5 questions with Jackie Siegel, the real-life 'Queen of Versailles'

The former beauty queen is the subject of the new Kristin Chenoweth-led musical adapted from the documentary of the same name.

Summary

• Jackie Siegel is the namesake of the Broadway musical The Queen of Versailles
• The show is based on the same-named documentary about Siegels' plan to build a massive Florida home called Versailles and how it was impacted by the 2008 recession
• Siegel discusses why she said yes to the musical; seeing her own life on stage; and the status of the real Versailles house

"I have to say, I'm getting a little tired of pink right now," Jackie Siegel, dressed in a hot pink top and cuddling her dog, Mochi, on a video call from her Florida home, said wryly. But the color has become synonymous with the former pageant queen's image, first thanks to Lauren Greenfield's 2012 documentary The Queen of Versailles and now to the same-named Broadway musical starring Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth. It's why Siegel wore it for our conversation about the stage show, she said, and why she'll also do so for opening night on November 9.

She is, though, far from over the "Queen of Versailles" nickname. Versailles is the palatial Florida home Siegel began building in 2004 with her husband, David; the documentary showed how the 2008 recession derailed construction as the Siegels' finances plummeted. The house remains unfinished to this day, and while the end is finally in sight — Siegel said she's planning a January move-in — she now admits to "stalling" it. Her current home, she said, holds all her memories of David, who died in April.

She expressed much more passion about using Versailles to host events for charities including her drug awareness foundation, Victoria's Voice, named for her late teenage daughter. That's part of why Siegel said yes to the Broadway musical, even though it's only rose-colored as far as Chenoweth's costumes. Like the documentary, it portrays Siegel as a cautionary tale of what happens to those for whom more is never enough.

But Siegel wanted to leverage the publicity boost she's getting from the show. She was instantly charmed by Florida-born book writer Lindsey Ferrentino, who approached Siegel on the beach with the idea nearly a decade ago and got it greenlit within a year. (Wicked's Stephen Schwartz wrote the score.) And though Siegel used to take singing and tap lessons, Broadway was a foreign world, and it intrigued her. "Wow, this is going to be a journey," Siegel remembered thinking. "I can't wait. I like journeys."

Siegel shared more with New York Theatre Guide about that journey with The Queen of Versailles on Broadway below.

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What made you say yes to the musical, knowing you'd be the antihero of your own story?

Lindsey Ferrentino. I was on Cocoa Beach with my eight kids [...] and she goes, "Are you the Queen of Versailles?" I was in, like, a bikini, which I probably shouldn't have been because I just had all those kids, but I was. And she says, "Would you be interested in having a Broadway show about your story?" And I'm like, "Sure, who wouldn't?" I didn't think much of it.

Over 30 years ago [...] I tried out for some Broadway shows, just as extra parts. I wasn't even looking to try to be a star. The audition people, they finally told me, "You're never going to make it to Broadway, so you might as well just give up."

Now my name, "The Queen of Versailles," is in the bright, shining lights at the St. James Theatre. You should never say never. I don't even know if the people 30 years ago that I was auditioning for are even still around, but I hope they're watching it now.

What was it like to see the Broadway production for the first time?

I saw the first day that it was in the St. James Theatre. You know what was actually extra special? I lost my husband about six months ago, and [...] my daughter died, and her character is also in the show.

I started crying. There was my husband and my daughter on stage, living. It was very emotional for me.

Has being part of this process made you learn anything new about yourself?

With the awareness that's come along with the Broadway show and the documentary, I now do have a voice that I can take and move in a positive direction and save lives, which I am.

I don't know if I would have had that voice had it not been for the documentary, the TV shows, and now the Broadway show. I know God's putting all this in my path for a greater purpose. I'm trying to follow my gut, because I know that there's even more lives I can touch out there.

How do you feel about the "Queen of Versailles" nickname?

I'm keeping it! I was in beauty pageants and I was Mrs. Florida. I still produce beauty pageants; I love changing and bettering women's lives. I really feel having the sash and the crown opened up so many doors for me. I wouldn't be here today talking to you had I not entered the beauty pageant world.

I enjoy having a little American glamour. It's not real royalty, but it's fun royalty. I have a bunch of friends that like throwing "queen parties," and it's just a fun thing to do. Maybe I'll do some queen parties at the Versailles house, and I can do different fundraisers.

Why do you think your story fascinates people?

The documentary shows three aspects of life of during the 2008 crash: everyone from the billionaire — which would be me and my husband, I guess — to our limo driver, which was a middle-income, successful limo company business; and then down to the maid, the nanny, which was minimum wage.

It showed a slice of life of how 2008 affected each, and that was of a lot of interest, instead of just being like, "Here's Jackie Siegel building this big house." A lot of people are building even bigger houses than me right now. I want to do another documentary. I want people to see how this really ends.

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Interview excerpts have been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

Top image credit: Jackie Siegel. (Photo by Rowan Daly)
In-article image credit: Kristin Chenoweth as Jackie Siegel in The Queen of Versailles. (Photo by Julieta Cervantes)