Typically, I'm not a reality show voter, but there was just something so infectious about the energy Lisa Rinna brought to the floor on "Dancing with the Stars" that I felt compelled to dial in. Although she didn't end up taking home the crown that season -- robbed!!!! -- she has emerged as the most successful star to ever dance on the ABC juggernaut.
Lisa has parlayed her stint on the show into a pair of dance-inspired workout DVDs -- in stores now -- that utilize the techniques she learned on "DWTS." Not only is she morphing into a post-millennial Jane Fonda, Lisa is also tackling her first book, a new reality show and mulling over a return to "Melrose Place"!
PopWrap: I'm a little surprised no other "DWTS" contestant has tried this before.
Lisa Rinna: I'm just crazier than everyone else I think. And I was on three years ago! Mel B. is coming out with her own right after me, so I guess people are jumping on the bandwagon.
PW: But you beat her to the punch!
Lisa: I did! But I don't think hers is dance based. It's more of a regular workout.
PW: So tell me how these DVDs came to fruition.
Lisa: Well, my time on "DWTS" was a transformational period for me -- my life and my body. I loved the experience so much that after it was done I thought it would be a shame to not continue dancing. I love it, it moves me, I'm just so passionate about it.
PW: You certainly know all the right people now
Lisa: Well, I knew Louis [van Amstel, Lisa's partner from the show] was busy so I hired an instructor and we did that for a good year. Then I went to NYC to perform in "Chicago," where I was dancing a lot. When I came home, I needed to continue. Not twice a week, I wanted to be dancing every day.
PW: So?
Lisa: So I called Louis and said, "Why don't we come up with a class based on the dancing." He said OK, we rented a studio, I called up all my mom friends and he came up with a class. The first time he taught was amazing. Everybody loved it, so we kept renting the studio every week and more and more people came. It grew just by word of mouth -- eventually we were having 12 to 14 classes a week.
PW: Wow, so it was completely organic?
Lisa: Totally organic. I've always been a huge fan of Jane Fonda -- I remember buying her book and her videos and thought it would be great to bring that back. So it really became a combo of always having Jane Fonda as my idol and having this thing I passionately loved to do.
PW: Do the DVDs tie in with the book you're writing?
Lisa: That book is interesting too. It came out of people always saying, "Why don't you do a diet and fitness book" and me saying, "OK, great!" So I signed with a book agent and met with a writer, but we didn't hit it off, so that kind of died. But I still had a book deal -- it was like, "What do I do?!?" Finally, I found another writer.
PW: Was the process harder or easier than you anticipated?
Lisa: This is one of the hardest things I have ever done because it's morphed into something else. It's a tell-all, biographical, diet and exercise book about my life and how I do what I do. It's been quite cathartic, being brutally honest about marriage, sex and motherhood.
PW: What's it called?
Lisa: "Rinna-vation," which is about reinventing yourself at any age. It's an easy read. I just wanted it to be something that is helpful to people and I'm becoming quite proud of it.
PW: Does being so forthright about your personal life make you nervous?
Lisa: It does, because I've been a very private person -- nobody knows that much about us and it's a very scary thing to open yourself up like that. But I've learned in the last few years that the more you've been through, the more wisdom you gather and the more you share it can help people. And at 45 years old, I don't have anything to hide. I'm not ashamed of anything!
PW: A motto that was put to the test a few weeks ago when every celeb weekly, news show and magazine was reporting on the quotes you gave about how your face looked freakish after too much plastic surgery. Were you surprised that became such a big deal?
Lisa: I was so surprised because it was a really simple thing. In Touch had sent me the pic and said they were going to have a plastic surgeon go through and say what I had done. I thought, "Wait a minute, no. I'm going to say what happened." I went to see a dermatologist in NYC I don't normally use and it wasn't good for me. That simple, no big deal. I never in my life would have expected it to turn into what it did.
PW: Why do you think it exploded like that?
Lisa: I guess because it's just something nobody talks about. Looking back on it, I'm really glad I said it. You know, I have a sense of humor about the whole thing, thank god. I find it fascinating that we're so intrigued by how we age and this quest for the fountain of youth.
PW: I think it's partly why "Benjamin Button" is doing so well.
Lisa: Hello! Right? It's so interesting to me, so I talk about it and be honest about it as a 45-year-old actress in the public eye and say, "You have to stay looking a certain way if you want to be able to work and support your family."
PW: I know it's a bit of the chicken/egg debate, but do you think it's a case of Hollywood demanding it, or actresses doing it and Hollywood liking the results?
Lisa: You know, I think it's much more prevalent outside of Hollywood. The people that I know who have done things, they're not actors. They're every day women and it has nothing to do with Hollywood. I think it starts with the images we see from a very young age that say you have to be thin and beautiful at all times.
PW: Like a Barbie doll.
Lisa: It starts there, doesn't it? And that's the image we get at 4 years old! My girls had Barbie dolls at 1. I think we all have to take responsibility for it, and why wouldn't we want to look like that if that image is what we're being spoon fed as babies. But you can't tell me there are any women you know in their 40s who, if they could look better, wouldn't go and do it.
PW: That's something you must see a lot hosting TV Guide's red carpet pre-shows.
Lisa: Oh my gosh, of course. How long do you think it takes to get that dolled up and look like that. What's the difference between getting your hair colored and going to the dermatologist to have some Botox? Where do you draw the line?
PW: Well, I think it's all about what society condones.
Lisa: I find it fascinating that we're not afraid to say, "I've had microdermabrasion," but plastic surgery is taboo. I think it's the word plastic surgery, because it sounds scary.
PW: Is this one of the topics your new TV show tackles?
Lisa: I don't know if we'll go there because we haven't sussed out all the episodes. We've come up with six so far and go into some really funny stuff. About our daily life and what goes on between Harry [Hamlin] and I, the family, trying to juggle everything. It's a take off on "I Love Lucy," called "I Love Lisa" and it's really an homage to that. It's going to air on TV Land.
PW: Is it a documentary, openly scripted, secretly scripted?
Lisa: It's not a doc, where cameras follow us around. It's a set-up, scripted show where we come up with ideas of things that have or could happen. It's basically what everyone does nowadays.
PW: I like that you're owning up to it being scripted as well. Very few "reality" stars do that.
Lisa: Well, I would never let cameras just follow me or my family around. The only way we would do it is if we had control.
PW: It sounds like the show features your daughters. Have they been bit by the acting bug?
Lisa: Yes, and this is never something I would want for them, but they are showing interest. I didn't even want them to be in the show but they said, "Please, please, please let us be in the show." It certainly doesn't focus on them, because I don't think that's appropriate, but they are in our lives. Look at Barack Obama. You don't think he wants his girls to be in that level of the public eye? But that's just life.
PW: When did you first know you wanted to be an actress?
Lisa: My mom says it was when I was 3 years old. I grew up as an only child and I think when you are one, you're performing for everybody. This is the next best thing.
PW: I know you're doing a lot of guest spots, but do you miss being on a series?
Lisa: I do, and I'm putting it out in the universe to revisit that. I love acting and I miss doing things like "Melrose Place." What I don't miss is the grind of being on a set 12-18 hours a day. I've been blessed that I can be with my children and have a life doing the job I do, so I would love to be a part of an ensemble piece, where I could come in and out or be a recurring guest star.
PW: Kinda like you did with "Veronica Mars," my favorite show ever?
Lisa: Well, I hear they're doing a movie...
PW: Yes they are, and we never found out if Lynn was really dead or not!
Lisa: That's right! Get Rob Thomas on the phone! That car door was just open!
PW: What about the proposed "Melrose" spin-off, would you like to be a part of that?
Lisa: I'd be the first to do it, but they always want the people who don't want to do it! [laughs] I'm like, "I'll do it! I'll do it! Please call me!" But I'm so far down on the totem pole. If they go through everybody from Heather [Locklear] to Grant Show and they turn it down, maybe then they'll say, "Let's call Lisa!" Wouldn't it be fun to bring Taylor back?
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