Exclusive- Loretta Devine is Natural!

A CurlyNikki correspondent got 4 minutes with one of the hardest working women in show business, acclaimed actress Loretta Devine! While on the red carpet at the Emmys, she shared about her experiences working with Tyler Perry and revealed that she too is a proud member of Team Natural!

How does it feel to be here on the biggest night in television?
This is so exciting, I’m over the moon and overjoyed to be here! I won an Emmy at the Creative Awards last night, so a little of the pressure is off… I just had to worry about being beautiful and I feel successful at that.

How did it feel to win?
Oh God! I couldnt’ believe it, I was in total shock. I don’t even know what I said in my winning speech but I got a chance to see it on reels and it was okay. I’m very happy about it.

Tell me about being apart of the cast of Grey’s Anatomy.
It’s always like coming home. Jim Pickens plays my husband and it’s like butter. It’s real smooth, we don’t even have to talk about it, we just do it and I love working with him. It’s been going on for 7 years so this nod means a lot to me. I hope that now that I’ve received this Emmy they will create a larger role for me.

As an actress would you like to take that on? Regularly playing someone with Alzheimer disease?
I already did, I did four episodes of that. It’s sort of devastating to have to go into that, but I have lots of friends and family that are dealing with it.

Tyler Perry was just named as the biggest earner in Hollywood. What are your thoughts on that?
I wish he’d give me some of that money! [Laughter] 137 mil! Oh my God! Hey Tyler! How you doin’?! [Laughter]

As someone who has worked with him, what are your thoughts on him as a creative director or someone with a creative mind?
He’s very creative. He really gives you the range to do all of the things you want to do. But he really knows what he wants… he knows what he likes and he can do it in 2 or 3 takes and move on. So he was really fun to work with. He really takes care of his actors in that he gives you a lot of love and appreciation, so I really appreciated that when I worked with him.

Do you wear your hair naturally or are you relaxed?
I have braids in now and that’s as close to natural as you can get! I love the braids because they make me feel youthful and I can swim and still get out of the pool and look gorgeous for my old man.

I don’t wear braids all the time though, just off and on. My hair is in a short, cropped natural most of the time, especially off season. You know for different characters you have to wear differernt wigs for contemporary looks, but I love my braids.

What do you do to maintain your hair in the off season?
I actually put Vaseline Cocoa Butter on it because it makes it shine as well as keeps it nourished and crisp. Easy! I love it!