Living in Miracles

An Interview with Kat Mische Elle

Kimber Leigh is an award-winning producer, actress, and journalist. She has produced more than 10 short films and has acted in more than 40 movies. She has also garnered a Telly award for excellence in journalism. She is best known for her work in which she produced and directed Imoceanation, Hawaiian Housewives are Da Bomb, and a comedy Sand in the Crack. She has starred in the feature films, Love a la Carte and Blocked.

What incident do you remember most from your childhood?

I adored my grandfather, who loved Greta Garbo the first silent screen actress. He would take me to his home and show me images of her. My grandfather would say, “Sweetheart, you’re going to be just like her when you grow up. You’re going to be talented and beautiful, you’re going to be an actress, and you’re going to be so successful.”

He built me up on a pedestal where I felt infallible. When I went home to share this news with my mother, I ran up to her and said, “Grandpa, says I’m going to be as famous as Greta Garbo!” She replied, “Sweetheart, you will never be anything but a bitch, a Greta Garitch.”

That’s the nickname she called me. Halfway through writing my book, this nickname came back to me. If my mother ever gave me a gift, her horrific name for me would be it; it became the title. When did you realize this wasn’t a normal way to live?

My mother hid alcohol everywhere throughout the house because, believe it or not, my father did not know what was going on. He didn’t know she was drinking, using drugs, and sleeping with men in the neighborhood. She periodically would come into my bedroom looking for her bottle of vodka that she had hidden under my mattress. My siblings and I didn’t tell anyone, because my brothers and I were told that if we said anything, our daily beatings would be more severe.

“Normal” is a profound question for me, because my bedroom was on the second level, and I had windows all around me. I could see into the house next to ours. They were a very loving family. I would lay there, and watch the mom put the brothers to bed, cover them, kiss them goodnight, and read them stories. In contrast, when I came home from school, I was afraid to open the door because I didn’t know if my mother would be standing there waiting to attack me because the house was dirty. I was at school all day, and when I came home I couldn’t do my homework; I had to cook, clean, and do whatever needed to be done that she did not feel like doing.

Did you ever feel cared for as a child?

At age 14, I woke up one day with the whole side of my face black and blue from another episode with my mother. I told her I was sick because I was embarrassed to go to school. My mom said I was faking it, totally oblivious that my discolored face was a problem, and sent me to school. The school sent me back home.

A few days later, I had my first experience of what it felt like being cared for. I suffered from a severe sinus infection and was in the hospital for a week. While there, I felt the care and love of the nurses and