Lela Rochon is sharing some reminiscences from her time with the late Whitney Houston.
Whereas talking completely to PEOPLE on the 2025 NAACP Picture Awards in Pasadena, Calif., on Feb. 22, the actress reminisced about working with the legendary singer on the set of the 1995 rom-com Ready to Exhale, which additionally starred Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine.
“Pleasure,” Rochan, 60, says when pondering of 1 phrase to explain Houston.
“Whitney was all the time completely satisfied. Whitney was all the time laughing,” she provides. “When she acquired critical, it was all the time very deep and critical. As a result of, , once you’re a songstress and a songwriter, you are feeling very deeply, you’re keen on very deeply. And she or he actually cherished folks and he or she cherished the world, and I want the world had cherished her extra.”
Houston died in 2012 on the age of 48.
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Whereas talking about Ready to Exhale’s legacy on the occasion, Rochon revealed to PEOPLE why she believes the movie was in a position to seize such magic between the 4 main girls.
“I believe as a result of we actually cherished one another. I believe as a result of we had been associates. I believe as a result of we immediately related,” she says.
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And when requested how she feels about being part of a film that also resonates with audiences after 30 years?
“I am simply glad I am right here to see it [the film’s legacy]. It is fantastic. You realize, once you’re making one thing, it feels magical, however you by no means know what is going on on on the planet or how it might do. However the truth that it is transcending time is superb,” she explains.
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The film, directed by Forest Whitaker and primarily based on the novel by Terry McMillan, follows 4 Black girls as they navigate love and life. The movie shattered field workplace expectations for its style on the time and was thought of a major milestone for illustration in Hollywood — proving that audiences had been hungry to see tales about girls of shade.
Rochon stars in The Household Enterprise spinoff, The Household Enterprise: New Orleans, on BET+. The crime drama follows a separate department of the Duncan household as they navigate the felony underworld of a brand new metropolis.
The Household Enterprise: New Orleans premiered Jan. 23 and streams on BET+.
