14 DAY TRIAL // When Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth “Mimi” Haist first met in 1994, he was a wannabe comedian just landed in Los Angeles and she was homeless, living off tips she got at a laundromat. Today, they’re friends: he pays her rent and utilities, and takes her out whenever he can, including at movie premieres.
She’s also good friends with his wife and has met many of his famous friends, including Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper.
Right now, Mimi’s life is the kind you read about in fairy tales and it’s all thanks to Zach’s generosity, the New York Daily News writes after speaking to the 87-year-old woman.
She lives in a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment that Zach pays the rent for and that Zellweger helped furnish. He also covers all her bills, takes her out to dinner when he has time.
They also go to movie premieres together, be they his own or his famous friends’.
Mimi tells the NY Daily News that she’ll be going to “The Hangover III” premiere and she’s clearly excited to see all those people smiling at her, taking her picture and yet not knowing who she is.
“I’m looking forward to it, I like the excitement of it,” she gushes.
“If he’s in town, he takes me. Otherwise he lets me take a friend. I dress up nice and a friend helps me with my makeup. It’s fun, not something I’ve ever dreamed I’d experience. The limo takes me home afterwards,” Haist adds.
When they first met, Zach could barely make ends meet. It wasn’t until a few years ago that he found out that she was homeless and he came up with this very generous arrangement for her.
The Daily Mail has photos from the Los Angeles premiere of the third and final installment in the R-rated comedy franchise but, because they’re mostly red carpet pics, you can’t see Mimi anywhere.