Fitness Guru Jillian Michaels Visits CBS SUNDAY MORNING Today

By: Mar. 24, 2013
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

Fitness expert and reality competition TV show star Jillian Michaels's tough-as-nails on-screen persona has hurt her from moving into different TV projects, she says in an interview for "The Money Issue" of CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH Charles Osgood, to be broadcast today, March 24, 2013 (9:00 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network.

Michaels, who has helped contestants and viewers lose weight through the TV show "The Biggest Loser," says she's wanted to expand her reach into daytime TV, but the people who develop shows for that genre only know her hard-driving image, which has hurt.

"But everybody who's kind of in charge of that daytime medium doesn't really know me, doesn't really watch the show, isn't that familiar with what I do and just goes, 'Oh, she's the girl that screams on TV. She's unlikeable,'" Michaels tells Ben Tracy. "That's been a very... I don't know what to say, a bulletproof ceiling...that has been incredibly difficult to shift. But I'm not done trying."

"My business is doing amazing," she adds, "but for me to take that messaging, or my message, to the next level, it's been challenging."

Michaels tells Tracy she wants to break into daytime TV because she believes it's where she can expand the messaging.

"And really not just show a transformation, but give the tools to the people at home so they themselves can achieve that transformation and you can touch on every point of their lifestyle," she tells Tracy.

Michaels talks with Tracy about her career, her own diet, and her upcoming 35-city "Maximize Your Life" speaking tour. She also talks about her own workout pattern.

"People always think of me as this fitness guru, which is so ironic because I hardly ever can get to the gym," she admits. "When I do, I absolutely hate it. I appreciate the end results, obviously, or I wouldn't do what I do. But for me, fitness is a tool that I utilize to redefine somebody's self-image, to empower them."

Tracy's interview with Michaels is part of CBS SUNDAY MORNING's annual "The Money Issue," featuring finance-themed topics, set to be broadcast today, March 24, 2013. Rand Morrison is the executive producer.



Videos