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In her debut comedy special “Rosalee Mayeux: Model Mom,” the former high fashion model-turned-stand-up comic shares stories about her life as a model, actress (“The Lawnmower Man,” “Blast from the Past”) and mother. “My first gig was at the World Famous Comedy Store [in West Hollywood] in the famous Belly Room,” Mayeux said. “It was such an honor and I had a blast! We had a fire audience, courtesy of one of their resident producers, comedian Jimmy Shin. So it was a very cushy beginning!”

The Los Angeles-based comic is active on Instagram (@RosaleeMayeux). This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: Do you have any upcoming trips planned?

A: Yes! Central Valley, California, up to San Francisco this summer. And then North Carolina, Louisiana and Florida in the fall.

Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?

A: San Francisco is my favorite place to eat and hang out with my sons, aside from New Orleans. You'll often find me standing at an outside stall eating local oysters.

Q: Is it challenging meeting your dietary needs on the road?

A: I can always find something I like on any menu anywhere. I stick to a pescatarian diet, so that leaves salads in some places, but feasts from the ocean in others.

Q: What was a trip you took as a child that stands out?

A: Galveston, Texas, where my mom would chase me on the beach. I still have my grandmother's seashell collection all over my home. And another time, my Dad took us to Destin, Florida.

Q: What's the most important thing you've learned from your travels?

A: To be kind to service people who depend on tourism and to respect their land. We are only guests. We are ambassadors of where we come from.

Q: Where are your favorite weekend getaways?

A: I am always wanting more sky, more sand, seeing the sparkling stars and the smells of the wild land. My grandfather was a rice farmer, so my happy place is somewhere I can put my feet in the dirt. It heals and grounds me. The other place I love to weekend is San Francisco, where I get to just hang out with family. It's the sweetest.

Q: If you've ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?

A: One year, my youngest and I took off for Paris to celebrate Christmas Eve [and] booked dinner at the Eiffel Tower. We got lost and walked into Notre Dame for the most beautiful services! We finally arrived at Eiffel and the staff told us people had not shown up for their reservations, so they kept serving us all the extra champagne and desserts. It was snowing, so they gave us snowshoes to walk up on the grates outside on the restaurant's top floors. It was a spectacular and very fat night! Highly recommend.

Q: What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?

A: My final modeling assignment was in the Indian Ocean on Île Maurice. There was gunfire as we changed planes in Africa to get there. I thought, “What in the world kind of assignment was this?!” But as we landed on the Île Maurice, it felt worth it. Spectacular beaches, sugar cane fields and fish cooking on a fire on the sand, while the warm waters lapped at our feet. Man's inhumanity to man felt far away, in this spectacular heaven on earth.

Q: What are your five favorite cities?

A: New York, Paris, anywhere in Alaska, San Francisco and New Orleans.

Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?

A: I still have never been to Budapest! And Japan!

Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A: Face cream and eye masks! Sleep and hydrate are the name of the game.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure when you're on the road?

A: Lobster, croissants and pasta. Calories don't count on vacations.

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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and journalist. You can reach her at www.jaehakim.com, follow her on Instagram and X @goawaywithjae, or read more from her on Substack (jaehakim.substack.com).)

©2026 Jae-Ha Kim. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c) 2026 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.