Nina White
Current star of The Queen of Versailles, Nina White, joins us On The Couch this week. Bringing charm, honesty and comic precision to the stage, White opens up about her most embarrassing story (it may be one of the best we’ve had), and how her life is fueled by laughter, coquito, curiosity and Catholic guilt.
Read our full interview with Nina below.
What do you consider to be your best asset?
I laugh very easily.
What was your proudest moment?
I’m too Catholic for this question.
What is your favorite drink?
Coquito
What is your favorite food?
Chicken pot pie
What is your favorite condiment?
Valentina hot sauce
What is your current obsession?
The album Who’s The Clown by Audrey Hobert
If you could give up one of your vices, what would it be?
Being addicted to snoozing my alarm.
What is the one professional accomplishment you long for most?
I really want to be in a movie with a horse.
What is the one thing you waste too much money on?
Food delivery, and I don’t even do it that often. Something about it feels shameful every single time! See earlier answer about being raised Catholic.
What is the one activity you waste too much time doing?
Scrolling on social media.
What do you consider to be the single greatest threat to your health?
Being a worrier.
What’s the single best trait you inherited or learned from your parents?
To be curious about the world and the people around me. I have an Associated Press reporter for a father!
What’s the single worst trait you inherited or learned from your parents?
You want me to speak against my own mother and father in this newsletter? (Stubbornness. You could call it being on a high horse. But I’m usually right!)
What in the world most thrills you?
There are too many things to count! To exist is to be thrilled and devastated countless times a day!
What current trend in popular culture most irritates you?
Using artificial intelligence, most especially for interpersonal communication or for anything creative. It’s killing our water supply, it’s making electricity bills skyrocket, it’s driving us further into ourselves and farther from each other. We also do not need it! I’ve never once used it. See earlier answer re: stubbornness, high horses, and being right.
What was the most embarrassing moment you’ve ever experienced on the job?
During my first semester of college, I was assigned to be “assistant to the director” for the musical theatre department’s Fall production, The Drowsy Chaperone. The very first rehearsal I attended was also their first run-through of the show—I was tasked with writing down all of the director’s notes. I had to pee for the entire duration of the run, but I just couldn’t bring myself to ask to go to the bathroom. I peed my pants during the final number. We are talking full emptying of the bladder, while sitting in a plastic chair.
What is your favorite place in the world?
Torch Lake, Michigan
What is the most important trait you seek in a romantic partner?
Kindness.
Do you prefer the company of dogs or cats?
I love both.
What would have to happen to make today the best day of your life?
My immediate family would tell me that they were all moving to New York City and/or upstate New York. While they were telling me this, the call would be interrupted. It’s my manager, ringing to tell me that I booked the starring role in a heartfelt yet darkly funny independent film. In my post-booking bliss, I would scroll on StreetEasy. I would happen upon an apartment in Cobble Hill with a backyard for $2,500 a month, ready for immediate occupancy, and it would not be a scam. I would also then find out via a divine messenger that I was healed of my OCD.
What is your personal motto?
Not too high, not too low.