Tiffany Haddish speaks about time in foster care and how she's paying it forward
Tiffany Haddish is one of the most famous names in Hollywood. The actress and comedian is known for her candor and infectious energy.
Tiffany is an open book. Nothing is off the table. I recently spoke with the comedian about her time in foster care and how she's paying it forward.
Whether she's posing for cameras on the red carpet or accepting awards, Tiffany is one of the most sought-after comedic actresses in Hollywood. But for the Los Angeles native, her road to stardom didn't come easy.
"I grew up in the foster care system, and I was getting moved around from house to house with my things in trash bags, and that made me feel like garbage," she said over Zoom.
There's one particular move that's seared in her memory.
"I had came home from school and they were like, 'You're moving to another place,' and then they said, 'We already packed all your stuff.' Then I get to the new place, I open up the bag, the trash bag. 'OK, that's what they have.' All my stuff and it's none of my stuff," she said.
Tiffany's outlook on life would soon change.
"So I remember the day somebody gave me a suitcase and made me feel like a person, like I was a traveler, a visitor," she said. "Like I was on a journey."
While living with different families, Tiffany used comedy to get through rough times – admitting some of the adversity shaped her career.
"From the most ghettoist female to the most Hispanic, spanish family. You know, I learned to play the accordion. Like, you know, they got a mariachi band especially like I've learned from so many different types of people," she said.
Her grandmother would soon become her guardian but through the foster care system – a living situation that never felt free.
"I still have to ask the court for permission to do anything that I wanted to do with my life, and asked to be a comedian and do standup comedy and ask to get a driver's license to ask for everything, from the courts," she said.
Today, Tiffany is a bonafide celebrity who speaks candidly about her tumultuous time growing up in foster care.
She's now paying it forward through her She Ready Foundation, donating luggage to foster youth and assisting them with housing, internships, life skills and reminding them of one important thing.
"While somebody might tell you, 'You ain't no good. You're not working. You're not this. You're not that,' they don't know your heart," she said. "Know your heart. Know what you're capable of, and do not quit on yourself. Do not quit on you."
CBS13 and Good Day teamed up with Tiffany's She Ready Foundation and the Myndz Resources Foundation to collect new travel-size luggage for foster youth in our region.
It's happening this Wednesday at Cal Expo from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.