I realize that this post might not get a lot of interest, but I want to do my part to talk up Wendi McLendon-Covey, who so expertly plays mom Beverly on The Goldbergs. That show is such a treasure trove of heartwarming family comedy mixed with 80s nostalgia. Beverly is the queen in exquisite theme sweaters, making everything ok with her unique approach of being overinvested, pushy and inventive. In a new interview with Good Housekeeping, Wendi explains that she can relate to Beverly because her mom was very similar. Some of my favorite scenes are when Beverly tells the principal of her kids’ school how things are going to be, and Wendi’s mom was just like that! She also has some wise things to say about being a parent. She doesn’t have kids but I get the impression she knows what it’s like.
Wendi on her genius shopping strategies:
“My shopping strategies are as follows: Get online, buy stuff, try it on at home in my mirror – I don’t have a skinny mirror – and return what I don’t need.”
On the ‘80s trends she would revisit:
“There aren’t any! That was an embarrassing decade fashion-wise. One thing that I can kind of get behind is the jumpsuit, except that the ‘80s jumpsuits were made out of fabrics that don’t give. It’s a weird nylon that rustles when you walk by or a denim that has no Lycra in it whatsoever. It makes it feel like you’re wearing a suit of armor. So, no, ‘80s, stay in the vintage stores. We’ll let someone else wear them, but I get my fill of shoulder pads from the show thank you very much.”
On her daily transformation into her The Goldbergs character, Beverly (a mom in the ‘80s with big hair and questionable style):
“Every time I open my closet in the morning and I see what wardrobe has put in there, I think, “There she is. There she is.” Is it a sweater that tells a story of Little Bo Peep? Of course it is. I’m ready to go. Bev has a very specific look.”
On her character on The Goldbergs compared to her own mother—both “smotherers”:
“My own mother was a smotherer. My mother would never storm down to the school and make principals cry. Bev did, but my mother was in my business a lot, and look, I wouldn’t be any different if I had kids. It’s called parenting, you know? And the more they pull away from you in their teenage years, the more you gotta get in there. At a certain age, embarrassment works better than any punishment, or it did for me! So, yeah. I was proudly raised by a smotherer and she’s unapologetic about it, so there you go. Don’t be afraid to love your children in front of other people.”
On her most embarrassing fashion blunder:
“Gosh, I’ve got such a bucket full of fashion blunders, but the one I will admit to because it’s fresh in my memory. I was struggling with my zipper before a red carpet event, but I managed to yank it up. Then, at dinner, the thing just popped open. I could feel it traveling south, and I thought, I’ve got to leave right now or my whole ass is going to be out.”
On being a self-proclaimed ‘crazy cat lady’:
“I’m totally leaning into being a crazy cat lady. Maxine is the queen, Darla is the governess of all boxes, Hunter does no hunting whatsoever, Stewart keeps the possums away and Crash likes to drink out of faucets. He’s the reason we have a drought in California.”
On if she is a ‘gym rat’ or a ‘couch potato’:
“If they had a couch at the gym, I’d do that.”
As the mom of a tween, I know exactly what she means and she’s right. (I can’t get into it, I’ve been told not to tell personal stories and I respect that while still talking around it.) McLendon-Covey may not have kids but she knows what’s up, it’s called parenting for a reason. I’m not looking forward to the teen years but I’m going to be there and stay on top of things. They need us, especially when they act like they don’t want us around, right?
Wendi doesn’t cover this issue of Good Housekeeping, Ellen Pompeo is on the cover. She has more time to get recognition though, because has The Goldbergs has killed it in the ratings and is going to be on the air for a while. The show also has more time to finally get some awards. They’ve been nominated for Critics Choice Awards and a People’s Choice but they’ve never won and they haven’t had an Emmy nom in their first three seasons. That needs to change! The Goldbergs comes back on September 21.
photos credit: ABC and Good Housekeeping
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmbXFpa4Fxe9aepZ2hj6KwrbHNnaanZZOkw6bFvqilmKOZmcCgscybmKuqkajArrHNrZacmZ6UxLC%2BypiZnqykmr%2BgwMeapZiopaO2tLTMnqWtZw%3D%3D