NPK: It’s incredible that you have been able to create a personal brand that has stood the test of time. Do you have any tips for building a lasting personal brand?
CB: Be yourself. A long time ago somebody said to me, you've gotta do you, and you just keep doing you. Keep developing that and don't try to copy somebody else. You have to tap into your personality and who you are and know your philosophy. My philosophy is very much that I'm a feminist, and I have been since I was a little kid. I have always strongly believed that women have to be self-actualized, and that they should be primary as opposed to secondary, which means they shouldn't be secondary to a man or children. That’s always been what drives me. Women don't have to buy into the thought police or how we're supposed to feel as women, or what we're supposed to think as women. That’s really my philosophy, and that drives me, and it's magnetic.
A lot of people write romance novels, and they really believe in that. I can never write a romance novel because it's not me. I don't believe it. The audience really senses when something isn't authentic. It’s really about being authentic.
NPK: Do you have any beauty secrets or favorite treatments?
CB: Trying to get enough sleep is a big help. I'm bad about some of this stuff. Sometimes I get my makeup done, and if I have to wake up early and do TV the next day, I don't even take my makeup off before bed. Because when you get older, your skin gets dryer, and your makeup will stay for days. I do get Botox. And I use a skin cream that I found on the internet. I found it because there was this very expensive skin cream, so instead of paying for it, I just looked up the ingredients on the internet, and I found this cream that was more reasonable.
NPK: What about fashion?
CB: I still wear short skirts. For me, it's whatever you look good in. I still pretty much look good in the same things that worked years ago. And the things that didn't work before still don't work.
NPK: Moving on to your show, what are your biggest fears about doing the show?
CB: I started doing it in my early sixties, so it's proof that you can do something totally different that you did not do when you were younger. In that sense, it's been really rewarding. I enjoy doing it, and I don't get nervous, which is one of the reasons why I do it. If I got really nervous, I wouldn't do it because I'm too old to be uncomfortable.
NPK: Do you actually drink Cosmopolitans?
CB: I like a Cosmo or champagne. I “drink” a lot in the show but it's not real alcohol.
NPK: Do you have any favorite spots you’re looking forward to visiting when you come to Chicago?
CB: I haven't been to Chicago for a while. I lived in Chicago in the 80s. I had a boyfriend who moved there for a job, and I moved with him for about 6 months. I do like deep-dish pizza as a special treat.
NPK: In addition to the show, what else do you have in the works?
CB: I'm working on a couple of TV things that I can't talk about at this point except that it’s around women in their fifties and sixties.
You can purchase tickets to see Candace Bushnell – True Tales of Sex, Success and Sex And The City on citywinery.com.
Photo Credit Fadil Berisha