She’s brilliant, stunningly beautiful, and powerfully self-driven. In short, Tamron Hall is undeniable, and her success as the host of “The Tamron Hall Show” is evidence that the perfect blend of hard work and talent will take you places beyond your wildest dreams.
Tamron’s ambition brought her from a modest upbringing in Texas to an award-winning career as a TV Journalist before bravely betting on herself to launch her uber-successful daily talk show. Now airing in over 200 markets all over the country, Tamron’s connection with her guests (and, more importantly, her fans) has made her a household name coast-to-coast.
In celebration of her inner and outer beauty, NEW YOU was thrilled to collaborate with Tamron Hall for her gorgeous cover shoot and even better conversation, chatting about everything from interview tips and beauty secrets to life lessons that have driven her continued success. If you aren’t a card-carrying member of the “Tam Fam” yet, you’re about to be!
NEW YOU:
Your success continues to grow. How have your goals and priorities changed over the years?
Tamron Hall:
I think my goals and priorities have remained the same when it comes to the show, which is to put on a show where people really forget that it’s an hour because we are having fun, and we’re also learning in that hour. We are feeling like a community. For me, the goal has always been to make sure people don’t feel that they’ve wasted their time and that they walk away with something, even if it’s as simple as a smile.
NY:
You’ve covered so many fascinating news stories during your years as a reporter. What’s an important life lesson that you’ve learned from them?
TH:
Listen, listen, listen. I have a list of questions, for example, when I go into an interview. If you watch the show carefully, I will remove those questions. I want to be present. I want to listen.
I think that’s something that’s always a work in progress with so much frenetic energy around us. I’m a mom, I’ve got things going on. The people right now listening to this interview, we all have layers of things going on in our lives that sometimes take us away from listening. For me, that’s front of mind, always.
NY:
“The Tamron Hall Show” has become a staple in television all over the country. How would you describe the connection that you’ve built with your fans?
TH:
It’s family. I look back at when we didn’t have a live audience in studio, about 18 months, maybe a little bit longer than that, I remember thinking, “I can’t do this much longer by myself,” because the audience is my co-host in studio.
Then I remembered the importance of connection through a television screen. I was a latchkey kid. My mom worked two jobs. I would come home, unlock the door, and a neighbor would watch to make sure I was in safely, and I’d watch TV. I can tell you my television lineup from probably age seven until now.
It reminded me that you can connect through that lens and you have to really find that relationship. That’s why when I walk around, people don’t say Tamron Hall, they say Tamron. I take that as a badge of honor because you don’t call your friends by their first and last name unless they’re in trouble.
NY:
What is your secret to conducting a great interview?
TH:
For me, I map out the interview before going in. My goal is to know as much as possible about that person because I want you to tell your story, but I also want to help you tell your story. I feel like I am the best friend who’s walking in with that person, holding their hand and letting them tell their story.
Even when it’s a difficult conversation, and we’ve had many of those on the show, I want the person to feel safe while also understanding I have a job and a responsibility. The audience has certain questions, and they want to hear the answer.
NY:
On that note, what is one of your favorite interviews that you’ve ever done on the show, and why does it stand out to you?
TH:
Oh my gosh. I don’t have a favorite guest or a favorite show. I have a favorite feeling. That’s when you know someone is there, they are present, and they are happy to be on the show and to talk.
I’ve felt it with great people like Michelle Obama, who we interviewed while on the road in Philadelphia. I’ll tell you something I’ve not told anyone. Someone working security came back to me and he said, “Can I tell you something? I overheard Michelle Obama say this was a great interview,” and obviously it’s an honor to have a former First Lady, and certainly a legendary figure like Michelle Obama, compliment your work, but I felt she was enjoying the interview.
We also had an amazing grandmom from Jersey who ranked her grandchildren in order, and they would compete to see who her favorite grandchild was. I could have sat and talked with her all day long. She’d never been on television, and her reaction to us being interested in her life and her wanting to share her story was awesome.
NY:
Hosting daily TV means looking and feeling energetic and refreshed day after day. How do you do it?
TH:
That’s a process that’s evolving. I wasn’t a mom when I started in television 30 years ago. Right now, I practice transcendental meditation two times a day. Something as simple as a cup of coffee revives me… not because of the caffeine, but the comfort. It sets my mood, it sets the tone.
How you start the day is how you end the day. I try to do both. Not coffee at the end of the day but seeking that feeling of comfort. I pray. The minute my alarm goes off, I close my eyes and I have a moment of gratitude. We talk a lot about faith on our show. For me, honestly, this is not about convincing someone to believe what I believe or subscribe to what I believe, but there is a level of comfort that comes in that silence that you need for yourself.
I also mask because of some great advice that I got when I was in my early twenties. I remember treating myself to my first big spa treatment when I was a reporter in Chicago. The owner said to me, “I don’t care how much money you make. Go buy whatever mask you can afford, whether it’s from the drugstore or something at a spa and mask every day.” So, if you see me walking around New York walking my dog with a mask on, that is me. I try to do that daily.
NY:
Most of us are always exploring ways to look and feel more youthful just for those around us. You have to do it every day for cameras broadcasting to the entire country. Beyond masking, what other measures do you take to look and feel up to those standards?
TH:
My makeup artist Raul and I have a basic Tamron Hall face. What I mean by that is we find colors that he believes look good with my skin tone and can be worn with any outfit. We shoot two shows a day on Tuesday and Thursday, so it’s impossible to change my hair and my makeup in that 45-minute period of the break.
Fashion is a big part of our storyline with the show. With the clothes being as colorful as what I have on right now or what we wore in the photo shoot, it’s good to have this basic face that compliments your skin and spirit.
The reality is I’m a woman over 50. This type of makeup and hair is what I feel most comfortable in. I’m a part of the “short hair, don’t care” club. I’ll never probably have long hair again.
I think that I would recommend that to anybody. Find your lane and what’s comfortable for you. Find that basic face. Find your template that you can repeat every day.
I have a 15-minute rule. I put my makeup on in 15 minutes because I think after 15 minutes, I start to find things wrong. I start to overthink things, and then before you know it, I’ve walked out with rosy cheeks and big brows that don’t look right. Accentuate what you have, don’t recreate who you are.
NY:
Like most success stories, your journey included plenty of roadblocks along the way. Can you point to one philosophy that has given you the strength to persevere through life’s challenges and work towards achieving bigger and better things?
TH:
Oh, it’s the bet on yourself theory. I always believed that, but it wasn’t put into real life action until I was 48 years old, and I lost my dream job, or what I thought was my dream job.
Here I was a woman at 48. There was a time in my industry that age was seen as time to be on your way out. That’s not the case today, but it still lingers.
For me, when I pitched this show, I looked at the television landscape and I said, “I have to bet on myself if I’m going to continue.” So, I doubled down on social media and let the audience get to know me through social media, and I used that template to create this show.
My mom was a 19-year-old single parent who faced a world that saw her as an underdog who would never win. She bet on herself by working multiple jobs and sticking to her plan of going back to school and getting her degree. That’s become my mantra in everything. Becoming a mom at age 49, getting married later in life. Anything, I lead with betting on myself.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I don’t regret those mistakes. The biggest things that stick with me are moments where I chose not to bet on myself. Those are the moments that still linger in my heart because I know if you bet on yourself and fail, you’re okay because it was your decision.
NY:
How far ahead into the future do you look and what does that look like for you?
TH:
Oh, that’s the question that makes me cry sincerely, because when I’m looking ahead, I’m not thinking about myself. I’m thinking about my son. What is our relationship like? What type of world he will thrive in? What will that look like and what will he contribute?
One of the things that I’ve really enjoyed was the process of writing my first novel “As the Wicked Watch.” I just finished the second one. That’s as far as I think ahead with work, like what will I like to do when I’m sitting there… maybe in my retirement community, maybe writing.
NY:
You’ve successfully changed and evolved to seize new opportunities many times throughout your life. Do you have an ultimate “NEW YOU” moment?
TH:
Oh, yeah! The day I walked out of “The Tamron Hall Show” doors, I became a new me. It was a job that I wasn’t expecting, but then here I was with a talk show with my name on it, with a team of people working together to create this conversation.
It was also the age, right? I’m sure if somebody asked me at age 27, 28, “Could you host a talk show?” I probably would’ve said, “Of course I can. Can’t you tell? I talk a lot,” but I wasn’t ready then. I wasn’t ready at 35, wasn’t ready at 38. The universe knew I was ready at 48, and that’s why it happened at that age.
That’s why our season premiere of season four was “Living My Life Like It’s Golden”, because that is truly what I was talking about with my friends at home. That doesn’t mean wealth, that doesn’t mean status. That means I hope that I am projecting a light of positivity, resilience and joy every time I walk out of that studio.
Photography: Fadil Berisha
Stying: Jenn Rogien
Hair: Johnny Wright
Makeup: Raul Otero
