Gleefully presenting
Emmy host Jane Lynch, 51, on her new memoir and her Berkshires wedding bash.
>You got married last year out in Western Massachusetts. What’s your connection to the area? First of all, it’s one of the few places where gay marriage is legal. So we love it for that reason. But Lara [Embry, my spouse,] went to Smith, [too].
> Where did you celebrate? At a little restaurant in Sunderland, the Blue Heron. The food was outstanding, and the women who own it were wonderful. It’s an old city building [built in 1868] that was renovated. They cleared the place out for us, and we had a common table for the whole wedding party.
> So, are you nervous about hosting tonight’s Emmys? Yeah. You know – the live stuff. When I did Saturday Night Live, I had the same trepidation. But once I knew what I was doing – what the scenes were – I relaxed a whole lot.
> Only two other women have ever hosted the Emmys solo: Angela Lansbury and Ellen DeGeneres. Another interviewer just said, “It’s only the third time a woman has hosted the Emmys alone!” It felt so 1960s. “We’re going to let a woman host the Emmys alone?” I thought that was funny.
> Is it a shame more haven’t hosted? Yeah, maybe this will set a new standard.
> Ricky Gervais was criticized for his jokes as host during this year’s Golden Globes. What did you think? Oh, I loved it. When you’re Ricky Gervais, that’s what you get. I’m a huge fan, and I laughed a lot.
> On a more serious note, in your new memoir, Happy Accidents, you talk about your addiction to alcohol and NyQuil. Did you have a rock-bottom moment? It was a growing awareness that I was going to have to do something. It’s almost like when you realize your best friend is a bad influence and you have to let them go.
> Did you overcome those habits before getting cast on Glee? Yes. I’ve been sober about 20 years. I didn’t relapse. It was as if the sober fairy goddess popped me on the head, and I’ve been living a sober life ever since. I’m a coffee drinker. I’m still impulsive like I was before.
