"Q&A With Keltie Knight"

March 13, 2020

Book: Act Like A Lady

Photo Courtesy of Keltie Knight

Author: Keltie Knight

Co-Written by Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek

Author Bio:

Keltie Knight is an Emmy Award-winning television personality and Entertainment Tonight host. She has co-anchored CBS’s broadcasting of national events such as the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Grammy Awards Red Carpet.

Knight was able to combine her entertainment and entrepreneurial expertise into a podcast she co-created and co-hosts, The LadyGang.

With over 30 million downloads, and after debuting at #8 on the iTunes podcast charts, remaining in the top 100 podcasts in the world for the last 78 weeks straight and being featured on Entertainment Weekly’s coveted ‘Must List’.

The LadyGang it was awarded ‘Podcast of the Year’ in 2016, and was a Webby Award honoree in 2018. In the fall of 2018, the E! network announced that the LADYGANG would be coming to TV with their own show based on the popular podcast.

Knight is frequently seen contributing on The Talk, CNN, HLN, and as a moderator for Vanity Fair. With best-dressed mentions in Vogue, Elle, Glamour, US Weekly, People Stylewatch and The New York Times, it’s no surprise Project Runway invited her to be a guest presenter.

As passionate as she is about media, she is just as dedicated to service. Knight has a long history in philanthropy, working with groups like the Humane Society and the Beagle Freedom Project.

She helped raise over $300,000 for National MS Society as a part of the team, BeatMS, and nearly 1 million dollars throughout her years hosting the Circle of Hope/Dancers Against Cancer Charity Gala.

Known for her quick wit and fearless personality, she’s interviewed the biggest stars in the world including Oprah, Meryl Streep, Taylor Swift, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Jennifer Lawrence. Harry Styles kissed her twice. Pharrell Williams deemed her “…a spirited journalist and a star.”

1. What is a “twenty-first-century lady”?

She is bold, unapologetic, ambitious, and not afraid to speak her truth.

2. You all’s new book, “Act Like A Lady”, (Co-written with Becca Tobin & Jac Vanek from LadyGang) is out June 2nd and is highly anticipated, what can readers expect and what do you hope they take away from the book?

Our mission for the book and our entire brand and community is to make women feel less alone. We feel that by opening up the way we do in the book about the times we've screwed up our lives, other women will feel better about the time they've screwed up theirs.

3. What can readers unfamiliar with the ‘LadyGang’ look forward to in “Act Like a Lady”?

The book is 1/4 our opinions and advice on all the topics of 'Ladyhood', and 3/4 personal essays from each of us. We want you to laugh, and cry, and nod your head.

4. In this book, you all discuss complex topics such as body image, breakups, navigating a career, adult friendships, etc. How easy or how challenging was it for you all to get vulnerable and honest about these topics?

Although a few names were changed, we really didn't struggle opening up. It's who we are and what the success of our podcast was built on.

5. What essay in this book did you have the most fun writing and why? And which one did you have the most challenge writing and why?

The hardest chapters were the ones we wrote right from the heart. We are sort of known for our humor and boldness, so when we dug into our hearts and told our harder stories, it took more bravery than any other part.

It's easy to talk about bad dates, it's more difficult to open up about trauma, miscarriages, eating disorders and our low points.

6. What is a story that you wanted to share in the book but were unable to?

Since we wrote our entire book ourselves, without the help of a ghostwriter (which believe it or not is very rare in Hollywood) I think the book turned out exactly how we had planned. Truly, the only thing our publisher and team pulled back were some of the illustrations because we tried at times to make them so bold, that they prob would need to be censored at some bookstores!

7. It has been stated that due to social medias, “we are more connected than ever but more alone than ever”. What makes now such a pivotal time for a book like “Act Like a Lady” to be released?

I really believe the success of the podcast and the community around it is because it's sort of tricky to make friends as an adult. It seems like we are either jealous, in competition or too exhausted to even connect with others.

Even though our community mostly still interacts and listens online, we constantly try to encourage our community to support each other, and through that in cities across the world, our ladies have connected first online, and then made brunch dates, attended each other's weddings and made friends IRL!

8. What was it like co-writing “Act Like a Lady” with Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek? And how would you explain the writing process?

Basically, what we did was we broke down what we wanted the book to look like. We broke it into 4 parts: your relationship with your SELF, LOVER, CAREER, and FRIENDS. Next, we sat around and really went through each topic recording ourselves like a podcast, and that became the bulk of the collective "LadyGang" voice in the book.

Next, I made a giant corkboard and gave everyone homework, to write various essays in each section. We went off on our own and wrote those, and then put them all together!

9. How did the ‘LadyGang’ come together and what made you all want to start a podcast?

We were really all in a place in our careers where we wanted something of our own, we never imagined that our little podcast would turn into a respectable media brand welcoming people like RuPaul and Shania Twain onto our show, and launching a handful of other businesses and our book!

10. How cool is it to make amazing podcast episodes with your friends and what would your advice be to new podcasters looking to create highly successful channels?

I always say to anyone who wants to start a show to write down your first 10 ideas. We find that everyone has 3 good ideas for podcast episodes, and then after that, they either start them and quit or never start. It's tough. It's a media channel. It's a huge time and energy commitment. Being consistent is key. We've never missed a Tuesday or Thursday episode in almost 5 years.

11. Working on Entertainment Tonight you interact with a lot of Hollywood’s elite and A-List. Is there anyone who you’ve interacted with that you were star-struck by? Also, do you have a “pinch-myself interview” (someone who you got to pinch yourself after interviewing)?

I am always starstruck by Brad Pitt. He's just so lovely, and handsome and charming in person. When he walks in a room the whole room changes. My pinch me interview is always Paula Abdul, I grew up idolizing her, so when I met her in real life and got to ask her about her career, 10-year-old me freaked out!

12. What’s the best advice you have ever received on happiness?

I am constantly searching for the answer myself. I think that sometimes gratitude can really affect how happy you feel, so when I'm overwhelmed, exhausted or "over it" I try to remember to thank the universe for what I have, and I almost always feel happier.

13. Do you plan on writing more books in the future?

The gals laugh at me because they know my evil genius mission is to make Act Like A Lady, a Bestseller so that I can write a solo book and launch a collection of planners and journals. I am a huge fan of bullet journaling and that would be a dream!