Amanda Lepore :: the woman and the diva

You know the Glam Richter Scale jumps 20 points whenever fashion icon, nightlife hostess, and renowned transsexual Amanda Lepore is around. The New York socialite and entertainer has made a career of her looks and couture. Photographers squabble to flash her picture and crowds line up to marvel at her beauty, but this Amanda Lepore is far different from the person she intended to be when she decided to become a girl.

With a rare appearance and performance slated for Folsom Fair Weekend in San Francisco in September, I caught up with Lepore, the Diva, to speak to her about Amanda, the Woman, and how her world came to be, her new single "Turn Me Over," her friendship with Cazwell, and her getting into film and television.

Enjoying her celebrity

BeBe: How is it back there in New York? Have you scared all the hurricanes away?

Amanda: Yes! It wasn't as bad as everyone had thought it would be.

BeBe: Good lawd, because New York really isn't equipped or ready to handle such things. They have enough hurricane with you being there!

Amanda: (laughs) Yeah!

BeBe: You are The Icon. The Legend. The Queen of Nightlife. That is so much to carry on those beautiful shoulders of yours. Do these labels of grandeur ever become too much for you?

Amanda: No, I enjoy it (giggles).

BeBe: You bask in the warmth of them.

Amanda: Right!

BeBe: There is that question that pops up from time to time, what came first, the chicken or the egg? So, I'll adjust the question a bit and pose to you these two statements, and you tell me which is more accurate? Amanda Lepore attends fabulous parties, or parties are fabulous when Amanda Lepore attends.

Amanda: Aren't they the same (rupture of laughter)?

Story continues on following page.

Watch the video of Amanda Lepore performing "Turn Me Over":

BFF Cazwell

BeBe: We could make them that way if you like. I know you get requests and invites to anything and everything social in New York and beyond. How do you prioritize where you'll be, or what criteria must a party have to gain your presence?

Amanda: Well, a lot of it has to do with my scheduling. People that I work with a lot, I try to be supportive of their events, but I am only one person and I can't possibly be at everything. I just go where I can make it, I guess. But just because I get invited and don't go doesn't mean I'm rejecting the party, of course. Sometimes it's just impossible to go.

BeBe: You are one of the most photographed woman in the world. That has to keep you on your Ps and Qs. What does your fitness regime consist of to keep your fabulous body, that you have no qualms in showing, in shape?

Amanda: I go to the gym and everything. That is really a priority to me. When I don't work, I go to yoga and do stretching. Yoga really puts you in touch with your body and mind. During the day I'm usually rhinestoning a dress. Always making things when I can.

BeBe: Cazwell ("Ice Cream Truck," "All Over Your Face," "I Saw Beyonce at Burger King") told me that you were the one who taught him how to rhinestone his costumes.

Amanda: Yeah, I think he saw me and saw how important it was to everything and wanted to try it too. You know, it's important in show business to look right. You have to stand out.

BeBe: You and Cazwell have had a great friendship for many years. How did that all develop?

Amanda: His boyfriend worked at Patricia Field's where I used to do makeup, and I used to have birthday parties every year that were really big. So, one year I asked him if he thought if his boyfriend (Cazwell) would want to play at my party. He said that he was sure he would be very excited to do it. I hired him and then started hiring him like every year. At the time, I dabbled into singing a little bit, but the material wasn't really right for me.

So, one day Cazwell said he really wanted to write a song for me that people would really like. He wanted me to take voice lessons to help me. It was really hard because his music has a lot of lyrics. We started hanging out at clubs, and he really taught me how to perform and everything. I was really scared to do all this stuff. I really just relied on my looks for years. It was kind of scary. But, I did it and really enjoyed it. It was helpful because I was starting to go to other countries and I hadn't had any real performing skills before. It's actually a lot more fun to put on a show and entertain then to sit there and just take pictures with people. Plus people see you on stage more than in a dark nightclub (laughs).

Over the top

BeBe: You have parlayed your life into such a fabulous career. Was that always part of your life plan, or did the persona of Amanda Lepore just happen?

Amanda: It really just happened. I didn't really have any ambition to do this. I did have an ambition to be a girl. That was my main goal. I just wanted to be a pretty girl and left alone. Do makeup and be peaceful and girly. I didn't think about doing what I'm doing now. I was unexpected. Then since I spent a lot of time alone, I used to dream about looking like glamorous movie stars. I didn't want to look like the girls I grew up with or went to school with. Then I go married and lived in the suburbs and it was all quiet and that didn't work out. So, when I came to New York, people wanted to immediately hire me for clubs and stuff because I was glamorous. It was over the top, but it was incidental what happened from it because I was just doing what I liked.

BeBe: You've carried the moniker as "the transsexual with the functional vagina" for quite some time, but we know that your transformation is something beyond the reach of most trannies because of the expense. What do you tell those in transition who struggle to be whom they believe they should be, but not have the financial means to make things as complete as you have?

Amanda: I think the best way to go through the transition anyway is to do things really slowly. There are problems with rushing it. You should take hormones and just enjoy the whole process. Don't rush and get huge implants and stretch marks. You have to give all this time. Getting silicone shots and a big ass overnight, you can't just do these things. A lot has to do how you present yourself with hair and makeup, and acting like a lady. You know money doesn't buy that.

BeBe: I hear what you are saying because it is as much emotional and psychological as it is physical.

Amanda: Very much so. A lot of it is mind over matter. Of course transsexuals are medically maintained. You have to take hormones. But you know there are a lot of lovely girls that don't do any surgery. There are real natural beauties. I think it has a lot to do with styling, too.

BeBe: Well, I've have followed you for many years and it is wonderful how you represent women of the world, not just trans-women, with a lot of strength because I know many people have a narrow mind about how women present their bodies or present their beauty. I have always thought when you present it with strength. There is nothing negative about what you've got and how you've developed.

Amanda: If you work out and you want to show your body, why not? Whatever makes you happy. I really associate looking good with mental health. My mother was schizophrenic and when she wouldn't take her medication she would let her hair go, not wear makeup or anything. When she would get better, she would get her hair done, wear makeup and be happy. That's a classic or extreme case of how all that taking care of yourself - of having pride in your body and doing all those girly things are really important to your self-esteem and happiness. And I'm just expressing that. It's stupid for people to think that it is silly. You got to be happy.

Spreading happiness around

BeBe: That's right, and spread that happiness around!

Amanda: And happiness is makeup, and sequins, and showing off your body (laughs).

BeBe: "Turn Me Over" is your latest single and video. Tell me about your wonderful video directed by Marco Ovando. Do you have to be a hot Brazilian to be in an Amanda Lepore music video? Girl, pleeeese! You make my blood pressure go up!

Amanda: (Laughing) We used real hot models who were just starting out at 18 years old.

BeBe: Now, you make me want to rob the cradle.

Amanda: They were really keen and into doing it. It was really fun.

BeBe: I'm sure the video is going viral on the internet.

Amanda: Yes, the song is going well and the video is getting lots of hits. Marco is also doing my video "My Way," which we shot a lot of it in Ibiza. He went away with me on a trip back there. I performed at Cafe Ole at a big party there. He filmed and used a lot of the dancers there. It's really hot. They do this parade through town before the party starts, like I've never seen before. We filmed all that stuff. They have beautiful dancers from Madrid. This one is going to be very Spanish. And it has a lot of girls in it too, with implants and gorgeous outfits. A lot of femininity in this one.

BeBe: Now, some of your contemporaries such as Candis Cayne and Calpernia Addams have made some headway for trans-women in film and television. Is that an arena you have considered doing at all?

Amanda: Yes, I'd like to be on a transsexual dating show (Calpernia's "Transamerican Love Story"). I am interested in acting. I think it would be really fun. I did those videos with David La Chappelle doing those crazy things with the lipstick. I did dabble in acting with him. I think it is something I would be good at.

BeBe: I could really see someone developing a role for you about the old Hollywood glam with you as a lead.

Amanda: Oh my God! I would enjoy that immensely. I would be very good at it. I study it constantly.

BeBe: Speaking of Hollywood, you don't make it out to the West Coast a lot, and I know you have been to San Francisco a little over the last couple years, but you will be returning during Folsom Street Fair Weekend to San Francisco to perform in a JC Events presentation at the Cafe in the Castro on Saturday, September 24. We don't get this kind of glam very often. Being that it is a leather week celebration, will we be seeing on of your leather creations?

Amanda: I love San Francisco. But I'm just now finding out about this leather theme. You could possibly see me in something like that. I do have a lot of patent leather. I just wore that in a Cazwell and Peaches ("Fuck the Pain Away") new video we filmed.

Well, all the jaws a dropping in the Castro about your appearance in San Francisco regardless what you choose to wear, or not wear, for all the chirren to see, Ms. Lepore. Glam and beauty is obviously synonymous with Amanda Lepore, but less obvious are strength and empowerment for women and trans-women alike which you exude everyday that get up from those satin sheets of yours. Turn us all over, honey!

JC Events presents Amanda Lepore on Saturday, September 24 in San Francisco at CafeSF. For more information on Amanda's San Francisco engagement go to www.jorgechamorroevents.com

Watch the feature about Amanda Lepore: