazy, to decompress. I didn't take any vacation for
15 years. Now I take one a month. I love it.
Bankrate:
It was the Pam Anderson roast that made the big
difference for you, careerwise?
Lisa Lampanelli:
That's when I started selling places out. Everybody
kept saying, "Oh, I saw you on the roast," and
then it started really taking off because of Howard
Stern, and then the William Shatner roast, and
then my specials. It all kind of accumulates.
So I'm in the theaters instead of the clubs, and
I'm like, "Wow, it all works." If you just work
hard and get on TV enough, you can sell out places.
It's so much fun. |