Rosalee Mayeux: From Ford Model to Stand-Up Comedian
- RYMER&Co
- Jul 2
- 6 min read
Actress and comedian Rosalee Mayeux has lived many lives, from Ford model to Hollywood actress and now stand-up performer. As her new comedy special Model Mom reaches audiences worldwide, she sits down with RYMER&Co to talk about reinvention, motherhood, comedy and the experiences that shaped her remarkable journey.
We have readers in different countries, could you introduce yourself for those who might not know you?
Oh, bonjour! I was lucky enough to be a Ford model in NYC and went on to work in Europe, London, Germany, Italy, North Africa, and Spain in the 80's. It was a grand time to be a model, singing to Boy George, traveling with jeans, fishnets and living in one leather jacket. Coming from Louisiana, I spoke French before I spoke English, and then by kindergarten, we had to learn English perfectly, and leave our heritage behind to fit into American culture. So when I got to Europe I only knew my 200 year-old Cajun French, which got me into a lot of trouble. As a kid in Louisiana I ate oyster po-boys long before I tasted a hamburger, learned how to cook and sew, with my mom making all my clothes. Modeling and acting with big Hollywood stars can get heady, but that upbringing kept me grounded. Then, becoming a parent, I learned so much about love! From modeling to acting to parenting to surviving a dangerous cancer, I had to rely on every strength I had. I was supposed to die, and then I surprised everyone and lived! And now I get to share all that in my comedy. I think everyone can relate to some part of my story, and being able to laugh at ourselves is salvation. Nothing better!
You were born in an adoption home in Louisiana and raised on a rice farm. What do you remember most about your childhood, and how did those early years shape the woman you are today?
I definitely appreciate all I was given with that early life. My grandfather was a rice farmer, and his philosophy was, “A day with your hands in the soil is a day being with God".
Plus, I was so spoiled by two parents who really wanted me. But it doesn’t take away that feeling of being the odd duckling once you go to school and kids tell you, you don’t belong because you look different, and remind you that you are just adopted. I was tall and blonde and my Cajun classmates were by and large petite humans. I had two left feet, it seemed in comparison. So I didn’t identify as pretty, as much as an oddball. I guess that’s what made me into a comedian from early on.
You eventually became a Ford model and worked in New York and Paris. How did that opportunity come about?
So many events had to take place to lead me there! Flunk out of college, and then get a job in a department store, then talk the boss into letting you model, then you can get discovered on a runway, and taken to NY. Oh and you have to be married and divorced by age 19. Welcome to my wild life! It all seems crazy, but that’s just how things went, and I landed in an industry built on the same beautiful clothes my mother sewed out of simple good taste and elegance, just now on runways, where it was all about arrogance, and pretend, and earning money as a young woman, and meeting unique fun girls that would end up being my life long friends. Foof! We were young.
You appeared in commercials and worked with major brands throughout your modeling career. What did that chapter of your life teach you about the entertainment industry?
Shooting over 300 commercials and movies I got to meet such interesting people. And it was fun partying at Studio 54 and indulging in all sorts of things. But once I began having children, I could see that the industry was really pushing me into a lot of hot-girl roles. Meryl Streep called it out: "So many movies we are offered are really just soft porn roles”.
By the 90’s I was raising young boys to men, and I didn’t feel it was cool to be dropping my blouse off and having them have to contend with their classmates making comments about their mother after seeing one of my movies. So I decided that commercials/brand work was a way to go for me. I could still act, and develop my improv skills, and not put my family in uncomfortable positions. I knew it was the end of big movies, but … it paid off. They turned into magnificent guys.
While working in the industry, you faced a life-changing cancer diagnosis. How did that experience change your outlook on life and your future?
It made me funnier. I had always been funny but I was in the beauty world as a model, and even more as a pretend world as an actress. When you have to stop, and look at yourself, spend time healing and stand still, just grateful to be alive, you will definitely find out what’s important; it is not just earning and mothering and producing and protecting. There’s no denying the absurdity of life. And that’s when I flipped it. There’s so much joy and growth in finally being able to say what you really feel - no filter. Facing my mortality made it impossible to go back. A lot of people like my new mouth, ha! And so do I.
Reinvention is a major theme in your story. What advice would you give someone who feels it's too late to start over?
Don’t get trapped into the old way of thinking, and live your life as if age could ever define you. It’s a mythology that cos’t pas intéressant. We must think of ourselves as inside our lives as a whole. We never stop learning and never stop giving back. Why would you make a choice that would limit yourself?
How did stand-up comedy become an outlet for you during some of the most difficult periods of your life?
I was tricked into becoming a standup by a producer who loved me and saw me struggling after cancer. He said I was miserable because I needed to be telling my silly stories on stage, in my own voice, instead of playing characters for now. Coming out of so much physical challenges, unable to stand up without shaking legs, so much chemo and pain, he was so right. My journey needed addressing. I needed to find my strength again through storytelling, from my absurdist point of view, and then remind my happy place in art through that. He was right, and worked like magic. Suddenly, I found myself in a world of young comics, and I oddly could relate. I knew it the moment I sat in the back of The Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard. These were my people. I found my new home.
You're appearing in the new film Love at First Spite and the upcoming Canadian series Lost in Regina. What attracted you to those projects?
Love at First Spite: This project was the love child of a group of writer producers called the Deadline Junkies in Los Angeles. They'd develop a script and then tag us actors to come do readings of their latest works. I was one of several in the group and had a blast every week doing all sorts of characters they’d written. Then they wrote Love at First Spite, it was double the fun actually making it into a film! I love rom coms, so it was a blast! Lost in Regina: dropping into a character, faking accents, losing all identity, specifically funny ones in comedy, is so much fun! The writer/producers of Lost in Regina were amazing talents and are always on huge projects across the globe. Look up, Camille Solari! She’s a powerhouse of talent!
Your new comedy special, Model Mom, is now streaming worldwide. What story were you most excited to share with audiences in this special?
This is a love letter to my kids, originally written during my first five years of doing standup, and linked to the most important story to me - the grit of raising two boys to manhood in Los Angeles in the 90’/2000’s. That story won the Columbine Award for non-violent conflict resolution at the Moondance Int’l Film Festival, and yet I had never recorded it. It was pivotal in the relationship with my teenage boys, and gave them the backbone to become the magnificent men they are today. And now, in the special, with all my harrowing boy jokes, we get to laugh together at those tough times.
Finally, what goals or dream projects would you love to pursue next?
My next exciting opportunity is pitching “Comedy Girls Road Trip” - starring me and Jessica Wellington for the first season - and previews are already on YouTube! CGRT is about two unknown comics, trying to get stage time on the road, with no fame, no glory, and nothing booked. That’s not a tour. That’s a road trip! And want to film worldwide now! You can find Comedy Girls Road trip on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@comedygirlsroadtrip2383 and Rosalee Mayeux, Model Mom Comedy Dynamics special at www.rosaleemayeux.com.
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Journalist: D.R.
Courtesy of Marque PR #RosaleeMayeux #Comedy #Acting
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