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Actress, comedian and Grammy award winner Tiffany Haddish is booked and busy these days. The 41-year-old California native is set to appear on Apple TV’s new murder mystery comedy The Afterparty and she’s recently made her foray into the music world with the release of her hilariously good track “Come and Get Your Baby Daddy.” There’s a remix too might we add. Health is imperative to Haddish and it’s the fuel that has propelled her career to stardom. The former Kids Say The Darndest Thing host is an ambassador for Vitafusion Gummy Vitamins, an initiative that the actress has used to help shed light on food insecurity while empowering her followers to make better lifestyle choices.

MADAMENOIRE recently caught up with Haddish to hear more about how she balances health with wealth, activism and her forthcoming role as the late great track and field icon Florence “Flo Jo” Griffith Joyner in the legendary athlete’s upcoming biopic.

What inspired you to kick start your health journey in 2019 and how have you maintained your workout schedule now that the pandemic is starting to slow down a bit? 

To maintain that workout schedule you have to make the time for it, period. Just like anything that you care about. I have learned over the past two years to care more about my flesh because you know if you let em’, people will run you into the ground and not give a damn about your health until you’re almost dead, so you have to be in charge of that. I’ve learned that the hard way.

I tore my meniscus and my body was basically like I can’t carry all this, so I had to put in the work. Then I got inspired. There are things I want to do and you have to be fit to do those things.

Tell us a bit more about the work you’re currently doing in support of Why Hunger and the fight to close the food insecurity gap?

I started working with Vitafusions gummy vitamins and then they let me know that they were teaming up with Why Hunger and that they were going to donate up to $100,000 to help Why Hunger get to its goals of $1 million to feed more communities and bring them more delicious nutritious options—which is a big thing for me. I live in a food desert, so that seemed like it just made sense.

I remember growing up in South Central, LA. There used to be fruit trees everywhere. You could always find something to eat if you just went for a walk and it seems like, over the last 10, 15 years all of the fruit trees have just disappeared. I’m like where’s the freaking food? If I was a kid today outside playing I would have to come in the house because there’s nothing on the trees. When I was a kid we used to eat out of the trees. We would be outside all day because we had a lemon tree, orange tree right there, plums, avocados, there were all kinds of things available to us.  When I found out that Vitafusion was teaming up with the Fruit Tree Planting Project, I was like yes! I’m going to plant some of those trees. I want to get involved in that because when I was homeless that used to keep me going. I would go pick a bunch of oranges out of somebody’s tree. I had all the Vitamin C hunny!

We’re absolutely excited for your forthcoming biopic about the late great Olympian Florence “Flo Jo” Griffith Joyner! What are you doing to prepare your body for the role?

Mind you Flo Jo did this over the course of 15 years. I’m trying to get it in like 2 to 3? So, let’s just put that out there. I have been changing the way I eat for sure and definitely blocking off time to workout and do training. I’ve been meeting with Al Joyner, who was her former husband and trainer, and he’s been guiding me along the way. I lost 40 pounds and then I got a little bit in my feelings about some stuff going on in real life and gained 15. Now I lost about 10 of that, so you know it’s a journey.

How has it been working with Al Joyner on the project? Is he putting you through strenuous training?

Some days it’s really strenuous. Some days it’s like ‘come on give me another challenge’! but he’s definitely taught me a lot. The technique is everything. Her technique was impeccable and I mean if you look at the young lady who broke one of her records with that technique, it’s all about form. Once you get that down, the speed will come. Getting to know him and the family on that journey has been quite interesting.

Your jam-packed schedule has slowly given way to more unexpected outings, including your most recent role in Paul Schrader’s “The Card Counter,” where we see you make more of a dramatic appearance. What’s something else that you would love to do that fans may not expect?

I want to do some Sci-fI and I would like to do directing, producing more writing. Cool stuff! I don’t want to give it all away, but just know I’m always going to come up with something different and unique for me because I think that’s always important to challenge yourself to grow. Y’all can expect some paintings as well, as an artist, I just want to always challenge myself.

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