la la aNthoNY haS beeN oN the faSt traCk to proviNg her Spotlight

NYC'S
most
valuable
player
La La anthony has been on the fast track to proving her
spotlight worth for years, and as 2012 comes into play, there
are even more ventures for her to hang her hat on.
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Cheng tulle gown (used as skirt)
Everything But Water's Karla Colletto "Outlines" swimsuit
Gasoline Glamour large stone necklace
Erwin Pearl earrings
Circa sixty three snake ring
by Kela Walker Photography by Nitin Vadukul Styling by Darius Baptist Hair by
Cesar Ramirez at top 5 management for indique hair Makeup by Sheika Daley
Full Court Life isn't just the name of La La Anthony's
reality television series - it also accurately describes
her life. Managing her role as a mother, NBA wife,
TV host, producer and reality star, New York City's
leading lady plays multiple positions at once.
Now, with a long list of new gigs and business
ventures on the horizon, La La is well on her way to
demonstrating who runs the world.
that’s how I really am and I want to show that on
the show, and also show that my life isn’t perfect,”
she says. “I go through things like everybody
else. When there is a bad moment and you want to
turn the cameras off, that’s not reality. I don’t want
to do that."
However, when it comes to her four-year-old son,
Kiyan Anthony, that’s where maternal instinct kicks
into full gear. “He thinks we are shooting a movie,
so he's into it, but if he's ever not in the mood
cameras have to go off. I want it to be fun for him,
and if there is ever a point when it’s not fun for him,
I never want him to do it.” Besides casting light on
her personal experiences with Kiyan, Po and Dice
(among the occasional appearance by Carmelo),
the new season of LFCL captures Executive
Producer La La juggling even more as she travels
further into her career. With a new makeup line
underway and 10 years after her MTV debut, La
La is eager to prove that she's more than just a
TV host. The pretty, prim and proper La La walks on
set au natural for her cover shoot, ready to be
transformed. With just a glance at the wardrobe
collection it's easy to see why La La’s excited. Like
a giddy school girl peering at all of the over-thetop dresses, headpieces and jewelry selections,
she’s quick to point out a pair of larger-than-life
feather stilettos to her mother, who’s accompanied
her on the shoot. "Mommy, look. Can you believe
this is a shoe?" she says.
And after only two wardrobe changes, the starlet
quickly proclaims, "I'm having the best time of
my life. This is the edgiest people will have ever
seen me.” When her reality film crew shows up
to capture the schedule of events, along with
her partners in crime (her cousin Dice and best
friend Po), everyone is immediately taken aback by
the transformation, backing La La's instinct about
the shoot.
"I'm always respectful of hosting and radio because
that's where it all started for me. If it's the right
thing, I will just jump back into hosting mode. But
I just really feel like tackling new things now and
acting is where I want to put my heart and soul." The move from hosting to acting makes sense for
the TV personality who, in 2008, also produced the
Mike Tyson documentary, Tyson, through her and
Carmelo's Krossover Productions company. An
example of hard work paying off, La La already has
a list of acting roles lined up for 2012. This spring,
she'll appear on the big screen in Think Like a
Man, the film adaption of Steve Harvey’s bestselling book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. Co-starring alongside Hollywood heavyweights
Taraji P. Henson, Michael Ealy, Kevin Hart and
Gabrielle Union, La La sums up the experience as
nothing less than "amazing." Determined to thrive
in her acting role just as she does in her other
endeavors, even La La's husband is impressed.
La La (née Alani Vazquez) seems to be the perennial
goodie two-shoes with a "girl next door" charm that
could weaken even the meanest of girls. Making
you feel like she's your friend is the quality and
charm that propelled the Brooklyn native from an
Atlanta radio personality in 1996 to the multifaceted
celebrity she is today. It's also the reason she has
one of VH1's highest rated series, drawing in nearly
two million people to her weekly show, La La’s Full
Court Life. Viewers’ initial peek into La La's life was with the
premiere of her Full Court Wedding show, which
highlighted her march down the aisle with N.Y.
Knicks basketball star Carmelo Anthony. It was the
first time fans were made privy to the personal life of
the former MTV VJ, who’s often spotted hanging out
with her famous besties, Kim Kardashian, Serena
Williams and Kelly Rowland, amongst others who
have been known to make an appearance or two
on her show.
"Melo just laughs and asks, 'Do you ever sit
down? Do you ever get a break?’” she says. “But
he's so supportive, just like I'm supportive of him.
It's great to have a person that understands what
you do and gets it."
When asked whose acting career she'd like to
emulate, La La gives a surprising answer of Oprah
Winfrey, which makes sense after she justifies her
reasoning. "She started in radio; I started in radio.
She produced; I produced Tyson. She has done
acting. She has done branding - she's done
everything.There was a time when people only
wanted you doing one thing. If you are a host, you
are only a host, only an actress, only a singer…
And now, in this day and age, it’s about doing a lot
of things and being good at all of them. I just want
to prove that one person can be good at a lot of
different things."
When probed for information on her gal pals and how
she separates the personal from the professional
aspect of her celebrity friendships, La La is quick
to relay, "You are not ever going to talk bad about
your friends and you are not going to allow other
people to talk bad about them to you. I support
them through anything they are going through and
they would do the same for me. That's just the code
of friendship, whether it's a celebrity friendship
or a regular friendship. I apply the same rules.
I'm protective of my friends."
La La is not oblivious to the fact that it's her
approachable demeanor and down-to-earth
persona that keeps audiences locked into her
show, which has evolved from a wedding series
to a showcase of every detail of her life. "I like that
people think I'm so down to earth and real because
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Everything But Water's Badgley Mischka
"Tangler" swimsuit
HeadBanger woven earrings
Gasoline Glamour custom finger nails
Charles Albert "alchemia orange hydro-quartz" ring
Charles Albert "alchemia blue topaz prong set" ring
Gasoline Glamour "extreme feather" heels
Circa sixty threesnake ring
Proenza Schouler colored enamel bangles
While acting may seem like a natural fit for La
La, transitioning into the beauty business is also
in the cards. Describing it as "something I've
always wanted to do," her first makeup line,
Motives by La La, will help her bring her brand to
women across the world. Her intention to branch
into the cosmetic industry is to help women who
have the same foundation problem as her.
When there is a bad moment and
you want to turn the cameras off,
that’s not
reality.
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Geoffrey Mac synthetic filament headpiece
Charles Albert clear quartz bracelets
Charles Albert "alchemia pink hydro-quartz" ring
Charles Albert "alchemia mystic ice" ring
Charles Albert "mystic ice" ring
Gasoline Glamour spiked crystal ring
"There are eye shadows, lip glosses, lipsticks,
blushes… But the foundation is what I put special
care into,” she reveals. “I created a wheel that
has four different similar shades, and within that
wheel, you can create the color that fits your
complexion. Because if you look at most women
that wear makeup, they are using three and four
different foundations, mixing them together,
because in the summer, you are one color, and in
the winter, you are something else. I condensed it
all into one wheel. I'm really proud of that and I'm
so excited about it all." Maneuvering through her playbook of business,
motherhood and stardom, La La also holds her
basketball wife position quite well. If the Basketball
Wives of Miami and L.A. (La La's VH1 counterparts)
were the reality of perception, we'd be left to
believe that they were constantly bickering,
fist-fighting, foul-mouthed women. As if on cue, La
La shows the exact opposite of her fellow wives,
proudly owning the title despite the negative connotations that come with it.
“I’m married to a basketball player. I love being
[Carmelo’s] wife, so I don’t look at it as a negative
thing. I think it's just like anything else and what
you are doing with whatever title you have,” she
says. “I’m a lot of other things, too, so that’s not
the only thing that defines me.”
Indeed, it is just one of many titles La La juggles
in being married to an NBA player. After Carmelo's
trade to the New York Knicks in February
2011, the press branded her as the First Lady
of New York City and the First Lady of the
NBA. La La laughs off both labels and makes
it clear that she’s not responsible for the expectations that come with being married to a professional
baller. "It’s an honor. Something like that comes
with work. You are not going to be labeled that by
just sitting around with Louboutins on and not doing
anything,” she says. “I want to get out there as I
have been and make a difference in N.Y.”
And by getting out there, she’s lent her name and
efforts to several charitable initiatives since settling
in N.Y.C., serving as a co-chair for the 2011 Angel
Ball, the Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation annual gala
that raised over three million dollars for cancer
research - in addition to work she has done with
countless other local charities like Fiver Children’s
Foundation and Oxfam America, which works to
eradicate poverty and fight social justice. “I don’t have to think about being a role model or
doing things a certain way because all I do is really
just be myself, and so far, that’s worked for me,”
she says. The responsibilities might become overwhelming
for another personality, but it’s all in a day’s work
for La La. "This is what comes with the territory of
who I am. I would never complain about it. It’s a
blessing to be in this position and do something
that I love. I’m happy with my life, I’m happy with
the position I’m in, and I’m happy to be in a position
to help others and be a role model to girls out
there. That’s a wonderful thing.”
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Gasoline Glamour "extreme feathered" headpiece
Laruicci hammered bangles
There was a time when people only
wanted you doing one thing…
/ just want to prove
that one person can be good at a lot
of different things.
Lashape
la'ssecrets
sexy
Regimen
I'm in the gym a couple times a week. I try to eat right.
It doesn't always work, but I put in a lot of hard work.
Favorite workout
I love boxing. It’s the only workout that
I enjoy doing. It's fun.
Stress reliever
Being with my family, doing fun stuff with my son.
Least favorite exercise
I hate lunges, but you gotta do them.
Favorite workout song/music
I'm a fan of upbeat. I'm a big Ne-Yo fan, so anything
upbeat by him is my favorite. Ideal size/body weight
There is no ideal size. It's more about feeling good. I know
when I have gotten to a point... As long as I feel good,
I don't go by a number on the scale or anything.
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Laquan Smith neon laser tag skirt
Laquan Smith "Hard Candy's" multi color block tank
Gasoline Glamour 'Russian Diamonds" heels
IceLink bicycle bracelets
Swarovski crystal rings
Gasoline Glamour crystal earrings