Fortune Feimster is still reeling after not making the most of her time with Dolly Parton.
“I met Dolly Parton at a party a few years back. I really wanted a picture with her, but the event said no pictures at the party, so I obliged,” the comedian, 44 — whose new stand-up special Fortune Feimster: Crushing It is streaming on Netflix now — reveals exclusively in her 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me feature in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “When I got home, like 20 people from the party posted their pictures with Dolly.”
The legendary country singer, 79, wasn’t the only star Feimster has crossed paths with. “When I was a journalist — my day job while I was pursuing comedy at night — I had the chance to interview Julie Andrews at the re-premiere of Mary Poppins,” she shared. “I was starstruck and she was delightful.”
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Keep scrolling for more fun anecdotes from Feimster, who’s currently bringing her stand-up routine across the country for the “Takin Care of Biscuits Tour.”
1. The greatest lesson I’ve learned as a woman in my 40s is to tell everyone in Hollywood I’m in my 30s.
2. My favorite memory from attending Peace College was when I spoke at my graduation, and it made me realize how much I loved public speaking. From then on, I wanted to be a motivational speaker like Chris Farley’s character Matt Foley on Saturday Night Live. Little did I know, I really just wanted to make people laugh like Chris Farley.
3. My hometown of Belmont, N.C., is really small and there wasn’t much to do there growing up, so we would all gather at the Presbyterian church parking lot and hang out until the cops showed up and made us leave. I was like, “I thought you guys wanted us to be at church?”
4. My most embarrassing moment was when I once ate a charcuterie board before a show and halfway through the show, I started coughing and spit up some cheese. I didn’t try to hide it [and] said, “Did you guys just see that?!” They were like, “Um, yes.”
5. A good old-fashioned cheeseburger is my favorite comfort meal. Can’t go wrong with that.
6. Chicago has always been a standout to visit when I am on tour. It’s where I met my wife [Jacquelyn Smith], so it holds a lot of great memories, and the people there have been so supportive of me and my career from the very beginning.
7. I wish I had taken some scrubs from the set of The Mindy Project because they were so comfortable, but I ended up with a couple of the suits I wore on the show and the back of my director’s chair with my name on it.
8. My first car was a 20-year-old BMW that we bought from a neighbor. It would constantly stall whenever I came to a stop and wouldn’t turn back on, the sunroof would leak dirty water into my car every time it rained [and] the air conditioner didn’t work, but it lasted until my senior year of college and then one day just died for good.
9. Adam Sandler is the most famous person in my phone book — and he actually texts back.
10. When I was a journalist — my day job while I was pursuing comedy at night — I had the chance to interview Julie Andrews at the re-premiere of Mary Poppins. I was so starstruck and she was delightful.
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11. One of my most favorite comedies is Bridesmaids. I could watch it over and over and never get sick of it.
12. Sandra Bullock was my celebrity crush when I was growing up. She was so pretty and played these funny, quirky characters. I watched her in While You Were Sleeping and was so smitten, even though her character was lying to everyone.
13. In a dream scenario, my alternate profession would be a professional tennis player.
14. I watched Dirty Dancing on repeat when I was young. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to be Patrick Swayze or Baby [Jennifer Grey], but I did know I wanted to dirty dance.
15. I’m a huge fan of Carol Burnett and would love to have a meal with her. My grandmother and I used to watch reruns of her show all the time. My grandmother was pretty buttoned up, so to see how Carol could make her cry laughing was so cool to see. I didn’t realize how much of Carol’s essence informed my own style of comedy. She felt so relatable and nice and didn’t seem to take herself too seriously — all things I aspire for as well.
16. My first under the table job was babysitting the kids in my neighborhood. I started at 10 years old, which seems way too young to be in charge. My first real job was working at the Parks and Recreation Department. I taught tennis lessons, lined softball fields, picked up trash in the parks, answered phones, and helped with their summer camp.
17. My Handsome co-host Tig Notaro got me into treading water as a new way of exercising. It’s good for me but it’s also become a kind of meditation.
18. Our Pomeranian dog, Biggie, is my biggest of treasures. He’s like my son and I love him so much.
19. I’m proud of all of my stand-up specials because so much work goes into building the act and they all represent a different time in my life, but I am most proud of Sweet & Salty. It was my first hour and I had no idea what I was doing, so I just leaned into the silliness of the material and had so much fun. I think it really resonated with people because I was just being myself.
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20. I’ve written some movies and TV shows and it’s my dream to bring one of these projects to fruition. I feel like [after] 20 years into doing this, I have a lot to offer a project from the ground up.
21. I’m not a big fan of having a bunch of things in my house that just end up turning into clutter. I’ll keep a few sentimental items, but otherwise, I don’t collect things.
22. My favorite place I’ve ever vacationed is Thailand. The food was so good and the people were really nice. It’s hands down one of the most beautiful places we’ve visited.
23. My dream projects are to keep working with funny people like Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy. I’d also like to do something fun with my friend Wanda Sykes.
24. There is nothing better than sitting at home on the couch with my wife and my dog with the fireplace on, drinking wine, and catching up on our favorite TV shows.
25. One of my most starstruck moments was when I met Dolly Parton at a party a few years back. I really wanted a picture with her, but the event said no pictures at the party so I obliged. When I got home, like 20 people from the party posted their pictures with Dolly.
