Kahi Lee:
L.A. Renaissance Chick

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Kahi Lee: L.A. Renaissance Chick

GS: English lit at UCLA? Why didn't you go on to law school or something more conventional?
KL: I love literature. That's why I majored in it. I also majored in Art History for the same reason. I love art. I didn't really think about what I was going to do with degrees in English and Art History. I just enjoyed it at the time. I specialized in Pre-Columbian Art during my studies. Most people don't even know what that is. It was the area of Art History that most interested me at the time so I pursued it. That's been my approach in life. If I enjoy it (whatever “it” is), then I know I'll do well because I tend to throw myself into things that I am passionate about. I am much more creative than I am analytical. I would never have survived law school.

GS: You grew up in PV? Are you a Corean (Korean) American Princess?
KL: Haha. I don't know how PV got such a bad reputation. Well, to answer your question, no I am not a Corean American Princess. I definitely grew up with certain privileges but I never took it for granted. My mom is one tough broad. You don't want to mess with her. She would NEVER have allowed her kids to be spoiled.

GS: Give us some Kodak moments from your childhood.
KL: I was a bossy kid. Some would even say I was a bully. I used make the neighborhood kids, including my little sister, bow and curtsy to me and call me “Queen”. They would have to run behind me on foot, as my royal entourage, while I rode my royal steed, my pink bike, around the neighborhood. Or sometimes I was a race car driver, racing around the neighborhood while the neighborhood kids, my pit crew, sat around waiting for me at designated areas ready to wipe down my bike, check the tires and serve me candy or soda. I have no idea why I did this. It couldn't have been fun for them. It is so absurd. I was an odd kid. My little sister loves telling people this story to solicit pity. She claims I bullied her all the time. I'm sure a psychologist would have a lot to say about my childhood pastimes.
     Here's another Kodak moment. Between the ages of about eight and ten I was really fat. I was so fat that one day this woman, a total stranger, came up to my mother and told her she should take me to see a doctor.

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GS: What training/experience/education have you had to qualify for your work?
KL: I took post graduate journalism and interior design courses at UCLA. I still hadn't decided what I was going to do for a “career”. I took a job at Christie's Auction House in the Contemporary Art department and I also started writing for The Book Los Angeles Magazine (I still write for them). My affinity for interior design came from my mother who is a well known interior designer. Every summer growing up I worked as my mother's little helper. I was always around it. In fact, I can't remember when art and interior design wasn't a part of my life.

GS: What's your mother's name?
KL: Kathy Lee.

GS: How does your design style differ from hers?
KL: My mom does more posh, luxurious stuff. She's working on a country club in Corea now. She works with older, rich people. My stuff is more modern. I use a lot of really intense colors. I like to create something unique.

GS: How did you happen to land Kelly Hu as a client?
KL: I'm friends with her publicist.

GS: What's the defining moment of your career?
KL: Probably the first moment that I felt like things were really starting to happen for me was recently when my InStyle Home feature hit the stands along with the latest article I had written for The Book Los Angeles, my new office opened for business, I landed a big Japanese rock star design client, I had a prime time show on the air (Renovate My Family) and I was hard at work on two new shows (Ultimate Gamer and FreeStyle). So for me the defining moment was when I proved to myself that it was possible to juggle all my career interests successfully.

GS: Where's your office located?
KL: On the southern part of Robertson [in Beverly Hills]. I just hired an assistant. I'm hoping to hire a designer soon so I can have that person do a lot of the work and I can be more of a figurehead.

GS: Do you see yourself becoming a lifestyle maven like a Martha Stewart?
KL: I'm just not that into the domestic arts. PAGE 3

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Kahi Lee strikes an attitude with her co-host of the Spike TV show Ultimate Gamer. PHOTO BY HELENE CORNELL

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