Zach Galifianakis Met a Homeless Woman in The Late 1990s and Paid Her Rent for 27 Years: Marie ‘Mimi’ Haist was homeless for 20 years, living in a lovely laundary in the beachside city of Santa Monica, California.
Yaniv Rokah, an aspiring actora at the time, worked on Barista across the street from the Laundromat. He went on to become the director and filmmaker.
“I remember thinking, ‘Who is this older woman who’s working at a laundromat seven days a week? And why does she seem so happy all the time?'” Rokah revealed to People in 2016. “Here I am struggling to make it in Hollywood, working at a coffee shop, and across the street there’s this ball of fire, like a pink-wearing, singing, dancing diva who turns out to be homeless.”
The pair quickly became great friends, and he became documenting their days together on his iPhone 4. It would later be utilized in 2014 documentary Queen Mimi, which Rokah would obsess over until its completion.
Zach Galifianakis and Haist Who Have Been Close Friends Since The 1990s
We learned more about the friendship between Zach Galifianakis and Haist, who have been close friends since the 1990s, in the documentary.
In 2016, Haist told Glamour, “I taught him how to wash his clothes.
Galifianakis was struggling to make it big at the moment. Around that time, he saw the elderly homeless woman who was sleeping on the plastic lawn chair between the gaps of the washing machine and dryers. She’d been there for over two decades before Galifianakis discovered her.
Haist Revealed That She Was Born and Raised in Los Angeles Her Spouse Betrayed Her
After much prodding, Haist revealed that she was born and raised in Los Angeles and this wasn’t always her life. She used to be a homemaker with two children. When her spouse betrayed her, she divorced him and lost the house in the process.
In Queen Mimi, she explained that she started living in van when she was 50 years old, when she ran out of money, the car was hauled away. She walked around 25Kms to Santa Monica and slept on the streets.
A janitor took pity on her and let her remains in the neighborhood Laundromat one particular cold and rainy evening. She also won over the owner, who allowed her stay for as long as she needed. That’s what she did for the next 20 years.
Haist Then Started Doing the Laundry For Bystanders To Earn Money For Food And Drink
Haist then started doing the laundry for bystanders to earn money for food and drink. It is one of the reasons she and Galifianakis got along so well. He then quietly found her a comfortable apartment and paid her rent.
We first saw the pair on the red carpet of 2009’s The Hangover, where Galifianakis brought her along as a date. Despite first refusing to appear in Queen Mimi because he didn’t want their friendship to be used for publicity, he eventually agreed to an interview with Rokah and discussed their decade-long friendship.
“We talk about sex, Mimi and I, and we laugh a lot,” he quipped, before adding, “It is my honour to know that woman.”
Haist met Renée Zellweger, who helped her furnish her apartment, through Galifianakis. But their celebrity didn’t pique her interest.
“I really appreciate Zach and Renée for [everything they’ve done],” she stated. “I have a place to live now and my own bed. I now get my social security, so it helps me pay [for food] and my phone bill.”
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