‘St. Denis Medical’ Star Wendi McLendon-Covey on Daily Practices that Keep Her Grounded (EXCLUSIVE)
The comedienne gets real about taking care of both herself and others
Wendi McLendon-Covey has been a powerhouse in comedy for decades, bringing unforgettable characters to life across television and film. She first gained widespread recognition as the scene-stealing Deputy Clementine Johnson in the cult favorite Reno 911!, followed by her hilarious turn as the bride’s jaded cousin in the smash hit Bridesmaids. For ten seasons, she captivated audiences as Beverly Goldberg, the overbearing yet well-meaning matriarch on ABC’s long-running sitcom The Goldbergs.
Now, McLendon-Covey is taking on a new challenge as both an actress and producer on NBC’s hit workplace comedy St. Denis Medical. She stars as Joyce, a dedicated hospital administrator whose enthusiasm for her job is as infectious as it is effective. A former oncologist who climbed the ranks by working within the system, Joyce is determined to keep the hospital running—sometimes against all odds. Once again, McLendon-Covey delivers a pitch-perfect performance, proving her comedic chops and versatility remain as sharp as ever.
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As our Woman’s World cover girl (get your copy here), Wendi dishes on self-confidence, her day-to-day “me time” and more!
Woman’s World (WW): Living in the Los Angeles area and having the recent devastating wildfires, does it make you grateful for what you have in your life?
Wendi McLendon-Covey: Oh, 100%. We know people who have lost absolutely everything, so trying to get them to where they feel comfortable—what does it take? Just breaking it down to what the small things are just shines a light on how much crap we have and how it really takes very little to make you happy. In times like this, it just shows you that you really don’t need as much as you think you do.
WW: How do you show gratitude on a regular basis?
WMC: That’s always in my mind because we were broke for so long—maybe not broke, but my husband and I didn’t have a lot…and we weren’t unhappy. We still had jobs that we liked. We didn’t live in a house; we lived in an apartment, but we were having fun and we had a lot of love around us. That’s really what I try to focus on. If you don’t have family or a tribe around you, then it’s really hard to get through life. But when you do have those things, you feel invincible.
WW: How much do you think luck has played a part in your life?
WMC: I like to say I’ve been lucky, but I also worked my butt off. I’m incredibly grateful for everything I have, and I use the word lucky because I don’t know what else to call it. I’m blessed, but I also know I’ve worked extremely hard and made a lot of sacrifices. For about 15 years, we skipped vacations so I could stay in town and be ready for opportunities. I’ve missed birthdays, social gatherings—you pick your battles, and I chose to push forward.
I’ve worked in hospitality and the jewelry industry, and I know the dream you have in your twenties isn’t always the one you have in your fifties. But when you’ve spent decades in a career, it can feel impossible to walk away and make a big change.
WW: So what keeps you authentic?
WMC: I would say my family does—keeping in touch with everything they’re going through I would say keeps me authentic and I spend a lot of time with animals, a lot of time in nature, spend a lot of time reading things that are not industry related.
You have to have things outside your career that you feel proud of and they could be small things, little things during the day. But you have to have those things or you get completely disconnected from everything around you. You have to have interests that are completely opposite of what you spend most of your career doing. I like to find out what little habits other people have, what interests other people have. For instance, I’m taking a Roman Mythology class online right now and it has nothing to do with St. Denis, but it’s interesting learning these things.
WW: Where do you think your self-confidence comes from?
WMC: That’s something I have to work on every single day. I can’t say I feel self-confident every day of my life—I don’t. But I know how to pretend I have confidence, so a lot of it is fake it until you make it. With me, it’s like I’m feeling kinda puny today, and I’m not going to make it somebody else’s problem, so I’m just going to act confident and eventually, hopefully, every part of my body will catch up.
WW: How do you work on that every day?
MMC: This sounds stupid, but sometimes I have to say affirmations out loud in the mirror and sometimes when I’m driving in the car, I listen to some motivational speaker or do some deep breathing. It sounds so woo-woo, but it does work.
But it’s something that I have to work on every single day. Especially when you go to a new set and as actors, you get a lot of those first days. First day of school every time you go to a new set and every first day of school is, “Oh no, are they going to like me? Am I going to get fired right off the bat?” So you have to have tools in your tool box and just power through these things.
WW: You described your St. Denis character, Joyce, as a volcano that’s going to explode. What stresses in your own life and how do you counter that?
WMC: World events I can’t control make me really anxious—I think we all feel that way. And then there are the social media rabbit holes we know we shouldn’t fall into but do anyway. Big, horrible events, like these wildfires, make me feel like I have to help everyone.
I’ll think, I have this much money to donate, we have a truck, we can do this, we can do that, and before I know it, I’m completely stressed out. But no one can do everything alone. If I’m just sitting here doing nothing, I feel guilty—I should be doing something. But the reality is, you have to take breaks. You have to step back, be analytical, and ask, What can I realistically do right now? Handle that, then move to the next thing. You can’t load your plate like an all-you-can-eat buffet and then panic when you can’t finish it all. That’ll drive you crazy.
WW: So you have to have those dishes with the dividers in them.
WMC: Exactly! You have to take care of what’s right in front of you first, otherwise you’re useless to anything and anybody else.
WW: How do you start your days?
WMC: On a work day, I might get up at 4 a.m. I have a really nice husband who gets up before me and makes my breakfast! Can you stand it?
WW: What’s your exercise?
WMC: I walk a lot because that’s almost like a mini vacation for me—putting on my iPod and walking. We have a home gym and I would love to tell you I’m in there a lot but I’m not. I do a lot of house cleaning—and that is also working out. No laughing matter.
WW: Your career has gravitated towards comedy, so how important do you think laughter is to overall health?
WMC: Oh gosh, I think it’s everything. Getting yourself in a good positive mindset is so much of the battle, so I think comedy, when it takes you out of your reality and gives you some nice big belly laughs, I think that’s one of the keys to healing. Lifting your mood out of being in a dark place is everything.
WW: So what’s “me time” for Wendi?
WMC: Laying in the bathtub, mindlessly throwing on TikTok, which is so stupid. I learned early on in life that if you’re in the bathtub, people would leave you alone, so that’s always been my escape to just lay in the warm tub. I’m a big Epsom salt person.
WW: How would you describe yourself today?
WMC: At this point, I know how to stand up for myself and I know how to stand up for other people and I know how to advocate for what’s fair and I didn’t before. I would give in easily. Now it’s like, no. That’s not what I signed up for and you can’t do that to me. And I’m happy to walk away if it’s not going to go in the right direction. I think that’s something that comes with age.
WW: What’s the first thing you learned about yourself?
WMC: I learned early on that I’m a perfectionist in a bad way. When I was a little girl, my mom was a piano teacher and would teach me things, but for me, I wanted to be playing what she was playing with my little kindergarten hands.
When I couldn’t do it right the first time, I’d get really, really upset. Nobody was putting that pressure on me. I put pressure on myself to do things perfectly almost immediately and that’s so stupid. That is a losing battle and I wish I could break myself of that. It’s gotten better over the years, but it’s there. And it accomplishes nothing.
Conversation
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