THE DEADLIEST DIAMOND, KYLE RICHARDS

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Kyle Richards—the actor, businesswoman, Real Housewives OG, and aunt to Paris—has been a scream-queen since 1978, when she was cast as Lindsey Wallace in John Carpenter’s celebrated first installment of the “Halloween” franchise. A cultural touchstone of horror in film, “Halloween” has been telling the story of suburban Haddonfield, Illinois serial killer Michael Myers for decades, across numerous film iterations. Just eight years old then, Richards quickly gained a die-hard fanbase along with the rest of the crew, which included a then very-young Jamie Lee Curtis. Years later, Richards was called back in 2021 to face Michael Myers once more in “Halloween Kills” alongside Jamie Lee. A hit, the gory flick spawned this year’s “Halloween Ends,” technically the finale of the series, and now the number one movie in America.

To celebrate Richards’ return to our screens—”Halloween Ends” is now in theaters and available to stream on Peacock—as well as honor our favorite holiday, Halloween itself, we teamed up with the Beverly Hills beauty for a scary-sexy photoshoot and intimate discussion about “Halloween Ends,” Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and surviving NYC Bravocon 2022.

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The following conversation has been edited and condensed.

Hi Kyle!

Hello! I’m in the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills right now, because my friend Teddi (Mellencamp Arroyave) had some melanomas removed yesterday, so we checked in here together for her recovery. I’ve basically been her nurse all night.

You’re a really good friend.

Thanks! I really loved doing this cover with LADYGUNN by the way and I was excited to speak with you! I saw my little niece Paris on one of your past covers, and she looked so sweet and pretty and was surrounded by flowers. So when I saw the shots from this set, I was like… wait, am I a dominatrix now? [laughs]

Well, you’re considered an icon of Halloween, and this is the surprise Halloween LADYGUNN cover, so I think some intensity is in order.

Oh totally, and if that’s what I was serving then that’s what I was serving!

How do you get ready for the spooky season?

Well, my incentive used to be, I have to be really fit by Halloween because I knew I was going to be wearing a sexy costume. Nowadays I’m either in a long, covered up mom-trick-or-treating costume, or I’m in a strictly super sexy costume. There does not seem to be much in between for me. I think you get one chance a year to really dress like that, to get away with it, so why not? And then of course making sure your house is decorated. Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season for me so I also am excited to get into cooking mode.

Speaking of fall faves, when do you get your first PSL?

Oh, I get my first pumpkin spice latte on the day it comes out. I am that basic bitch!

She says, sipping from her venti.

Yes, exactly. With one less pump though. I’m cutting corners where I can. [laughs]

What’s your favorite costume of all time?

Wonder Woman. We all went out to Vegas for one of my daughters’ 21st birthdays. All my friends went, that’s when I still really liked going out to the club and partying. Remember, I was only 19 when I started having babies, so I was still very young even at her 21st. I like to think I can relate to Wonder Woman, being a mom of many daughters.

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I am sure you are their Wonder Woman! Any cool Halloween memories from the past?

Yes! I remember when Paris was born, my mom and I went to New York to help Kathy and Rick take care of her. I was, I think, 11 years old. They were in an apartment building then. I remember them being super busy with the baby, taking care of her, so I just put on one of Kathy’s outfits as a costume, like I was a fancy grown-up, and I went through the building by myself, knocking on strangers’ doors, trick-or-treating. Nobody seemed to bat an eye at that though and I got the candy. I feel like I was so young to be doing that!

Well, it’s New York. Plus, to be fair, by 11, you had already been in the movie “Halloween” and survived that.

That’s true.

Which brings us to John Carpenter’s “Halloween,” the long-standing horror franchise, which you helped found and are now back in force! I happened to watch the original recently since it’s on TV all the time during October. Do you remember filming in 1978?

Oh yeah, I remember filming it. My mom took me to the set every day, it was really a job. She instilled that kind of work ethic in me. It’s so funny ’cause some things I did when I was so young I don’t remember, but I will get residuals for things like commercials and movies and TV spots that I don’t even remember doing. Even today I’ll still be like, I was in that?

You’ve known Jamie Lee Curtis most of your life. Do you feel like she’s a bit of an older sister to you in the industry?

Nowadays, very much so. We reconnected about 12 years ago to sign Michael Myers masks to raise money for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. I became more and more involved in that over the years, and Jamie and I bonded over that, as well as our relationship from making movies together. She’s just an incredible person. I admire her. She’s very inspiring. She’s the real deal. I just went with her about two weeks ago to have her hands and footprints put in front of the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, which is so iconic. She’s deserving of all the praises.

It’s an amazing legacy for you to be a part of, for sure. So let’s chat about “Halloween Ends,” and of course, your character Lindsey Wallace!

They actually added me at the last minute after the success of “Halloween Kills.” (“Halloween Ends” director) David Gordon Green said the script was already done, so then he was like, We’ve gotta get her in somewhere. So that’s kind of why I’m literally squeezed into the script. But even though it was already a small part, I was just happy and grateful to be a part of it. I can say that I was there at the beginning and I’m there at the end.

Lindsey seems so different from you. How do you get ready for the role?

I am an actor, first and foremost, that’s my first love. Being on the Real Housewives was only supposed to be a temporary thing, but here we are 12 years later. So when I do acting work, it’s really important to me that I’m not seen as that idea people have of me from Bravo. When I came back to acting a while back, I had to fight to be seen that way, because people now know me as “Kyle,” and they know my home and my dogs and my husband and my kids. And you just kind of want them to forget all of that! And like me, Lindsey is a survivor. She survived Michael Myers and is still living and working in Illinois, and I’ve survived Hollywood all these years and I’m still here to talk about it. So we do have similarities as well.

Were you working on “Halloween Ends” while also shooting Real Housewives?

Oh yes. And then last year, I was also doing “Halloween Kills” while doing Housewives. So it was tough traveling constantly and not seeing my family as much as I wanted all the time. But all my kids are older now. They’re not babies. And they’re very understanding and supportive. And I’m really grateful, because I wanna be able to do it all!

Looking back at the “Halloween” franchise, did you ever think it would get this big?

I mean… “Halloween Kills” was the number one movie in America, and now “Halloween Ends” has been the number one movie in America. It’s crazy to look back after all these years and still see so much relevance, see the audiences still be so interested and involved. It’s really impressive! And it’s a treat to be a part of.

I feel like you have a knack for getting involved in super culturally relevant things early on.

[laughs] I’m telling you, I’m a survivor in this town! We’re coming up on 13 years I’ve been doing the Real Housewives.

Pretty crazy. And obviously you’ve helped to make that franchise too into the cultural phenom it is today. Speaking of, you were just in NYC for Bravocon. How was that? I heard some wild stories…

Oh, yes! We were supposed to come out, and then they told us we couldn’t come out, and then the police were there, and then the fire department was there… There were people literally pushing to get through to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills panel. I was like, Wow, I did not know our demographic was so aggressive. There were people leaning on walls and sitting on floors. Crazy. I remember saying, Hey, is it safe to go out there? I have anxiety and the crowds were a lot. I said to myself, I’m gonna try to have fun, but I’m making a B-line out of here as soon as we’re done. But it was cool to see the people that have followed me since day one, and meet new fans, of course.

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It makes me nervous to hear you talk about being there with the size of the crowds. But I guess that shows just how involved people have become in the shows!

Yeah it was a lot. I didn’t even do the red carpet as I had too much anxiety. I think people are invested in it, but also I think that people right now are a lot more aggressive and a lot more angry, and I think that’s reflected in the tweets and comments you see online. There’s always that downside to reality television, but it’s taken on a whole other level recently.

I think it also may have something to do with the lockdowns. People kept inside, watching more TV than usual, and getting overly involved in the shows.

That’s definitely true. People did watch a lot more Housewives during the pandemic. There was a whole new set of fans that have only watched it recently and haven’t been with it since the beginning. A lot of people did binge watching. But just the state of the world these days, I think people are a lot more on edge.

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And that’s why we need fun horror movies like the “Halloween” series to give us something to take our minds off of things. Like, your life could be worse… you could be getting stabbed through the chest against a wall by Michael Myers!

You know it’s bad when a horror movie takes your mind off the Housewives drama.

[laughs] Girl, this last season…

Like, if you don’t want to get anxiety from watching the Housewives you can watch “Halloween” and see people get stabbed to death. Such a relief!

Watching people get stabbed into a wall is less anxiety-inducing right now than watching a Real Housewives reunion.

[laughs] At least Michael Myers doesn’t stab you in the back!

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Source: https://www.ladygunn.com/cover-story/the-deadliest-diamond-kyle-richards/

Credits:

Photos / Eric Helgas

Styling / Phil Gomez

Hair / Francis Rodriguez