Kelly Osbourne grew up in front of our eyes on her family's television show, The Osbournes, on MTV. She has made marks in singing, dancing and acting through the years, and has a new movie with Miley Cyrus on the horizon as well as more seasons of the Fashion Police on E!
Nunn on One recently sat down with Osbourne at a casting call searching for the new spokesperson for the Material Girl line at Macy's on State Street.
Windy City Times: Hi, Kelly. How are you feeling after your recent accident?
Kelly Osbourne: It was a bit of a shock. That is why I am wearing this hat.
I am doing much better than I was for sure. I had never cracked my head open before. It was a complete and utter accident, which makes it all the more embarrassing. It wasn't like someone hit me or I fell. I was showing someone how to ballroom-dance, he dipped me back and my head hit the corner of a speaker. Luckily one of the security men used to be a paramedic and he cleaned me up. The cut was a paper cut but it bled so much! So we thought it would be the end of the night and [we'd just] go home. I went to a hotel and didn't feel right; then next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance. It was very scary.
WCT: Well, I am glad you made it back to Chicago.
KO: I couldn't let anyone down with this event.
WCT: You have been to our city many times recently.
KO: I have been here three or four times in the last two months.
WCT: I was in the audience at The Rosie Show when you appeared there.
KO: It was fun, wasn't it? Don't you think it is a great show?
WCT: Yes, absolutely.
KO: She has a great way of making everyone feel welcome and feel a part of it.
WCT: Now I can finally tell you face-to-face what standing up to the L.A. protesters at Gay Pride meant to me. Thank you and your mother, Sharon.
KO: That is something that we will always fight for no matter what is equal rights. Nobody has the right to say who you can or can't love, nobody. No god that I have ever heard of has the right to say that.
WCT: I spoke with your friend Martyn Lawrence Bullard and he told me to hit you up on Twitter if I want an interview with you.
KO: [Laughs] Yes, I am on there a lot.
WCT: Did Madonna reach out to you for the Material Girl collection?
KO: It was actually through Lola. We met on the side of the stage during a Jay-Z show in London at Hyde Park. Someone came up to me and asked if I would meet their friend Lola. I didn't think for a second that they meant Lourdes because I didn't know that was her nickname or anything. All of a sudden she was standing right in front of me and I thought, "Don't fan out or be a dork."
I was trying to keep my cool and I could tell she was trying to keep her cool, too. We started talking about fashion and we exchanged phone numbers. We texted a bit and then a couple of months went by. After that I got the phone call asking if I wanted to be the next Material Girl. I was so excited and said, "Of course!" I was scared shitless because I am not a model.
WCT: How hands-on do you get to be?
KO: I don't have anything to do with designing the clothes. That is all Lola and Madonna. They deal with that. My favorite part of the job are the mall appearances. When I think about a mall appearance I always think about the singer Tiffany singing, "I Think We're Alone Now." I was worried that was what I would be doing with a mall appearance. It ended up becoming these amazing experiences.
Last time I was here in Chicago there were mothers crying with their daughters. They get the opportunity to ask me any questions about fashion, style, self-confidence—whatever it would be. These appearances started to become these motivational speaking sessions. They were crazy! It was such a delight to me to meet the people that are the reason that I have what I have. They always cut off the line at a certain point but I tell them, "They have waited here for hours and I am not going to not take a picture with them. It is not fair." So it has been an amazing journey. The fact that they asked me to find the next Material Girl spokesmodel is such an honor in itself as well. I get to pick who will fill my shoes but still get to be in the photo shoots with them.
WCT: You get to mentor them…
KO: Yes, help them along the way, that's it. I find that to be an amazing opportunity that has been given to me.
WCT: How has the casting been going?
KO: It has been incredible, to be honest with you. I have had all types of women; you wouldn't believe it. We have had a couple of diamonds in the rough that I am really hoping to get through with [Madonna's] and Lola's approval. When people come in and hand us their model card then they are automatically not in the competition because we are not looking for a model. When they hand us a Ford modeling card then I say, "Thank you for waiting in line but that is exactly what we are not looking for."
WCT: So you want the everyday kind of person.
KO: We are looking for a true Material Girl, somebody who likes to have fun with fashion. Who likes to take risks, confident in who they are, that doesn't care what people think of them. They have to be a good public speaker because you have to do these appearances. They need to be an all-around cool chick, a true Material Girl.
WCT: It's like American's Top Material Girl!
KO: It really is. It is becoming like that.
WCT: Will there ever be some Material Boy clothes?
KO: That would be interesting but I think it will always be a female line, without sounding too sexist. You never know but I don't think a boy is going to go into the shop and want to buy that Material Girl jacket unless it is the boys out there with the flair!
WCT: What is the next event you are covering with Fashion Police?
KO: I land tomorrow. I go to bed, then at 6 a.m. I am taping Fashion Police.
WCT: With my buddies Joan and Giuliana...
KO: I love them!
WCT: Is there a website people can go to audition to be the next face of Material Girl?
KO: That is what I want to get across to people. If you can't go to one of the castings then you can sign up online. Click on the website, post a picture of yourself and write up to a 100 words why you think you could be the next Material Girl. People can vote online as well. We are going to narrow it down to 36. Those picks will all go on the Internet and people vote for the top 10. The top 10 get flown to New York and I believe it will be me, Madonna, and Lola who pick the final winner.
WCT: They should film a reality show about that one.
KO: It would be interesting. It is scary for me because the girls that come leave everything they have out on the table in such a vulnerable way. They stand in the middle of Macy's having to explain to me whom they have never met before why they should be the next Material Girl. Some girls just panic and lose it. I calm them down a bit and tell them we are not going to bite. If one girl says something really, really good then the next girl will just copy her. It is really funny!
Be your own girl and check out www.materialgirlcollection.com/fall_2011 on ways to audition for the next Material Girl plus see a hilarious video featuring Madonna and Lola. For more Macy's, visit www.macys.com .
