Of Chinese and Vietnamese decent, Jeannie Mai is an American makeup artist who was born in San Jose, California. Since her days of being a makeup artist, Jeannie has added fashion expert, actress and TV personality to her portfolio. Most known for her work as the host of Style Network’s series How Do I Look?, Jeannie recently came to Malaysia for the unveiling of NBC Universal’s 2014 Collection. Hype.My managed to catch up with Jeannie for an exclusive interview.
Is this your first in Kuala Lumpur and how are you liking it?
It is and it is so unfortunate that I am only here for two days as I am leaving on Friday. I love it so far. I think the people are beautiful and I love the fashion sense here. I want to discover more about the style here and I really would like to learn how to use a headscarf (tudung). I’m going to do it and post it up on my Instagram account.
You started of by being a makeup artist, then a celebrity stylist. What made you move to hosting?
When growing up in San Jose, California in a small house with fifteen people living it it, I learned to make everyone feel at home and like they have a role in the family. My dad brought some of his relatives over to live with us, so I was always going around telling my grandma that she’s has to communicate with everyone and she has to learn a new word a day, I did the same with my brother and everyone else living with us. Through that I discovered that I am a people person, that I am good with communicating and making people feel comfortable so I decided to become a host.
Did you have any previous TV experience?
Well I did do a little bit of news and I have hosted with MTV. But How Do I Look? is my fist time on reality television with real people and I would say that I am perfect for it because what you see on How Do I Look? is what you get. Plus, I like catering to people and I believe I do a good job at it.
Keeping Up with The Kardashians is one of your favourite reality TV shows. Which of the Kardashian sisters do you like most?
I love Khloe. I’ve hung out with her and I just love her style and attitude, she’s sassy and cool. Also we Americans have a term “ride or die” and Khloe is just that. She’s a ride or die chick.
In your opinion, which celebrity always gets it right, style wise?
Oh that’s a tough one. I love Kate Middleton’s style. She’s polish, young and so classy. Blake Lively is also one of my favourites because her sense of style is fun and she doesn’t shy away from experimenting with her outfits and she always gets it right. I also love Christina Hendrix. I may not always agree with what she wears but she’s got a great posture and I believe with a great posture, you can pull of almost anything.
If you could dress or style one celebrity, who would it be?
Well I started off with Christina Aguilera but I’ve not worked with her in a while. I would say that I would like to rejoin her because her body has changed so much. After giving birth and everything, I’d love to experiment and work with her again and style based on her body shape.
And with that, we’ve come to the end of the interview. Thank you so much for your time Jeannie and we hope to see you again soon!
