Rosalee Mayeux on being a "Model Mom," a Cancer Survivor and a Comedian
Rosalee Mayeux has had a thoroughly full and satisfying career. From modeling to acting to stand up comedy, she has experimented with every aspect of the industry possible and has worked very hard to make all her dreams and goals a reality. She has also recently overcome a devastating cancer diagnosis that she did not think she would survive, and works closely with the American Cancer Society to help other people that were once in her place.
Where are you from?
I was born in an orphanage in Shreveport, Louisiana, raised on a rice farm, then moved into the town of Rayne, Louisiana, population 5,000, which I consider my hometown.
How has your hometown influenced yourself and your performances?
Being raised by my fun-loving, hard-working mom and dad, in the special town of Rayne gave me the soul, cooking skills, and survival skills I have today. Nobody’s funnier than Cajun and Creole people. Nobody cooks better. And we can sure laugh at ourselves, but you’d better not.
What inspired you to get into modeling and then later acting and comedy?
I flunked out of LSU for playing around, and got invited to do Summer Stock. I called my parents and they said, “Does this thing Summer Stock pay?” I said, “No ma’am.” Mom said, “Then you can’t do it. You need a job.” So I chose modeling. Then, luckily, modeling chose me. From there, I studied acting, and enjoyed that success for many years.
How would you describe your style of acting and joke telling?
I was formally trained in the Sandy Meisner Method style by Bob Modica, at Carnegie Hall, but for comedy, writing, short stories, directing, I just went on instincts. It was in my bones, and by the time I got my chances, I was more than ready.
Who are some of your biggest inspirations for your performances?
The late great Patrice O’Neal was the finest example of creating space on stage. Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and the “SNL” players I matured with go without saying. For acting, the goddess of the American Theatre, the female Marlon Brando: Kim Stanley. She told me I made her smell the rain after a performance. I hold that as my greatest acting moment, when she gave me the gift of confidence.
In comedy, the great Carol Burnett, whom I played a scene with Tom Selleck with on “Magnum P. I.” Lucille Ball, Cid Caesar and Phyllis Diller were gods to me. It still ties my heart in knots when I hear them perform in old recordings, I so yearn to be in their time and presence. My life has had a funny trajectory. I went from a girl who could not talk in front of people, to getting a standing ovation portraying authors’ stories on stage, to now writing my own material. Now, I see that my particular take on the world is a gift, and I treasure my age and attitude now. I tell my stories, because they’re all mine.
Which of your many different achievements in the industry are you the most proud of and why?
I wrote a few short stories before I ever thought myself to be a writer, and I won awards, sold commercials I’ve written and directed, got taken by A Band Apart, Tarantino’s commercial division. What I’m most proud of is raising my sons while I did all of this. Writing my first comedy special, “Rosalee Mayeux: MODEL MOM,” and having it distributed by the great Comedy Dynamics, was huge. Tired, broke sometimes, surviving cancer and keeping going. As long as my kids were okay, it didn’t matter. I put them first and my comedy blossomed out of the craziness of raising them; silly happy torturous failures, successes, tears and growth. My greatest happiness is our relationship now that they’re grown men, and them laughing that I’m telling stories about it all.
Your debut stand up special “Model Mom” dropped in March. What made you want to break into stand up comedy?
I got cancer and was supposed to die. Funny, huh? Then I lived (!) I had a ton of friends encouraging me to start telling my stories about the journey from beautiful model to scary bald lady. And I’m Southern … you’re not supposed to tell your secrets. But now, it is a great honor, and super hilarious way to spend my life doing just that!
How do you balance all of these facets of your identity day to day parenting, your career, etc.?
Well, my boys are grown now, so I’m free to roam the planet. The balancing act that was so hard for so long is over. But I really feel for the single mom or dad, trying to do three jobs, tired and doing the best they can to raise good little humans into adulthood. There’s just no shortcuts. When you’re focusing on one thing, something is always left undone. It’s hard. Now, the competition to do my best is the daily challenge of my chosen art. Write, rehearse, perform, sell, re-write, pitch, re-write, sell tickets, write some more. Then, find some mascara and film promos, emails, shoot ads, to try to sell tickets for the clubs who are tying you out. It’s a lot of hard, arduous work at a craft. But not more work than the craft of being a stone sculptress, a stone mason or a stone cold killer.
What do you want people to take away from your special, and who do you think your primary audience is?
I want people to feel seen and not judged if they are parents in the thick of it. I like to say I failed as an assassin and as a parent. That’s a joke you’ll have to listen to the special to get. But my audience is wide. I’ve had young girls run up to me after a show, promising to run home and pay their moms $500, ha! Young and old, it’s a tale of strong parenting, especially when you can laugh at yourself for all your “trying.”
What advice would you give to other women who are looking to break into the performance industry?
The only reason you do this job is because you have to. It’s exhausting, it takes years to perfect, it challenges you in crazy ways. But you perform because you’ve been making your aunts laugh since you were five years old in your parents’ living room. It’s just who you are.
Similarly, what advice do you have for women struggling with parenthood?
Get friends! Cry on their shoulders! It’s the hardest, most rewarding, most frustrating and important job in the world. My first son taught me how to love, and you will love like you’ve never loved anything in your life. But you need the support of a whole community. A partner. A parish. It’s true; you need a village.
As a cancer survivor yourself, what does your work with the American Cancer Society mean to you?
The American Cancer Society was the first phone number I dialed when I got the news. I didn’t know where to start. It’s where many people call and get a simple plan, so they can focus on what needs to be done immediately and what can wait. They patiently explain what’s coming in easy-to-follow directions, and you speak to a human with a sympathetic voice on the line. You need that. They’re a Godsend! I was so happy to give back, to tell my story in a format of humor and valor and camaraderie. Anytime they call for me to show up, that’s a call I answer gladly.
How has having beat cancer affected both your work and your life? What did you learn about yourself from that experience?
Facing your own mortality gives you the most amazing, fearless ability to focus on what’s important. They told me get your affairs in order, you don’t have any time. I called my three best girl friends, who immediately would not accept my death sentence, and who got to work full time on finding the best course of action to save my life. And it worked! Trust the ladies, they don’t ever give up! They found the latest treatment experiments on triple negative breast cancer, and made sure my doctors approved it against all odds, and within 12 hours I had started a radical new protocol.
They saved my life. What I learned is how important advocates are. Without their help, many things would have gone unnoticed, research could have been missed and my care would have suffered. You need love, support and advocacy to get the best of the best lined up for you. Telling my sons was the hardest thing in the world, but telling them there was hope, was the best.
It has been a crazy last few years, and we expect at least three more. How do you stay positive in general about the unknown and motivated as an artist?
That’s an interesting question. Someone told me, “Events are the weather, but you are the sky.” I don’t know where the quote comes from, but I love it! It reminds me I have to be the guardian to the gates of my mind; if I go into despair, I’m of no good to anyone. So I allowed myself to cry for a week, then I got to work. Write the best jokes. Tell the best stories. Lift up my fellows. Help everywhere I can. That is my job.
What can we expect next from you short term in your career?
I have a YouTube series: “Comedy Girls Road Trip!” Everybody can watch it and subscribe on YouTube right now! We’re currently pitching it to continue the series, so that would be a blast. I’ll also be back on tour in September, to promote my Comedy Dynamics special “Rosalee Mayeux: MODEL MOM”, on the East Coast. Would love your readers to come to a live show! Scream out if you see this interview on Jejune!
What is your motto in life?
Love hard, and with all your heart. But also … Put Your D*cks Away, Your Mother Is Here!
To learn more about Rosalee Mayeux, please check out the links below:
Website: rosaleemayeux.com
YouTube: @Rosalee-Mayeux
Facebook: @RosaleeMayeuxComedy
Instagram: @rosaleemayeux
TikTok: @rosaleemayeuxtiktok
Photographer: Storm Santos
Stylist: Anna Schilling
H&MU: Kimberly Bragalone
H&MU Assistant: Alysha Marcantonio
Rosalee Mayeux has had a thoroughly full and satisfying career. From modeling to acting to stand up comedy, she has experimented with every aspect of the industry possible and has worked very hard to make all her dreams and goals a reality. She has also recently overcome a devastating cancer diagnosis that she did not think she would survive, and works closely with the American Cancer Society to help other people that were once in her place.