Class Act

Carrie Ann Inaba brings her grace and good humor to The Talk

- John Griffiths

Carrie Ann Inaba says warmly, motioning for a visitor to settle on her dressing room couch, a cozy white two-seater flocked with fluffy pillows and fit for a gab-until-dawn slumber party. “I could have them all day long.”

It’s a gift now on daily display for the former professional dancer, who has found her niche as a co-host of The Talk, alongside Sharon Osbourne, Eve, Sheryl Underwood, and Sara Gilbert (Gilbert’s seat will be filled in September by Marie Osmond). She’s just wrapped today’s show, during which she’s shared her thoughts on the latest headlines, but it’s immediately clear that her megawatt smile and ability to connect with others aren’t reserved for the cameras.

“I have the shortest attention span if I’m not talking about something real,” Inaba, 51, admits. “Life is too short. I mean, look at Luke Perry, right?” The sudden passing of the former Riverdale star, who lived in Inaba’s L.A. neighborhood, weighs heavily on her. “He was just walking down my street with his boxer. It’s so sad. I think I’m still in shock.”

Inaba’s caring ways are rooted in the Hawaiian concept of ohana, where friends and neighbors are considered family. She and her older brother Craig, who is president of a dietary supplement company, were born and raised in Honolulu by their father, Rodney, a real estate developer who passed away in 2013, and their mother, Patty, whose four best female friends were never far away.