Pink Chair Storytellers Exclusive With Jacy Dawn Valeras and Morgan Fairchild
A conversation about life beyond the spotlight and the importance of making others feel welcome.
Photo: Martin Mann
By Jacy Dawn Valeras
Morgan Fairchild is one of those rare figures whose career is woven into the fabric of television. From her Golden Globe-nominated role on Flamingo Road and her Emmy-nominated guest appearance on Murphy Brown to memorable roles on Dallas, Falcon Crest, and Friends, she’s spent decades creating unforgettable characters.
These days, Morgan's story is still unfolding. She’s recently returned to The Bold and the Beautiful, seventeen years after her last appearance, and she is currently co-hosting the podcast 2 Bitches From Texas with her sister, Catherine (which is hilarious, by the way!). I highly suggest taking a listen!
When I got the email confirming that Morgan had agreed to a one-on-one interview with me, I felt a blend of excitement and disbelief. After years of doing this, there are still celebrities who feel a little untouchable. Morgan felt like one of those people to me. Maybe it was the glamorous presence I grew up watching on television, or maybe it was simply the fact that she’s spent decades living her life in the public eye. Either way, I couldn’t believe I was going to have the chance to have some one-on-one time with her.
I couldn’t have predicted that our interview would begin in such an unglamorous way…
Logging on from her bright and sunny home in California, Morgan was early to call, the first sign of a true professional, something I’ve learned not to take for granted. But within moments, we encountered a technical glitch. Morgan was unable to hear me through her headphones. We could still see each other, and I could hear her, so I resorted to writing notes with ideas on how to fix it and held them up to the screen like cue cards for her to read… (thank you, years of working in television, for my ability to troubleshoot tech on the fly!)
We laughed our way through fixing the little hiccup, which was the kind of small, ordinary moment that makes even the most iconic people feel familiar and real. As soon as we could finally hear each other, I snapped back into reality and was reminded that sitting across from me, on my screen, was the Morgan Fairchild audiences have known for decades - elegant,
poised, with that classic Hollywood beauty. I immediately found myself wanting to ask about what exists beyond all of that - about her life away from the spotlight.
***
Jacy: When the cameras are off, and you have time to yourself, what really fills your days, and what are the things that keep you curious and engaged?
Morgan: You know, I read a lot. I’m a voracious reader. I always have been. And I have all these weird interests. I wanted to be a doctor or paleontologist when I was a kid, so I try to keep my hand in all that. On my Twitter and Blue Sky I’m always trying to tweet new archeological discoveries, neolithic, paleontology, medical breakthroughs.
One of my weird hobbies is emerging viruses and epidemiology. During the AIDS crisis, I realized that my weird hobbies that everybody teased me about, that I’m always sitting in the corner on set reading a book … suddenly, when Rock Hudson got sick, I was the only famous face they had that could go on Nightline and explain what a retrovirus is and how you do and don’t get it.
I felt a moral obligation to do that even though I knew it would hurt my career, and it did.
Jacy: How did it hurt you?
Morgan: Because you know, I’ve been told by casting people that when my name would come up in a casting room, they’d say, “Oh, she’s too controversial.” Suddenly, you have a sex symbol, the person you have in the pinup on your wall, saying, “You’re going to have to change the way you approach sex, guys.”
***
Listening to her, it was impossible not to hear how curiosity and responsibility have always been a part of her life, long before podcasting made those qualities popular, a thought she followed with that deep, genuine laugh of hers.
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Jacy: It feels similar to the approach you take on your podcast, 2 Bitches From Texas.
Morgan: The same thing. Have fun, but try to educate people about how to approach life. To be kind and to be giving and to try to see the other person’s point of view. Try to keep reaching out, to keep educating yourself so you can educate others. You know, I’m not a sports person so I’m not out playing tennis. I’m a bookworm. I’m so boring!
Jacy: To me, it doesn’t sound boring at all, and I think it makes you a great mentor too.
Morgan: Well, thank you. You value those people in your life who were kind and who looked out for you, and you want to do that for other people. A lot of the younger people now, they don't want mentors, but I was always very grateful for my friendships, for Bette Davis, Vincent Price, Roddy McDowell, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Jayne Wyman, the wonderful people that I got to work with who were really kind. They accepted me as one of their own. Even though I was the new kid in town, and they were people I grew up watching. So you always want to be that for other people and the funny thing is to this day, I’ll have somebody come over to me in a restaurant and say “You won’t remember me but forty years ago I was guest starring on Flamingo Road and you were the only one who came over to say hello, welcome to the set, here’s where the ladies room is… come walk over with me”. That’s a big part of life. Welcoming people into your space. To be a welcoming beacon as opposed to a get lost beacon.
***
After the interview ended, Morgan & I stayed logged onto Zoom, chatting about mutual friends we both have in Nashville. Her iconic, deep laugh, so genuine and unguarded, filled the space between us, and the idea of Morgan Fairchild as untouchable quietly fell away. What took its place was something far more meaningful. A sense of generosity, curiosity, and responsibility that felt as instructive as it was inspiring. I didn’t just walk away with a successful interview; I left feeling welcomed and mentored by her.
Visit www.jacydawnvaleras.com. Follow her on Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, and Facebook. Listen to Famous With Jacy Dawn Valeras and watch her on Nashville Entertainment Television
