Carolyn Davis is a staff editor at Us Weekly magazine. Before participating in a panel about why we’re fascinated by celebrity photos, she admitted in the Zócalo green room that her living room walls are mostly bare; despite being an aspiring vegan, she likes her eggs over easy; and she just can’t seem to part with this one purple Laura Ashley skirt.
Q. What’s your go-to karaoke song?
A. Definitely Madonna: “Like a Prayer.”
Q. What’s your dream Us Weekly headline?
A. About myself? Carolyn’s royal wedding? That’d be funny.
Q. What about a real celebrity headline?
A. It would be like, “Jen Aniston’s Baby Exclusive.”
Q. What’s the last book you read?
A. I read so many at the same time. I actually reread Guns, Germs, and Steel, and read the Keith Richards autobiography.
Q. What item would you bid for on eBay?
A. Vintage cameras.
Q. What’s hanging on your living room walls?
A. Nothing. I rent. I have a mirror-that’s above the mantle. It’s a studio, so there’s really no living room. It makes me sound so non-committal … I do have artwork, it just sort of leans against the wall. I have one oil painting of a park in Bruges called Minnewater Park that was my grandmother’s.
Q. How do you like your eggs?
A. I’m an aspiring vegan, but I like them over easy.
Q. What are you keeping in your closet that you should’ve gotten rid of already?
A. A purple Laura Ashley skirt. I just can’t get rid of that sucker.
Q. Who was your childhood hero?
A. Rachel Carson and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Q. If you could be any animal what would you be?
A. A tiger. I like big cats, and I just think they’re beautiful. They’re wonderful animals.
Q. What do you do to clear your mind?
A. I go for walks in Central Park and listen to music.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.