Cat Deeley

By: Brett Cohen | July 06, 2008 | Profile

Apparently, Cat Deeley is the biggest star you’ve never heard of. From the moment I arrived at her intimidatingly fabulous home, perched high above Beverly Hills, and made easy introductions with the British beauty, I knew this to be true. I was aware of her, vaguely, as host of the reality dance competition show So You Think You Can Dance, which begins its third season this spring with Deeley as its sparkling emcee. As it turns out, this bubbly blonde is actually the UK’s female version of Ryan Seacrest: She’s everywhere and just might be taking over the world one annoying television show at a time.

And in the meantime, she’s got this whole celebrity thing down to a science. From the chic hillside home, complete with zebra-print rug and Andy Warhol-esque Beatles portraits, to the requisite two stylists/best friends to each expertly cultivated charming smile, this is a woman who knows how it’s done. After all, she may be new to Hollywood, but she is no novice. After winning a modeling competition at 14, Deeley began her career straight from high school. She has worked as an MTV UK presenter and host of countless shows, and has interviewed the likes of Madonna, Mariah Carey and U2. And today, I was interviewing her.

The afternoon began with an exclusive Malibu Magazine photo shoot of an elegant Deeley lounging on her balcony. Perhaps it was the altitude or maybe the hairspray fumes, but as I sat, banished to a far corner where I was out of the way, I found myself falling a little bit in love. From the moment she stepped out, fresh from the makeup chair, and took her place in front of the camera, something happened. It was as if she suddenly switched on and lit up. She luxuriated in the camera’s gaze, turning this way and that. Every pose was perfect. Occasionally, she would erupt in an unprovoked fit of giggles that resulted in perfect shots of a perfectly delighted Cat. And then she would tousle her hair and look instantly smoldering. Needless to say, neither I, nor the photographer could keep our eyes off of her.

“Wow. You’re a pro,” I breathed from the sidelines. She laughed breezily, once again, producing a flawlessly photogenic angle.
“We’ve all got homes to go to. Don’t want to be here all day,” she said with a shrug, her accent ever so slightly more My Fair Lady than Lady Di.
And true to form, with a few more practiced hair tosses, the photo shoot was done and it was my turn to sit down and have a chat with my new girl crush. I grilled Deeley about everything from how she landed her current gig to her favorite karaoke song. For a professional celebrity, she spoke with surprising candor about blogging naysayers, her perfect man and the joys of an In N’ Out double-double, animal style.

Malibu Magazine: So, tell me about landing your gig as host of So You Think You Can Dance?
Cat Deeley: Well, there was another lady hosting it before me, and she was pregnant the second season so she couldn’t do it. Nigel Lythgoe (creator of So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol), he is the judge on the show, knew me from back in England and knew of my experience and all the shows that I have hosted. I went to see the show, the guys at Fox loved me and I had a meeting with them, and they said, “Would you be interested in doing this?” And I said “yes!” I just wanted to rip both their arms off as I grasped them because it was just such a great show. It was entertainment, shiny floors, fun, upbeat. It was a reality show, but a feel-good reality show. The dancers have such amazing talent and I’m completely in awe of it. I mean, I can’t dance myself at all. A shoulder shimmy is about all that I can manage. (She shimmies.)

MM: So you don’t think you can dance?
CD: I do for fun. But lives will be lost if I actually head for the dance floor. I’m not joking, like literally, my flailing limbs are everywhere. But if it’s a good wedding or a good night out …

MM: What do you love about Los Angeles?
CD: I love that I can be in the studio one minute in a beautiful dress, in full makeup and heels — which I really love — but then I can really satisfy my tomboy side, too, and be galloping and grubby and dirty and surfing and having a beer and a burger. That’s for me. I love that about L.A. I just love the sunshine and palm trees, and the healthy lifestyle. And then if I fancy little English country pubs, and sausages and mash, I can go home and get my fix there.

MM: What about the men here? Very different from British guys?
CD: I think here men are a little more groomed, maybe. They like manicures and pedicures a bit more than at home, which to me is slightly ... ’cause I hate manicures and pedicures. I’m just a real tomboy, and I can’t really be bothered to sit there that long. I’d rather be doing something else. It’s the same as when I go to the hairdresser and they wash my hair, and they’re like, “Do you want a blow-dry?” And I’m like, “No! I don’t want a blow-dry. I just want to get out!” I think that’s one thing about the men here. They always look a little more groomed. Most of them are probably more groomed than I am. I prefer to kind of be natural and not wear makeup and not wear nails and all that kind of stuff. I’d rather be reading a book or riding a horse than sitting, literally, watching paint dry.

MM: What about L.A. nightlife? Do you go out much?
CD: I love going for lovely dinners. I like sitting down with a big group of friends, chatting, eating great food, great conversation, great wine. That’s so my bag. I just love doing that. But occasionally I have been known to do karaoke at Villa or a bit of ridiculous salsa dancing downtown.

MM: What’s your karaoke song?
CD: It is Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain. It’s kind of torch song for all the girls in the audience. It starts off kind of slow and you can almost whisper it a little bit and then really get into it. That or Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley. I love Elvis. He’s just — I love Elvis Presley. He’s amazing. And every time I see Tom Jones, he always turns around and tells me the most fantastic Elvis Presley stories. And I’m like, “Really? What happened then?”

MM: Elvis would have been a great interview. Who else would you love to interview?
CD: I’d love to interview Steven Tyler — I’ve never interviewed him — just because I think he’d have great stories. He’s been there, done that. He was teetering on the brink of the precipice and then jumped, and somehow managed to come back. I just think he’d have great stories. I’m attracted to anybody that can tell me great stories or tell me about anything that I don’t know. I find that really attractive.

MM: Steven Tyler, huh? That’s your type?
CD: No, I don’t really have a type at all. I want someone who makes me laugh, most importantly, hilariously funny, someone who can teach me about things that I don’t know anything about, be it art or wine or literature or gardening or planes or helicopters or opera or whatever it is. And I want someone who I can’t stop kissing — which sounds all very easy. It doesn’t sound like I’m asking for too much, but then you try and find all three at once, and then you turn around and go, “Oh, that’s actually quite difficult. That’s quite a tall order, that one.”

MM: Ever dated a surfer?
CD: I love surfers! I’m just learning. I am terrible. I am really not good, but my enthusiasm makes up for my lack of technique. Literally, I love it. I came out of the water the first time and was like, “Ahhh! That was amazing”. It felt like the blood was going through my veins. I mean, I got surfboards in the head and in the face, and I got flung around. I’m really no good, but I am super enthusiastic about it. And I was like, “Now, let’s go and get a dirty burger and a beer. Like totally, dude!”

MM: You’ve got the surfer lingo down.
CD: Yeah. Surfers are lovely — something about the whole relaxed, laid-back thing. I just love the ocean. I love the fact that you can sit on the beach or swim in the ocean, and it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do or how powerful you are or any amount of materialistic things you’ve got. You sit in front of the ocean and you feel 7 years old again because it’s so enormous and it could crush you in a second, and you suddenly realize how insignificant you are and what a speck you are on the face of the earth. I think that’s really healthy. I think it’s really important to feel about 7-years-old sometimes and be knocked into shape a little bit, and not to be thinking that you are that special. And I think that surfers have that kind of energy and attitude — and great suntans. It’s that chill vibe thing. And in the scheme of things, how big are the problems we’ve got? I like that attitude.

MM: Is that what inspires you, the ocean?
CD: If you enjoy every single second, you find inspiration in everything. So, keep your eyes and your ears wide open, and take everything in. There’s nothing more inspiring whether it is watching a sunset at Zuma Beach or dolphins jumping by or eating an In N’ Out burger, double-double, animal style. You know what I mean? Either end of the spectrum, I want to grab it all. Even just sitting here, the sun sets right there and I thought that I would get so blasé about it. I thought I’d be like, “Yeah, so what? Another sunset.” Every single night, without fail, it is so exquisitely beautiful, it moves you to the point of getting chills. And it looks different every time. So, that is what inspires me, really.

MM: OK, Cat, one more thing, and I almost hate to bring this up because you have been so sweet and lovely….
CD: Go on.

MM: Well, you seem to elicit pretty extreme reactions from audiences. From what I’ve read, people either love you or can’t stand you. Why do you think that is?
CD: You know what? I’ve got no idea. I don’t read [the blogs]. Essentially, when I’m on stage, I’m exactly the same as when I’m off stage. There is no real difference between the two. I work hard. I love my job. I don’t try to be anything that I’m not. And if I’m not everybody’s bag, I’m not everybody’s bag. I don’t care. And the show is doing so phenomenally well. You know what I mean? You can just turn around and go “ratings.” I think if I were bad, I wouldn’t be going into my third season.

Her brow is furrowed for a moment at the troubling question, but then she shrugs and smiles her wide smile. Everything is right with the world. I emerge from Deeley’s Hollywood haven a few moments later slightly dazed and thoroughly starstruck. I blink hard against the harsh afternoon light, as if I have just emerged from an engrossing movie.
“I just did this crazy interview with Cat Deeley. She is so cool.” I tell the first person who would listen.
“Who the hell is Cat Deeley?”
But even this doesn’t perturb me. Because I know that it is only a matter of time before Cat Deeley has achieved total world domination. I just hope she gets there before Ryan Seacrest. 

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