Audiences leaving this summer’s laugh-out-loud comedy Girls Trip (out on DVD, Blu-ray, and On Demand today)may have walked away with a crush on breakout star Tiffany Haddish, but the 37-year-old comedian walked away with a sea of new friends — including costars Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall, and Queen Latifah.
It was a shock for Haddish, who worried their bond would turn into one of those “professional relationships” where actors act cool on a project but no one picks up the phone after filming wraps.
“That’s happened to me so many times, but not with these girls,” Haddish gushed to PEOPLE. “I talk to them all the time, and not just the ladies either. I’m in Atlanta shooting a movie and Kofi Siriboe came over to my house the other day with Issa Rae and ate fried chicken and drank all my soda. And then Chris Rock came over. I was like, ‘This is amazing.’”
If she’s still a little starstruck by it all that’s because it wasn’t long ago that Haddish was homeless, living her post-foster care life out of her car as she attempted to make it in show business. Years working in comedy clubs helped her get roles in NBC’s acclaimed The Carmichael Show and films like Keanu and Meet the Spartans. But it wasn’t until Girls Trip that Haddish became a household name.
Fame, and more importantly money, hasn’t changed Haddish.
“I still drive a Honda HR-V. It’s a hybrid,” she joked, adding that Pinkett Smith has helped her stock up on designer purses after spotting Haddish with a fake Michel Kors purse (the story was one of Haddish’s best from her Showtime comedy special, She Ready). “I still have a that fake Michel Kors purse, but I got a real Givenchy bag and Jada just gave me a Fendi bag. I haven’t paid for these bag — these are gifts. Jada was like, ‘Tiffany, here’s a Fendi. You need one of these.’ I was like, ‘Oh cool.’ The last bag that I bought myself was a Madden Girl backpack that’s really cute. And it was on sale for $45!”