A-zuri E! News anchor Zuri Hall shares how she stays on top of her game
E! News anchor and ruler of the red carpet Zuri Hall shares the lessons she learnt while making her way in the industry and how she stays on top of her game.
“E! News is like the end goal, the Holy Grail. So to make it here a few years before I expected, that’s special.”
Hailing from the northern state of Ohio, US, Zuri Hall, 30, has taken Hollywood by storm and has quickly solidified her platinum status in entertainment reporting. “My journey has been blessed,” says Zuri, and with a job whose requirements include being draped in designer clothing, conversing with A-listers and globe-trotting from one red carpet to the next, it would be difficult to argue otherwise. “When I got the job at E! I was on cloud nine. E! News is like the end goal, the Holy Grail. So to make it here a few years before I expected, that’s special. I love the job, the people I work with, the fans and, of course, all of the amazing talent I get to interview,” she adds.
At just 30, Zuri has arrived at a sweet spot in her career, and her name and face have become almost as recognisable as some of the stars she has interviewed. But in an industry that’s notorious for being ruthless and competitive, Zuri credits a trait she adopted early on for helping her remain on the path to success: “Tenacity is key in this industry. You get knocked down, you pick yourself up again. It’s not about how many times you fall, it’s about how many times you get up. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s the way I’ve been since I was really young,” she explains. “I remember a time when I was moving to a different city every couple of years, I’d have to start my life from scratch: build new relationships with people, find a home – it was exhausting and lonely. I was always the new girl on the scene at every TV station I joined, so I just had to keep proving myself over and over again.” Zuri also stresses the importance of being open-minded, because opportunities may not present themselves in the packages that you expect. “My dream was always to be on stage or on screen, but I didn’t necessarily think that TV presenting would be the route that I would take. I didn’t think I would be anchoring the evening news in Texas for a year. I didn’t think a lot of things, but I was open to those things happening, because as long as I got to my final destination, the path to getting there didn’t matter. There’s always a front door, a back door, a window, a hole in the rooftop. You can get where you’re trying to go, you just have to be open minded, persistent and a little crafty at times.”
When it comes to impromptu interviews, and getting celebrities to relax and open up, few can do it quite like Zuri, and she’s rarely seen without that infectious smile and seemingly boundless energy. But constantly running between the studio, red carpets, press junkets and sometimes even doing 15 back-to-back interviews in a day does come with its challenges. Her secret? Caeine, sleep and channelling her inner Queen B. “There are a thousand things going on at a red carpet, but if at any moment it looks like I’m having a blank, people can easily pick up on that and they’ll be like, ‘Is she OK?’ So I just try to laugh my way out of it and say, ‘I’m so sorry, totally just went blank for a second.’ I’ve found that just dragging that laugh out a bit allows me a second to recover and then I’m full speed ahead. Like when Beyoncé dances on stage, if she falls down that flight of stairs, she’ll hop right back up and pretend it’s a dance move. So that’s what I try to do,” she says.
Zuri has had the opportunity to chat to everyone from George Clooney to Jamie Foxx, but it’s the queen of all media that steals the top spot as her favourite interview so far. “Oprah Winfrey is amazing! Her energy and charisma are infectious, and she looks at you, touches you and treats you like you’re the only person in the room,” she gushes. “She makes everyone feel seen and important, that’s a rare ability. It’s easy to see how she got as far as she did. I mean, she even gave me dating advice!”
Newly single, Zuri broke up with her now ex-boyfriend earlier this year, and with Oprah’s words at the back of her mind, she’s not ruling-out any potential suitors. “Never say never, you know what I mean? The same way I might date a celebrity, I might date a random guy from the Midwest,” she says. “For me, it’s really less about who they are and what they do, and more about the vibe we have.” Though she may not have a special someone in her life at the moment, she does seem to have fallen in love during her most recent travels to SA. “My experience of SA has been absolutely amazing,” she says. “I was here for the Vodacom Durban July, and I got the chance to reconnect with friends I had made last year. The people are warm, and don’t get me started on the fashion! Compared to Hollywood, South Africans really go big or go home; the patterns, prints and colours are so bold and vibrant. There’s a richness in the textures, cuts and styles. It’s way more fun to watch.” As for her own style, Zuri describes it as effortless and easy elegance. “A satin camisole, a pair of ripped jeans and Converse sneakers, and I’m good to go.”
Zuri appears in the second season of How Do I Look? South Africa, premiering this November, only on E!