The very funny actress and New York Times bestselling author Jenny Mollen, who has a two-year-old son Sid with actor husband Jason Biggs, doesn't need to find a balance between navigating life as a parent and being a social media star. For her, it's all the same thing – and she has been proudly oversharing details of her personal life since her first book, 2014's I Like You Just the Way I Am.
Jenny is the best-selling author of Live Fast Die Hot Photo: Getty Images
In her second venture, Live Fast Die Hot, the 37-year-old (who understands the value of crafting the perfect Instagram post) shares everything from how she scaled a fire escape to save Sid's life to why she flew to Morocco on a whim for a rug.
The most talked-about subject in this book, though, is her husband – and he doesn't mind at all. In fact, Jason just wants to make sure she isn't embarrassing him with poor grammar. "I don’t think that he is as worried about his image as he is about wanting to correct my spelling," she joked to HELLO!.
Being married to a celebrity since 2008 has provided the hilarious platform for her stories – like selling Jason's rambunctious dog on Instagram or seeking out the perfect "mommy squad". However, it was Jenny's own celebrity status that led her to jump in the cold waters of Lake Michigan with Lady Gaga. Brace yourself as Jenny explains the story behind that frigid dip, and why she couldn't handle the stress of being a Kardashian.
HELLO!: First, we need to discuss your reaction to finding out your Chicago Fire co-star Taylor Kinney was dating Lady Gaga when you were filming."Oh goodness, yes! On the show, he’s so low-key so I didn’t know anything. We were sitting at the airport together, and he’s like, 'You know, the weird thing is we met when we were doing her video for...' – and then he named some Lady Gaga song...
"The next weekend, we were back shooting, and I had put it together that his girlfriend was Lady Gaga. And then all of a sudden, he shows up to this charity event with her and we all jumped into Lake Michigan together."
Jenny dishes on being star struck over Lady Gaga Photo: Getty Images
Your husband Jason is a big part of the book. Is it hard to be so candid about everything?"No, I don't think I know how to not. I don’t find it entertaining if it’s not real. I don’t want to read about the fabricated version of someone’s life. I want to know what haunts you, what are you ashamed of, what embarrasses you, what do you wish was different? I wouldn’t be a writer if I couldn’t tell the truth."
After two books and countless hilarious moments on social media, would you and Jason ever consider reality TV? "Well, we actually just shot an episode of this Queen Latifah travel show where Jason and I go to Hong Kong, and they followed us the whole time. I don’t know. Reality is hard. They’re filming you on the car ride; they’re filming you everywhere. I said to Jason when I was there, 'Being a Kardashian seems like so much work.' I can’t imagine. It’s just like, nonstop."
Jenny and Jason have been married since 2008 Photo: Getty Images
Is there anything that was hard to write about?"It was hard to write about my dad for the first book because I know howsensitive he is. I knew he wasn’t going to take it as well as my mom, who can kind of roll with thepunches and is used to having me tell her everything she has done wrong as a parent."
CELEBRITY BABY WATCH 2016
Can you see your son Sid writing a book about you in the future?"I mean, I hope he just describes me as being hot! I hope he makes me skinny if he writes a bookabout me. I mean sure, I hope my son wouldn’t want to be an entertainerbecause it’s a painful road. No matter what he does, I’m just going to get behind it full force. I have itcoming for sure, and it’s going to be my payback for everything that I said about my parents, so Iwouldn’t be surprised."
How do you think you would react to it? "I don’t know. I think I would be so proud of him. I would be so thrilled that I raised somebody who isdoing something with his life. I would make it about me."
Who is Sid more like? "I think he is more me. He’s a little dictator so he’s kind of like a little power hungry control freak likeme. When he gets mad, he’s very dramatic – the way that Jason is if he stubs his toe. He flails about onthe floor for a half hour letting me know he’s been hurt."
You left us at the end of the book with Jason asking you if it was time to try for another baby. So,are you guys?"I’m pregnant right now! I’m kidding, I’m not. We are going to try to have another one. It was easythe first time once I grasped how to do it, but now it’s just about doing it. It takes some coordinating."
I know you were on a quest to find a good set of mom friends in the book. Did you ever findthem?"I never had a go-to girl squad. I think that I’m only friends with loners, so I have a select group ofloners that I hang out with individually. Since they’re loners, they can’t hang out with each other. Mybest friend is like 19 years older than me. I have another girlfriend who is like six years older than me,single and has nice handbags."
Who would you choose to be in your friend/mom squad? "Ahh, that’s such a good question. I don’t know, maybe Daveed Diggs, who plays Marquis deLafayette in Hamilton. I would have him rap my story to meat all times. Maybe somebody that is really good at hair and makeup: maybe [hairstylist] Sally Hershberger. Jason is the best mom friend I ever had. He takes care of that. He is such a bettermom than me."
