The rising TV personality wants people to know that she is on the come-up and has no plans of stopping any time soon. But things in her life haven’t always been so positive.
Dee enlisted in the military at the age of19 after the man she was in love with was killed. “I have never been good at showing emotion, so I chose to enlist in the military hoping the extreme change would shadow the pain I was going through,” she confessed. “Although that experience was one of the worst things I had ever been through, it was also my changing point. I have been determined to better my life since then, and I’m doing pretty good.”
After her experiences in the military, Dee started to pursue her hobby of modeling. But she soon realized that with her personality, she felt better being in charge. “I learned that my personality is very strong,” she said. “I’d rather be the boss than the model, [which is] why I started my own modeling company a year after I began modeling.”
She managed her company, Lully Entertainment & Model Management, for two more years after founding it and then decided that she wanted to focus on something new—TV. “I have a strong passion for music, so when the producer of a music entertainment show approached me about being the host for the show, I tried it out. Needless to say, I have been in love with TV since,” she explained.
Because of her positive experiences in front of the camera, Dee was inspired to start her own show, Carma Dee TV, which features celebrity news and interviews, fashion and lifestyle pieces, interviews with unsigned artists and entrepreneurs and more. “I wanted to have an outlet for my creativity,” she said. “My show is a large reflection of my personality.”
Dee said that one of her favorite interviews was with singer Donnie Klang. “I was more myself,” she said. “My personality came through in that interview. Sometimes you don’t want to cross the line or offend the artist with your questions, but Donnie allowed me to be me! It was a fun interview, and I saw more of my personality come through versus a reporter’s.”
The ex-model and current entrepreneur said that because she stays true to herself and is passionate about her career, she couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “This is it for me!” she said.
As words of advice for those who have dreams of being in the media industry, Dee said, “Stick it out if you truly love this. This industry is very hard; most people like myself start out as freelance. Freelance means no for sure income and extremely long hours working, but if you truly love it, in the end it will pay off. I am five years in and finally seeing some payoffs!”
You can see Carma Dee TV in Buffalo, N.Y. on Time Warner Cable Channel 20 on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. and Thursday at 9:30 a.m. For more on Carma Dee, visit www.carmadee.com.
