OK! Interview: Deal Or No Deal's Aubrie Lemon

You do realize that you've got a perfect name for TV?

Oh,

thank you! Laughs Everybody has a different take on my name, but it’s

okay, I respond to all of them. I definitely had the whole range of

nicknames when I was a kid. My grandfather called me Juice and my

friends called me everything from Lemonhead to Lemonade. It’s funny

because people ask, “Is that your real name?" And I think, "Oh, my god,

if I was going to pick a name I probably wouldn’t have chosen Lemon."

But it turns out that because it’s so catchy and unique, people

remember it.

After a couple of seasons on such a hit show, do you get recognized now when you walk down the street?

It

depends on where I am. In L.A., nobody really cares because everybody's

known for some TV show or movie or commercial or print ad. It’s when I

travel — to the Midwest particularly — that a lot of times, if I don’t

have my hair and makeup done, people will look at me and say, “Do I

know you? You look so familiar. Your voice is just so familiar.” They

just don’t assume they know me from TV. But it's kind of funny how

people semi-recognize me.

So you don't normally dress like you do on the show?

Oh, we do! I just came from the gym actually, in my rhinestones! Laughs A lot of people are surprised to learn that a lot of

the girls aren’t as high-maintenance as we may appear. Day to day I

don’t wear makeup or do my hair. We’re very low-key and normal.

What’s it like being so closely associated with the number 23? Do you ever feel like you're on a sports team?

Following in Michael Jordan’s

footsteps is a tough act! I actually love my number because there

aren’t a lot of scandalous things associated with 23. Like, 13 gets a

bad rap, and 7 — the gambling numbers everybody has phobias about.

Earlier this season, we did an episode where the NFL made us jerseys

with our names on the back. It was so cool! Then they auctioned them

off and we never saw them again.

Do you enjoy all the costume changes on the show?

Well,

we generally wear one dress per episode, but occasionally we’ll do

something special. Like, there’s a contestant who’s a policeman in an

upcoming show, and halfway through we reenter all wearing police

uniforms. We wore mail-carrier costumes one time — we’ve got all kinds

of good stuff. We’ve got a bikini episode coming up!

Does that mean Howie will be in a Speedo?

No, no, no! Laughs Our producers tried to humor us by wearing sarongs that day over their jeans, but it wasn’t the same.

Speaking of your outfits, how in the world do you stand for so long in those heels?

Thankfully

for me, I’m in the back row, so I have less chance of falling down the

stairs and making a fool of myself. We've had some accidents, but I

have to say the girls fall very gracefully and the show's not live so

we can just redo it!

So you wouldn’t air someone taking a plunge down the steps?

No!

We put together little blooper clips for our wrap party at the end of

each season — I think they even put them in slow motion!

What's the least glamourous part of the job?

Standing

is a lot harder than I realized and smiling is a lot harder than I

realized. Those are two things everyone does without thinking, but when

you have to do them for extended periods of time it really makes you

realize, "Wow, I’ve got to work on these cheek muscles, and get them

back in shape for season 3!"

Do you ever get personally invested in the game?

Absolutely!

Especially if they’re playing for a school they want to give back to or

a charity they want to help out or their family is really in need.

You’re truly rooting for them to do well. And it’s inevitable that

somebody’s case is holding those high amounts. And if they’re going to

be taking it all the way to the end it’s inevitable that you’re going

to be opening some of those amounts. So yeah, it hurts. It hurts our

feelings when we open them because we feel a personal responsibility

with our case — “Oh, I’m sorry I had to give you this!”

Where did a girl from small-town Florida learn to play the harp?

Oh,

there’s a whole secret society of harpists out there! Laughs My

family, we used to go camping a lot and go to all these festivals, and

I saw a harpist playing a little folk harp and that’s what caught my

interest. I’d already had 8 years of piano behind me, and the harp is

just like a piano turned upright. I told my mom I wanted to take harp

lessons and we found a harp teacher, no problem, and that’s how it all

got started. You just don’t realize it’s an instrument that people

actually play. I love music and I think an instrument like that that’s

so unique and so intriguing – it was just, like, "Wow, why not? I can

do that." So I did. And then I started playing professionally at

weddings and art shows before I moved to L.A., and then I moved here

and I got busy.

Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?

It’s

so hard to say. When I first moved out here, it was just for fun and I

wasn’t thinking long term. I’ve been out here about five years now, and

each year I’ve said, “Just one more year, just one more year... I’m

going to have a little more fun and move back to the East Coast and

settle down and have a real job.” But each year that’s passed I’ve had

more success and established myself more. And now it would be silly for

me to leave in the middle of this amazing blessing that’s been given to

me. So, I’ve stopped putting timelines on anything. And that’s what I

love about my life — from day to day, each job I do — modeling, working

on Deal or No Deal — every day is different, and it’s exciting

and I never know what’s coming. I have a great life; I don’t know

what’s around the corner, but I’m enjoying it while it’s here.