RUSH HOUR
With “several irons in the fire” Jillian Barberie is happy with her work,
but feels she can do even do more. With what time?
IT’S 10:30 A.M. AT THE LUXURIOUS CRESCENT LOUNGE IN BEVERLY HILLS, AND ALL
I need to do is look for a whirlwind of activity to find out where Jillian Barberie is. Barberie can normally
be found cohosting Good Day Live;or starring in the Los Angeles play Blackout; or hosting
EXtreme Dating; or…well, you get the drift.
But for an ambitious Canadian who started off at a weather
job in Montreal, it’s just par for the course. Fitting in an interview
for Brentwood while doing a fashion shoot, Barberie gives the
secrets of her good luck away: mostly “thinking outside the box”
and “being hungry.”
Her onair job on Good Day Live is one example. Not only does
Barberie report for the show’s “Style File,” but she is also responsible
for the show’s popular “Adoptapet” segment.
On “Style File,” she reports on different fashions and trends. “I
like giving people a range for their money. Some viewers can afford
an Armani coat, some can’t. I also do makeup musthaves,” says
Barberie.
As for the pet segment, she does it because “I have loved animals
since I was a kid.We used to have a weekly segment. Now it’s a daily
segment. Each day we show an animal from a different organization.”
Barberie, who has four dogs, three cats, and a rabbit, also works with
foster girls to try to motivate and inspire them. She tells them they
need to work hard, and be prepared to move if necessary.
“I moved to another country, got a lawyer at 23, and you have
to be prepared to do these things. I was hungry. I didn’t have [success]
handed to me, and that’s probably the best thing.”
Barberie also works hard as host of Extreme Dating,having just
done several tapings in one day. “It’s a little twisted. We bring on
some of the ex’s to talk into the ear of the current daters. It’s fun! I
get to host it and I get to have fun with the people who are on it.
I’m very irreverent!” says Barberie. “Cause, let’s face it, does the
world need another dating show? But it’s a little different from the
average dating show, and I’m
lucky to have that.”
Another way Barberie feels
lucky is that she discovered her biological parents a few years ago,
which was almost a TV movie of the week itself. Barberie undertook
the search out of curiosity and also a desire to know more
about her health background.
She found out that her father came from London, and her
mother from Ireland.They met after emigrating to Canada and had
Barberie very young, so they gave her up for adoption.Then, after
a change of mind, they got married to get her back, but it was too
late.They went on to have two more daughters, and so Barberie not
only found her birth parents, but an entire family.
“It was the greatest experience of my life,” says Barberie, who
has met her mother but not her father. “They are very supportive
people and watch my show. It’s been really positive.”
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