Samantha Abby is a queer power player in the making. The 29-year-old founder of Penny Lane Pictures will star alongside wife Laura in Bravo’s new season of Newlyweds, which premieres on March 10. The Hollywood agent-turned-Manhattan creative spoke with AfterEllen about meeting her future wife in the sorority house, producing the successful queer web series The Curious Cook and the downside of becoming an heiress at 30.
AfterEllen.com: You started off your entertainment career at CAA, one of the most competitive talent agencies in the country. What did you take from that experience?
Samantha Abby: All the agents work off each other. It’s that sorority feeling of “We’re in this together.” The people I met at CAA are my friends and contacts for life.
AE: When did you come out in your career?
SA: I was never out at CAA. I came out in 2009, when I started working for an ebook company startup. I was their first hire, and it was such a small work environment that I really couldn’t hide it.
AE: How did you come out?
SC: I told my boss after the company holiday party. We’d been drinking and were in the cab on the way home. She was an old school publishing woman and she just kinda looked at me and said, “Did you think I didn’t know?” It was so cute and funny, and I realized how ridiculous I was being. Who cares? I actually felt silly for being worried about it.
AE: How do you identify?
SC: I don’t really know. I’ve been with men and I’ve been with women. I feel like Laura is just my person. She’s the one who challenges me, the one who makes me want to get up in the morning and be a better person. So I don’t really know that there’s an identification for me. I’m not so much into labels.
AE: How did you and Laura meet?
SC: She hates when I tell people this, but Laura was actually my sorority big sister! We met through AEPHI at Emerson College and the friendship blossomed into a flirtation. We were very on and off, and struggled with our relationship for most of college. It started in 2004 but became official in 2006.
AE: After experiencing Los Angeles life through CAA, you both moved to New York City. What’s your day to day life in New York like?
SC: We live on the Upper East Side.
AE: How posh.
Samantha: No, it’s completely anti-climactic. Now that we’re getting our new subway system in a couple years, you can tell that a lot of places from the East Village and Soho are moving back.
AE: Who are your favorite queer characters?
SC: My favorite queer characters are also the center of my favorite show: The Fosters on ABC Family. I love Stef and Lena’s relationship.
AE: Are you active in the lesbian community?
SC: That’s one of our goals! We have four friends who are lesbians, and two of them live in LA. We actually call ourselves the Lez Rez because we don’t have that many lesbian friends, so when we want to try new bars or restaurants we try to go together. We don’t know much about the community, aside from what I’ve done with The Curious Cook. It seems like such a great community where everyone knows everyone. We kind of feel left out!
AE: In 2012, you founded Penny Lane Pictures. What projects is your production company currently working on?
SC: Right now I have six or seven unscripted projects that we’re currently pitching to networks and production companies. One of our most successful series, The Curious Cook, was inspired by a dinner with those lesbian friends I mentioned before. We were having conversations about It Gets Better and The Trevor Project, cooking together, and drinking wine. We started talking about wanting to show kids that they can do anything with their lives… They can do it all! I came up with The Curious Cook concept from there.
AE: How’d you turn that idea into a reality?
SC: We shot the first season in my kitchen and we got the most incredible audience and guests who spent their Sundays shooting for free. We were so thankful, and because of that, we got full funding for a second season of The Curious Cook. We were able to bring on another host, get a kitchen to shoot in, and even partner with City Harvest.
AE: Incredible! So what’s next for The Curious Cook?
SC: In March, we’re shooting a pilot for New York City Media, which is a public TV station. We’re also looking for sponsors to help fund that season and bring The Curious Cook to TV.
AE: There are a lot of cooking shows. What sets The Curious Cook apart and above?
SC: It dives into issues that affect our lives as gays and lesbians, issues that no one really talks about. We bring food into that, and food brings comfort. As for what makes it stand apart, I don’t really know of a lot of gay cooking shows out there. I don’t know of any that sit, talk about what they do for a living, collaborate over recipes, and talk about what’s going on in the city and world. I feel like The Curious Cook hits all of that.
AE: You’re both cast members in the upcoming season of Bravo’s reality show Newlyweds. What did the cameras capture?
Samantha: Newlyweds follows us through the first year of our marriage, so from wedding day through our first anniversary.
AE: How was the wedding?
SC: We had the BEST time. I thought we were going to completely clash and want to pull each other’s hair out, but we ended up wanting the same things for the wedding. It was so fun. Planning the wedding was probably the most fun thing we’ve done in our relationship.
AE: How do you think Newlyweds depicts your relationship?
SC: I think our relationship comes off pretty accurately. Laura and I are an open book. It’s part of who we are, both as individuals and as a couple. I think the show does a very good job at portraying our relationship.
AE: What’s the best part of being a newlywed?
SC: The feeling of permanence, like we’re a team now and nothing is getting through that. Nothing is done and nothing happens without us discussing that and handling it as a team, and we know that now. I also think we’re more comfortable independently.
AE: According to Bravo, your inheritance of a large estate and Laura’s insecurities will be major plotlines in your time on Newlyweds. Could you talk about those issues?
SC: My mother passed away in 2011, and that’s kind of the reason I went out on my own to do everything. Penny Lane Pictures is named after her. When I turn 30, I take over my portion of the estate. It’s split with my brother. That’s the estate story, really. Me getting to be an adult, taking care of my own finances, and starting my own family.
AE: Where is the estate? Is it a house like in Grey Gardens?
SC: No, not Grey Gardens! It’s just in stocks, although there is a house in Florida. The Estate is stocks, bonds, investments and such.
AE: So how does the inheritance of your mother’s estate affect Laura, and your relationship?
SC: Laura is one of the most humble, intellectual people that I’ve ever met. She never, ever wants me to think that she’s taking a free ride. She wants to make her career work so much, and she wants to take care of me just like I’ve taken care of her. When you’re in a same sex relationship, there’s really no boundaries. We both want to provide for one another, and we both want to be very successful so we can take care of our family one day. Laura just wants to do the same things for me that I’m doing for her.
Newlyweds: The First Year airs March 10 at 10/9c on Bravo.
