Staying Fit
Leanne Morgan, 57, is finding success in her 50s. Video clips of the comedian began circulating on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, and people loved her thick Southern accent and hilarious storytelling. She landed a Netflix special, Leanne Morgan: I’m Every Woman, and her first movie role in the upcoming You’re Cordially Invited, playing Reese Witherspoon’s big sister. She’s also in the midst of a cross-country stand-up tour spreading laughter with her relatable humor about motherhood, marriage and menopause.
What do you feel has led to your recent success?
Timing. I’ve always talked about the same kind of stuff. I’ve done comedy for over 20 years. There were times I’d be up on top of the world. … There were other times I could not get arrested. Nobody cared. I’ve always talked about women our age — women that are vital and feel good and have life left and that Hollywood ignores. I remember looking at my grandmama when she was in her 50s and thinking she looked 100. It’s different now. We want to feel good and accomplished and do things. I hit a niche with women. They’re proud of me. They want to see me win because they feel like I’m speaking for them.
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You talk in your act about going through menopause. Any tips for the women trying to survive it?
Oh my darling, it’s all the same thing that you’ve heard about everything else. It’s about taking care of yourself really and truly. Getting out, moving every day, having community, eating right, all those things that we all ought to be doing anyway. I look back on it and I think … I would eat out of emotions and I would eat the wrong things. I remember being so tired and my thyroid had crashed and I went to bed instead of getting out and walking or exercising. I let it whip me, and I shouldn't have. I should have done the exact opposite. I should have taken care of myself better. My children were leaving for college, and that made me sad. It’s a weird time in a woman’s life, but I would have coped better if I could do it now. I know now. If I could go back, I would do it differently.
What are you doing now to keep yourself healthy?
I got up this morning … and I went and did a 20-minute full-body workout I Googled on YouTube, “women’s exercise with weights over 40.” I ate an apple and what was supposed to be a protein drink, but it was more like a slushy, with a lot of good greens. I’m realizing that for me to do this and keep this pace up, I have got to train like Olympians. A lot of people in the business said, “Leanne, you need to take good care of yourself because it’s gonna take a lot of stamina.”
