I’m always amazed to find out who lives in these mountains.

When I moved here a few years ago, I had no idea Asheville would turn out to be such a hangout—and hideout—for famous people. In late February, Malcolm X’s daughter, Malika Shabazz, was arrested in Mars Hill for her outstanding warrants in New York. Actress Andie MacDowell, who lives in Biltmore Forest, always has her hands in intriguing new film and TV projects, some of which involve the Asheville community. (More on those in a future issue.) This month’s cover girl, actress and filmmaker Jennifer MacDonald, made an early-‘90s video game with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and co-directed a documentary that won a prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

The character I was most surprised to find recently is Tenita Deal. Unless you’re in the airline industry, you’ve probably never heard of her. But Deal, whose story starts on page 34, tells an amazing story with a feminist twist. Deal lives in Hendersonville, but she grew up in Hickory, North Carolina, and started entering beauty pageants to help raise cash for college. Beauty queen or no, when she applied to be a stewardess with American Airlines in 1961, she was told she needed to lose weight. That kicked off 30 years of weigh-ins, yo-yo dieting and grueling beauty routines that Deal spoke out about on 48 Hours and other TV shows in 1990. The media blitz helped change weight standards for stewardesses around the country. Deal speaks at Blue Ridge Community College this month.

I’ll keep an eye out for other famous, infamous or otherwise fascinating female characters around WNC. When you come across them, please
send me a note.

Best,

Jess McCuan

jess@vervemag.com