Call her what you will, but star of BravoTV‘s Shahs of Sunset, and reigning Persian Prom Queen, Lilly Ghalichi, is not hearing any of it. She’s too busy rising above the cynicism and grabbing life by its bejeweled horns to prove that beauty and brains are not mutually exclusive.
“I’m obsessed with everything glam and girly. It’s so fun being a woman and expressing yourself,” says 30 year-old Ghalichi. “It really isn’t work for me when I release a lash line or an extension line. It’s exciting for me to share something with everyone that I think is so fun. “
Have Faith Swimgerie, Lilly Lashes and her most recent venture, Lilly Hair by Bellami, this Texas-raised Persian girl with a law degree keeps busy while not filming with her cast mates.
About her time on BravoTV’s Shahs of Sunset, Lilly says: “This is entertainment. This is a reality show and the purpose of it is to entertain. Even though the show is a fairly accurate depiction of us, it’s exaggerated. We’re not trying to represent all Iranians. We’re just six people and yeah, we happen to be Persian.”
Were you born in Iran?
I was born in Houston. But my parents were both born in Iran and travel to Iran twice a year. I know a lot of the other cast members have never been to Iran, or haven’t been since they were two, or they’re political refugees. But my family loves Iran. Ninety percent of the people I love in this world are still in Iran.
What made you decide to have a “Persian Prom”-themed birthday party?
I wanted to do something over the top, outrageous and silly. Most of all, I wanted to have fun with my birthday. I wasn’t really excited about turning 30 for many different reasons. It was a really emotional birthday for me but rather than dwelling on it, I decided to have a fun celebration. Maybe some in my Shahs group didn’t’ have a good time but I had a wonderful time.
You’ve gone through a lot this past year in regards to love and work. Any advice for your female fans?
My one advice to women is to just do it. Stop wishing, stop wanting, stop dreaming and start working. We are no less capable than men. We have no less hours in a day or chances to succeed in life than men do. I think that women have so many fears that inhibit them from starting a business or getting an education. Stop worrying about your fears and failures and thinking that you need to depend on a man or have a man to be successful in life.
Which one of your cast members do you feel needs help from your glam squad?
I would have to pick MJ! She’s gotten lot better this season. I think that she’s been more inspired and trying a lot harder. There’s just something so endearing about her and just quite not right. I would just love for my glam squad to teach her a few things!
Any ambitions to act?
There are a lot of things I want to do but acting and modeling are not on the list! I never really wanted to be an actress or a model. I still don’t. That’s the good thing about reality shows. It’s not really acting. I do hope to be able to be in a position where I can focus a lot more on charity work and to actually making a real difference in the world.I want to start a charity called Project Glam. I want to go to women’s shelters, even underprivileged schools and maybe give women a glam day and help them feel better about themselves. Just make people feel beautiful and special for a day.
