NEWSRed Carpet Confidential: ‘Ring of Fire’ Star Jewel Recalls Her Unusual Moment With June Carter Cash
May 27 2013, Published 6:40 a.m. ET
Jewel takes on the role of Johnny Cash’s wife, June Carter Cash, in her Lifetime biopic, Ring of Fire, which airs tonight at 9 p.m. ET.
Fortunately, the singer-songwriter, 38, got the chance to spend time with her before she passed away in 2003 at age 73—just four months before her husband died.
“I did meet her and Johnny,” she tells me while promoting ReThink, a national public awareness campaign about public housing. “I opened for them at the Royal Albert Hall in London.”
It was an experience she’ll never forget.
“I remember commenting on her perfume—she smelled nice, and she was like ‘oh, do you want my perfume?’ She reached into her purse to give it to me, and I was like ‘no, I don’t want to take your perfume bottle,’ but she wouldn’t let me leave without taking it.”
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She continues, “She was a warm, sweet person.”
Of course, it’s an honor for the married mom to portray the showbiz legend.
“It means a lot to be able to play her,” she says. “She had a wonderful life, and deserves to be known in her own right as a comedian and a songwriter. So many times I think women are just known for who their husbands are, and she was known as Mrs. Johnny Cash. She was so much more than that, so I was honored to get to tell her story.”
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Hm, who would Jewel want to play her in a movie one day?
“I don’t know that they could find anyone in Hollywood with crooked enough teeth to do it,” she yuks. “Good luck!”
Catch Jewel in Ring of Fire, which airs tonight on Lifetime at 9 p.m. ET. She is the national ambassador for ReThink, a national public awareness campaign about public housing.
Will you watch Jewel in Ring of Fire? Tweet us @okmagazine.
