In the summer of 1974, a fourteen-year-old girl in Dolton,
Illinois, had a dream. A dream to become an actress, like her idols
Ron Howard and Vicki Lawrence. But it was a long way from the South
Side of Chicago to Hollywood, and it didn't help that she'd
recently dropped out of the school play, "The Ugly Duckling." Or
that the Hollywood casting directors she wrote to replied that
"professional training was a requirement." But the funny thing is,
it all came true. Through a series of Happy Accidents, Jane Lynch
created an improbable--and hilarious--path to success. In those
early years, despite her dreams, she was also consumed with
anxiety, feeling out of place in both her body and her family. To
deal with her worries about her sexuality, she escaped in positive
ways--such as joining a high school chorus not unlike the one in
"Glee"--but also found destructive outlets. She started drinking
almost every night her freshman year of high school and developed a
mean and judgmental streak that turned her into a real-life Sue
Sylvester. Then, at thirty-one, she started to get her life
together. She was finally able to embrace her sexuality, come out
to her parents, and quit drinking for good. Soon after, a Frosted
Flakes commercial and a chance meeting in a coffee shop led to a
role in the Christopher Guest movie "Best in Show," which helped
her get cast in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Similar coincidences and
chance meetings led to roles in movies starring Will Ferrell, Paul
Rudd, and even Meryl Streep in 2009's "Julie & Julia." Then, of
course, came the two lucky accidents that truly changed her life.
Getting lost in a hotel led to an introduction to her future wife,
Lara. Then, a series she'd signed up for abruptly got canceled,
making it possible for her to take the role of Sue Sylvester in
"Glee," which made her a megastar. Today, Jane Lynch has finally
found the contentment she thought she'd never have. Part comic
memoir and part inspirational narrative, this is a book equally for
the rabid "Glee" fan and for anyone who needs a new perspective on
life, love, and success. WITH A FOREWORD BY CAROL BURNETT Includes
50 black & white photographs Excerpt from "Happy Accidents" If
I could go back in time and talk to my twenty-year-old self, the
first thing I would say is: "Lose the perm." Secondly I would say:
"Relax. Really. Just relax. Don't sweat it." I can't remember a
time when I wasn't anxious and fearful that the parade would pass
me by. And I was sure there was someone or something outside of
myself with all the answers. I had a driving, anxiety-filled
ambition. I wanted to be a working actor so badly. I wanted to
belong and feel like I was valued and seen. Well, now I am a
working actor, and I guarantee you it's not because I suffered or
worried over it. As I look back, the road to where I am today has
been a series of happy accidents I was either smart or stupid
enough to take advantage of. I thought I had to have a plan, a
strategy. Turns out I just had to be ready and willing to take
chances, look at what's right in front of me, and put my heart into
everything I do. All that anxiety and fear didn't help, nor did it
fuel anything useful. My final piece of advice to twenty-year-old
me: Be easy on your sweet self. And don't drink Miller Lite tall
boys in the morning.
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