Manhattan Love Story's Analeigh Tipton: Life Imitating Art
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Welcome to Analeigh Tipton’s breakout moment. The America’s Next Top Model alum earned unexpected raves for playing the lovestruck babysitter in Crazy, Stupid, Love a couple of years ago, now she’s headlining two new projects: Two Night Stand, an NYC-based rom-com with Miles Teller, and ABC’s sweet new sitcom Manhattan Love Story. The latter follows two opposites as they try to navigate romance in the age of Tinder. Tipton plays a naïve New York newcomer in a role that is imitating her own life. Like her character, 25-year-old Tipton is adjusting to life in the big city,“I can’t navigate the subway to save my life!” and dealing with the reality of a 5th-floor walkup. Tipton has also found love—dating her co-star Jake McDorman. To top off the New York-ness, she sat on a downtown stoop to talk to Yahoo Beauty, surrounded by construction workers and a guy yelling next to her.
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SB: You’re playing a newbie New Yorker on Manhattan Love Story, which is your story, too. How has it been navigating life in New York? Has it been as tricky for you as it is for your character?
AT: I think some of the things she has trouble with are very relatable. Like I can’t navigate the subway to save my life! North, south, east, west doesn’t make sense to me. I live in a 5th floor walk-up and I don’t have a laundry unit in my building, which I thought was a great idea, as far as my buttocks. But it is not a great idea for any part of me after a long day! So I have learned to do what I like to call homeopathic laundry, which is just buying some good old-fashioned Febreeze and letting the wind in your home work its magic.
Analeigh Tipton with co-star and real life love Jake McDorman promoting Manhattan Love Story in the New York City subway.
SB: You just moved from LA to NYC, two cities with seriously different styles. How has your look changed since moving to New York?
AT: In LA I was never a cool dresser. My style is very classic mixed with a kind of chic and simplified tomboy look. I like boy’s jeans, oversized sweaters, long jackets and buttoned-up shirts. But in LA you have to be really cool and trendy so I felt like I didn’t fit in. Whereas in New York every different type of style has this place where it is accepted and appreciated.
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SB: You are an America’s Next Top Model alum. What did you learn about beauty on that show that stuck with you?
AT: What I found out from being on the show is that it kind of comes down to how confident you are—or aren’t. What you look like and how you dress really doesn’t matter as much as how you present yourself and how you treat others. If anything, the show gave me a very good platform to be able to be like, “Yeah there is always going to be someone prettier, funnier, and more confident than you, but if you don’t have the base of self-acceptance then you got shit.”
SB: Every article that I read about you talks about how tall you are, but you are only 5’9”. Is that really so tall?
AT: 5’8 is perfect. 5’8 is like I am not intimidatingly tall but I have a presence that is noticeable and guys don’t freak out over it. 5’9 to 5’10 is not like this incredible thing where I can be a professional supermodel or a professional basketball player. 5’9 is a very unsure of height. And it is not short enough to be like ‘Aw you’re cute.’ It’s the worst height to be.
SB: I get it, I am 5’8 and I am taller than my husband.
AT: I have been taller than almost every single guy that I have been with, but I kind of like it like that. It has been very rare for me to date guys that are taller than me and if I put heels on then they are definitely not taller than me. It usually means that they have to be strong. As long as they are strong, then it’s good and that’s attractive to me.
Analeigh having a short, blonde hair moment on Instagram.
SB: You’ve been such a chameleon in terms of your haircut and color—is there one look that you love most?
AT: I used to have really long brown hair and I was always told not to cut it. Then I did Top Model and there was a lot about my hair. I think at 19, it felt like how do I fit outside of the box that I put myself in? So I dyed it bright red and got bangs. It was so much fun, but so hard to maintain. In LA they always tell actors to never change their hair ever. I don’t really understand that, especially when you are a young actress just starting out. So it’s been every color, but the most fun I have had was when I chopped it off; I dyed it platinum and I could wear anything and look kind of cool. Of course that backfired when I had to go do a movie and they wanted it brown. And then they wanted it blonde for the Manhattan Love Story pilot. Then I did another movie where they wanted it blonde and purple. So a lot of my hair became damaged. I had a huge chunk of my hair fall out! I was showering and went to put my hair in a ponytail, and there was no hair left to put in a ponytail.
SB: What is the one beauty product you can’t live with out?
AT: I have combination skin in the worst possible way because if it gets too dry I get really bad eczema, but if it’s too oily it breaks out really badly. I found CeraVe at CVS and it has transformed my skin. It has never made me break out. It hides any wrinkles or imperfections and makes me glow—I swear by it. At night, I layer it on my face like a mask and when I wake up in the morning my skin’s recovered from everything. It was a very exciting find for me.
SB: Do wear fragrance?
AT: Keihl’s Original Musk is my favorite scent ever. I have definitely passed on to boyfriends. I have given it as gifts. The guy I am currently dating is a huge Keihl’s fan, and it’s right up my alley with how gentle it is.
SB: What are your go-to makeup products?
AT: I am someone who doesn’t like to wear lipstick or lip gloss, but I like color on my lips. I love these Giorgio Armani Lip Pens that I use on my cheeks as well—shade 500 is my favorite. It’s matte, but it doesn’t dry out your lips and it doesn’t do that funny thing where it looks like you have concealer on your lips. It also lasts forever. I could never not have it in my bag.
Co-stars and real life loves Jake McDorman and Analeigh Tipton
SB: I love that you are on a show about falling in love in New York, and in real life you are falling in love in New York with your co-star. What are some of your favorite romantic spots in the city?
AT: My favorite place is The Butcher’s Daughter. They make the best latte with their own almond milk—it’s incredible. In the morning we will swing by there. The Smile is where we will have brunch whenever we can. Freeman’s is down this romantic alley with lights and it’s so warm; like if you’re bundled up for winter, it’s the best place to melt your layers off. It has incredible food and a seasonal menu. It’s cozy and perfect for nice dinners.
