Audiences leaving this summer’s laugh-out-loud comedy Girls Trip (out on DVD, Blu-ray, and On Demand today)may have walked away with a crush on breakout star Tiffany Haddish, but the 37-year-old comedian walked away with a sea of new friends — including costars Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall, and Queen Latifah.
It was a shock for Haddish, who worried their bond would turn into one of those “professional relationships” where actors act cool on a project but no one picks up the phone after filming wraps.
“That’s happened to me so many times, but not with these girls,” Haddish gushed to PEOPLE. “I talk to them all the time, and not just the ladies either. I’m in Atlanta shooting a movie and Kofi Siriboe came over to my house the other day with Issa Rae and ate fried chicken and drank all my soda. And then Chris Rock came over. I was like, ‘This is amazing.’”
If she’s still a little starstruck by it all that’s because it wasn’t long ago that Haddish was homeless, living her post-foster care life out of her car as she attempted to make it in show business. Years working in comedy clubs helped her get roles in NBC’s acclaimed The Carmichael Show and films like Keanu and Meet the Spartans. But it wasn’t until Girls Trip that Haddish became a household name.
Fame, and more importantly money, hasn’t changed Haddish.
“I still drive a Honda HR-V. It’s a hybrid,” she joked, adding that Pinkett Smith has helped her stock up on designer purses after spotting Haddish with a fake Michel Kors purse (the story was one of Haddish’s best from her Showtime comedy special, She Ready). “I still have a that fake Michel Kors purse, but I got a real Givenchy bag and Jada just gave me a Fendi bag. I haven’t paid for these bag — these are gifts. Jada was like, ‘Tiffany, here’s a Fendi. You need one of these.’ I was like, ‘Oh cool.’ The last bag that I bought myself was a Madden Girl backpack that’s really cute. And it was on sale for $45!”
“I’m probably going to be cheap with my money for a long time,” Haddish continued. “You know I’ve been homeless, so it’s like, ‘Yeah it’s here now but will it be here in 5 years?’ I don’t know.”
That’s part of the reason why Haddish loves Groupon so much. As fans might remember, she took Pinkett Smith and husband Will Smith on a Groupon Louisiana swamp tour — later retelling the story of their wacky adventure on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in what might be one of the funniest stories ever told on late night.
She’s still loves the discount deal site, and plans to use it next time she reunites with her Girls Trip cast.
“We’re getting together next week to get dinner because we’re all going to be in Atlanta,” Haddish said. “I’m the activities coordinator too, so I was like, ‘Guess what guys I got a Groupon for this cool restaurant. We gotta go. Who wants to go with me?’ I am trying. They be like, ‘No Tiffany we pay for it,’ and I’m like, ‘No let’s get it on a discount. We can use that money to help kids or something!’ ”
“I love Groupon,” she said. “I just got a pedicure because of Groupon and it was the best pedicure ever. I’m going to write a review!”
With their bond still going strong, Haddish, Pinkett Smith, Hall and Latifah have talked about a Girls Trip sequel — which fans have been already pushing for online.
Haddish says the cast is on board even if there’s no script or official announcement yet. “In my head, we are planning a sequel,” she said. “Latifah and I, we’ve talked about it. Regina and I, we’ve talked about it. Jada and I, we’ve talked about it. Jada and I feel like if they made Bad Moms 2, they should make a Girls Trip 2.”
In the meantime, she’s busy with new film projects and her memoir The Last Black Unicorn(out Dec. 5).
“I just want people to not be afraid of their truth and to just enjoy their life. That’s all I want,” she says of the book, which details her homeless-to-Hollywood rise. “And also, I don’t want to keep talking about it over and over. I did it already. I lived it. Read about it in the book!”
This article originally appeared on People.
