Women You Should Know

Shout Out: Aunt Alice

Meet Aunt Alice:

Aunt Alice is my mother‘s older sister, and has been a force in my life since I was a little kid.

If I were to describe her, I would say she is short, yet a giant in life.

She keeps her hair short and natural, never bothering with dye or blow dryers. Her thick, wavy locks have aged gracefully into a salt-and-pepper shade. High heels were never her thing; she prefers sensible shoes for comfort. Aunt Alice's wardrobe is practical and classic. Being arou

nd her feels easy. When I’m with her, I feel loved and supported. She is a great storyteller. She listens. She just knows.

Her advice has meant so much to me over the years. I had a series for a bit called “Ask Aunt Alice" on Yahoo during my time as the editor-in-chief of Yahoo Beauty. Originally, I planned to film her in her garage in Wilmette, Illinois, but we ended up moving indoors because the crew we hired, who actually happened to work for Oprah, felt the sound quality in the garage wasn't up to par. I had envisioned it as a modern-day "Wayne's World."

Her house is only 30 minutes outside of Chicago, and she used to live next door to the mayor of Chicago and the family of former President Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. She and Uncle Albert were close friends with the Emmanuels.

The concept of the show was to share the poignant life advice that I have been lucky enough to receive all these years from my Aunt Alice. The audience was able to ask her anything. Alice raised three amazing kids, my cousins. And helped her father Papa Sam and uncle Albert run their car dealerships. She always knew what to do.

When asked a question, she first takes a breath than starts with her signature “Look.” Before you know it, Aunt Alice is giving the simplest life advice, that for some reason, I could not think of.

One of my favorite memories was after a very long day at work. Aunt Alice came with me. We started in my office, did a meet and greet with some international artists, than went to Long Island to work in the lab. It was a very long day. We came home really tired. The kids were little, and my husband was sitting in a chair reading the newspaper, processing his busy day. I was starving and wiped. I remember looking at Aunt Alice like “What there’s no dinner?” and she put her finger on her mouth to shush me. She told me to ask my husband if he wants a cup of tea. I looked at her like “What are you saying?” but I went over and said, “Would you like a cup of tea?” and he said yes. I brought him a cup than he said, “Do you want me to order dinner?” So instead of starting a fight that didn’t need to happen, Aunt Alice surveyed the scene and knew exactly what to do.

It was Aunt Alice who told me she thought it was time to move on when I complained about work at my last company for the tenth time. So, I listened.

My Aunt Alice is now 93. The first time she ever took medication was this year. She’s brilliant, sharp as a tack, and hysterically funny. She does detox cleanses , paints, reads, plays poker, and is still trying to lose that last 5 pounds. I don’t think she needs it. She’s perfect to me.