Kathy Griffin at 50: Diet Secrets and Dreams of Paula Deen's Pancakes

She's not D-list anymore.

Kathy Griffin is an A-list babe all the way. Just don't tell our favorite comic that her star is rising.

"As long as people still refer to me as, 'What's her name' then I'll never really get out of C list territory," says Kathy, "Although when I'm with Anderson Cooper in Times Square on New Year's Eve on his show, I hate to say it, but I sort of feel A list."

Griffin is fabulously funny and very pretty during her comedy specials that have taken over what used to be her series, "Life on the D List." She recently did a turn as Tammy Jean on "Glee" and has a role in the upcoming movie version of "The Muppets."

At age 50, Kathy Griffin is also happy to share her diet and beauty secrets with us. Her bikini bod is often a tabloid staple, which thrills Kathy to no end.

"It's me and Helen Mirren," she says. "Jennifer Aniston look and learn."

KATHY GRIFFIN'S DIET SECRETS

Kathy says she wasn't always so thin and toned. Or in her words, she didn't always have a body that was "slammin'"

For starters, she's only 5'4", which means that she can't go nuts on the food.

"I grew up the way most of us did on a steady diet of Hamburger Helper. I thought doughnuts were a food group," she says. "I truly see nothing wrong with such a lovely upbringing."

As her star began to rise, she decided to take matters into her own hands……or kitchen. Yes, she has a fab figure, which she credits to "frustration and having special food delivered, which cuts out any cheating.

"The truth is I never had a naturally thin body," Kathy laments. "Most of us can't just eat anything, so portion control through delivered meals is the best. You can eat a lot of things, but you never overeat."

The junk food junkie settled on six healthy, but small meals a day and cleaned out all her cabinets and dumped any candy or cakes, too. She added fresh veggies and whole grains.

Yes, she has been public about having lipo in the past.

"I've had other things done, but the truth is it all comes down to good old-fashioned dieting and working out.

"By the way, working out is something you can't avoid even if you really, really hate it with every ounce of your being."

"It's the weirdest thing," she says. "I have a trainer, but what I really like to do is go on long walks and hikes by myself.

"When I'm in the city, I'll grab a friend and say, 'We must go for a walk.' Then we'll end up walking for two hours straight all over Manhattan, which is a great workout without really thinking you're working out because you can stop and say, 'Oh that's Paris Hilton over there," she says.

As for Hollywood's reed thin actresses, she tosses out, "Christina Aguilara talk to me in ten years, honey."

And her ultimate diet secret?

"You know why I'm thin? I'm hungry all the time," she jokes. " I wish I could have pancakes. I wish Paula Deen could come to my house and fry pancakes. Put some powdered sugar on them and a bottle of syrup.

"It's Christmas!"

A FEW BEAUTY TIPS

Griffin is on the road all the time, and says she can't complicate her life with too many beauty routines. "I really think that Vaseline covers just about every single issue you have in life. You can get rid of winter lips and put a little under your eyes. I think if you're stuck on a desert island, you could probably also use Vaseline to start a fire," she says.

She's also a fan of Foot Petals, which are small pads that you place by the ball of your foot, and can make even the worst stilettos manageable for an evening on stage or in her case at the Emmys.

COMIC FODDER

You can ask Kathy about anyone in Hollywood and she has a fast answer. I ask if she will someday come between Brad and Angelina and she agrees it's a possibility.

"I might be the other woman in a love triangle with Brad and Angelina. I do have a little edge over Angie in the looks department. But I don't want to put her down.

"I can also become their au pair. In fact, that's how all of us hooked up in the first place. We might even adopt 15 or 16 people next week."

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