Chillin' With House Of Payne's Demetria Mckinney (SBH Exclusive Interview)

Demetria Mckinney may play a troubled mother and addicted on Tyler Perry's TBS sitcome House Of Payne, but in reality she is more than happy with her life. The actress no only continues to be praised for her tv role but also for stage plays Meet The Browns. This year, the star is moving towards her first passion: music. Expect her CD release later 2009, but in the meantime, sit back and chill with Demetria and get all the star's insider beauty secrets, away from the limelight....

What's it like working on TBS's House Of Payne?

It has been an awesome experience! I play the role of Janine, who is the wife, ex-wife and wife again of CJ Payne. I got a chance to play a bunch of different characters in one, so it has been amazing.

What's your favorite part of playing Janine?

I think it's the myriad of emotions the fans go through. When I'm not suppose to be liked, it's amazing because people on the street will come up and say, "I hate you!" But then when Janine got back on track, fans felt like they went on the journey with her. All of a sudden, they were like, "OK, we're glad your good now." It's the growing process  that the fans go through with me that's  the most rewarding.

Do you interact with fans in any other way?

I've been talking with the Mary Hall Freedom House. The young ladies there are dealing with drugs and phyical abuse. While I haven't neccessarily encountered the drug abuse situations, I've been there with the physical abuse. It's a testimony to them that regardless of what's going on, you can make a choice: stay in it or move away from it. Sometimes just seeing that someone else can do it is inspiration enough to do it for yourself.

Tell us about the CD you've been working on.  

Singing was my first love. Now, don't get me wrong- I'm having a really passionate affair  with acting! But my heart has been with singing since I was little, and the acting just happened faster. Now I'm ready to go ahead and put myself out there. It's one thing to portray Janine, then go home, put aside all her problems and be me. I wrote and arranged everything on my album, so I'm actually selling my life story in the music. That's alot scarier, but I'm ready for it.

How important is your image to your career and life?

I think it's very important. The very first thing we notice as humans is aesthetic--the way things look. If I'm going to talk to young ladies about self esteem, preserving yourself and knowing your worth, I can't  very well be out there doing the exact opposite. Also, I'd like to have a big family eventually, and I don't want my kids to come back in 20 years and say, "Yo, Mom, what's this?"  So I'm very, very cautious about my image.

Speaking of image, describe how you're wearing your hair.

Actually, I've been a Natural sister for the last two years. It's so liberating! The biggest thing to remember for my hair  right now is to use as little heat as possible because that keeps it healthy and growing. My beautician has me on a very strict regimen for styling as well as my eating habits. I don't eat any pork or alot of greasy foods because whatever you put in your body is going to come out one way or the other.

How is your hair cut?

My hair is past my shoulder blades now. I was trying to grow it out all one length, but I think I'm going to end up getting long layers. I'm not rocking any bangs, but i did that for a long time.

What hair color are you currently wearing?

I just did some highlights to frame my face, and they're a really nice strawberry blonde. It's a nice little pop against my natural hair color

Do you like to experiment with your hair?

Now that i have somebody who has taught me to take really good care of my hair, I'm more apt to change the color. I'm starting to experiment more with curling irons, though.

Any favorite hairstyles?

I really love a cute updo with lots of knots. I also like a really straight look. It's very classic! My stylist also does waves in my hair that looks really exotic.

Do you wear special hairstyles for big events?

I think with big events, a really sleek and simple hairdo can be the most exact way of getting gorgeous. When I went to the Prism Awards last year, I had my hair swept over my eye. I love to sweep my hair over my left eye. The rest was just pressed with a flat iron. A little bit of curl at the end went with it nicely to help the look flow.

Do you like to play up any features with makeup for special occasions?

I love accenting my eyes! I really love the Jane Iredale brand of mineral makeup. It's phenomenal. As far as eyeshadow, I love the Jane Iredale PurePressed Eye Shadow in Smokey Grey. I love gold and natural colors, but ones that really make my eyes pop. I also line my eyes. Some people use black eyeliner, which is great, but just to add a little dimension, I put maroon liner on the bottom to make my eyes pop a little more.

How do you create the smokey eye effect?

I usually use about four shades for my eyes. The lightest color goes around the brow line. Every now and then, I'll highlight the inside corner of my eyes with the little bit darker color than what I use at the brows. The second darkest color goes on the actual lid. Then from the outside corner of the eye and along the crease, I do the darkest color and just blend, blend, blend!

-SBH