How Actress Lauren Lapkus Balances Caregiving & Career with Humor
It's all LOLs... until it isn't
I'm really excited today to bring you this really, really fun and joyful episode with actor and comedian Lauren Lapkus. I was super fangirling through the whole interview and it was such a delight to speak with her. She’s as lovely as ever in person, or in this case, virtually in person, as she is on screen, and it is such a pleasure to share this, our fourth episode of Season 3 with you. You can listen on Apple and Spotify.
So, a little bit of background here, Lauren and I were connected because I helped to produce a film called Another Happy Day (which is currently making the rounds at film festivals) and our previous guest from Season 1, Nora Fiffer, was the director, producer, writer, and an all-around wonderful person who was able to put together this incredible film.
Lauren plays the lead character in the film, Joanna, a new mom who feels truly terrible at taking care of her newborn, just stumbling through her days. On her desperate search for a friend, she tumbles into an unlikely bond with an estranged aunt-in-law she never knew. It’s the postpartum depression comedy we all need, and I’m hopeful that the film will be more widely distributed soon (I’ll keep you posted).
You may know Lauren as Susan Fischer from the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black or as Jess in the HBO series Crashing, which is where I actually first got to know her work.
She's also appeared in the television series Are You There, Chelsea?, Hot in Cleveland, Clipped, The Big Bang Theory, and Good Girls. She was also in films Jurassic World, The Unicorn, and The Wrong Missy.
If that wasn’t enough, Lauren is also a prolific podcaster… and her output puts me to shame. She has several of her own podcasts, including With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus, LAPTIME with Lauren Lapkus, Threedom, Raised by TV, and Newcomers. Phew!
And on top of alllllll that, Lauren was 37 weeks pregnant when we spoke — in early May, Lauren welcomed her daughter Gigi into the world, joining her almost 3-year-old daughter, Holly.
In this episode we talk about, as cliche as this sounds, how she, as a prolific artistic creator, does it all.
We also get into pelvic floor therapy, her experience in Another Happy Day, and how sets have and haven’t shifted to provide more sustainable and healthy working conditions, particularly for parents.
And we talk about how becoming a mother has made it easier for her to cry on demand when acting, which is just a lovely sentiment.
Please enjoy this episode — it was a super fun one for me, and I hope you like it, too.
Recommended Reading
American Women Are At A Breaking Point, by Elliot Haspel for The Atlantic. I polled you all on Instagram, and over half of you said you agreed.
Birth Rights, by April McLennon for ABC.net. It’s a difficult read (and sad to see this state of obstetrical violence exists in Australia as well as the US), but it’s necessary for these stories to be given voice.
Actually, Having A Baby Changes You Forever, by Miranda Rake for The Cut. A great read on how science finally agrees with everything we’ve always known since the beginning of time.
Dad Brain Is Real, and It’s A Good Thing, by Darby Saxbe for The New York Times. And now science is proving that fatherhood changes a man, too! You don’t say.
Dads’ Nurturing Nature, by Alison Snyder for Axios. The Father’s Day content push gave us some good reads this June.
One Charity To Know About: Pride and Less Prejudice
Every school year, Pride and Less Prejudice select ~15 LGBTQ-inclusive children’s books for PreK through 3rd grade classrooms. Using monetary donations from generous individuals and grants, they buy these books and send them to educators who have submitted a book request (at no cost to the educators).
Their mission is to bring inclusivity, acceptance, and representation into as many classrooms as possible. Learn more here and consider making a donation, if you can!