During a recent interview with Miami Shoot Magazine, the entrepreneur blonde beauty is talking about life after Housewives, her business brand, her novel and much more. Check it out below!
Most viewers thought you were the voice of wisdom on The Real Housewives of Miami…What did you take away from your time on the show and the high dosage of female drama? Any new lessons learned?
I learned some people will do anything for attention and it’s best to stay away from people that have nothing to lose. Drama and conflict can be interesting when it’s organic and based on fact with good intentions meant for true resolution. But when it gets dark, or it’s fabricated, it’s not interesting or entertaining.
Your tag line for Season 2 of RHOM was “I can deal with a lot of things but I can’t deal with stupid.” How did it come to that… too many run ins with incapable people?
Yes! I even put it on pillows and a cosmetic bag that we sell at leablack.com I realized that when dealing with smart people that have something to gain and something to lose you can usually come to agreement or agree to disagree, and at least have stimulating conversations. But people that think any means justify an end or that are stupid enough to say and do anything not thinking about long term damage are just not worth being around and in their crossfire. Smart people make life easier even when you disagree. Stupid people are short sighted and too stupid to even consider collateral damage and consequences. Trying to reason with stupid is a waste of time. I never want to be the smartest person in the room. I want to be around people smarter than me to learn from them and evolve.
As a business woman you built a respectable little empire already. Skincare, handbags…how and why did this all start?
I started my business in the 1980’s. I created some beauty products that I really believed in and still believe in today. Along with top chemists I created Sudden Youth, a non surgical face lift kit that tones, firms, tightens, lifts and has lasting results. I’ve built a worldwide organization of sales reps that wanted to be able to earn income based on their accomplishments rather than what someone was willing to pay them. Many of them became very high powered business people earning large incomes today based on the training and entrepreneurial skills we taught them over the years. I’ve used Sudden Youth since the first jar and I still use it today along with customers I’ve cultivated over the years. Ten facials for $95 is unquestionably the best skincare for the best price that I’ve ever known of. I now sell it online at leablack.com along with affordable handbags and fashion jewelry. And we export. It’s a fun business and we make sure our customers get their monies worth while making a fashion statement.
You have been married for a long time ..to a powerful man. Even powerful men can feel intimidated when their wife becomes famous and branches out. How did your husband handle it when you suddenly became a TV star and a power player?
I was equally as successful as my husband when I met him so he knew what he was getting into. He likes my independence and drive. We both knew the reality show would come and go and didn’t take it oh so seriously. We sorta laugh at the girls that think they’re “stars” because they were on reality tv. Let’s face it, it’s the lowest hanging fruit of fame. It’s great that it offers people opportunities & platforms and opens doors, but you really can’t take it that seriously. It’s reality tv! I guess after trying death penalty cases and being at the Supreme Court it just wasn’t on my husbands radar as a threat of me becoming too fabulous! Lol
Tell us about your successful charity that always bedazzles Miami once a year with lot’s of glamour and A-listers.
I started a charity in 1994 in my backyard having no idea what I was doing. It was to help at risk kids. I saw what happened to these kids when a parent was in jail or when they got arrested at a young age and society thought we should lock them up and throw away the key. So after being exposed to so much heartbreak through my husband’s profession, I just took matters into my own hands and started a gala to raise money. Somehow along the way it became known as the blacksannualgala.com and I begged all the rich people I know to share their wealth to help others and they did. Over 20 years later, millions of dollars later and performances usually generously donated by super talents like Barry Gibb, Tony Bennett, Queen Latifah, Flo Rida, Taylor Hicks, Rick Ross, Natalie Cole, Pharrell, Pit Bull, Aretha and many others, we just keep trying. I’ve realized that depending on the government for preschool and education for at risk kids is not a current solution. So we as a society need to get to them as early as we can and teach them right from wrong and good from bad and show them a way out of their circumstances. So, somehow all these years later we just kept at it.
You wrote a bestseller “Red Carpets & White Lies.” Why did you feel compelled to write this book and what makes it different compared to other insider-books about Hollywood?
My novel started out as a guilty pleasure. I just started writing. Then the Real Housewives of Miami started and I finished it and because of the show it got some attention, (thank you Bravo TV). Page 6 said I was the next Jackie Collins and I got rave reviews from people like Dave Barry, Norman Lear, Perez Hilton, Paul Levine, OK! Magazine and lots of pop culture connoisseurs, so I just said thank you to the Universe and I keep writing because I have fun doing it. It’s not Ayn Rand but if you want a clever and fun airplane or beach read and some laughs and giggles- it’s perfect.
Read Full Interview Courtesy via Miami Shoot Magazine
Lea Black's web series, Lunch with Lea airs on Wednesdays via her official Facebook page's live stream at 12pm EST.
Photo Credit: Bravo