If the dress Tiffany Haddish wore to present two awards alongside Maya Rudolph at the 90th Academy Awards on Sunday looks familiar, that's because it is.
The actress first wore the white Alexander McQueen gown to the red carpet premiere of her hit movie "Girls Trip" in July. When she told her co-stars that she was planning to re-wear it to host "Saturday Night Live" in November, they tried to talk her out of making a "taboo" fashion move.
Haddish's response? "I don't give a dang about no taboo. I spent a lot of money on this dress! This dress cost way more than my mortgage," she said during her SNL monologue. "This a Alexander McQueen, okay? It's a $4,000 dress. I'm going to wear this dress multiple times."
Haddish even joked that she'd not only wear the dress to her own wedding but to anyone else's as well.
"I should be able to wear what I want, when I want, however many times I want, as long as I've Febreezed it," she said.
Haddish followed through on her promise to make the expensive garment count. Although some actresses borrow dresses from designers or have custom gowns made, Haddish chose to wear her own clothes to the Oscars. She wore a traditional Eritrean gown on the red carpet to honor her late father and then she changed into the Alexander McQueen to present with Rudolph.
Thanks to her commitment to amortizing, Haddish has gotten the cost of the dress down to at least $1,333 per wear.
Although spending $4,000 on a dress may seem like a commonplace purchase for a successful film actress, for Haddish it's a testament to her hard work. The actress grew up in foster care with her four younger siblings after a car accident left her mother with severe brain damage. "I was basically a 10-year-old mom," she told People.
She had trouble fitting in at school and admits that she expected her worrisome choices to land her in jail while she was still a teen. In response to Haddish's behavior, her social worker presented Haddish with two options: therapy or comedy camp. She chose camp.
From there, Haddish fell in love with comedy and dreamed of following in the footsteps of celebrities like Richard Pryor. Even through a bout of homelessness, Haddish believed in her dream: She made a list of all of the A-list actors and actresses she wanted to work with one day. That included Jada Pinkett Smith, one of her eventual "Girls Trip" co-stars.
Haddish has come a long way from her foster care days and her finances are finally starting to reflect her dedication. "Girls Trip" earned over $140 million at the box office, although Haddish has joked, "Where's my cut of that money? Because I haven't seen it at all yet."
Still, there's no doubt she's doing well for herself, with upcoming roles alongside Tracy Morgan and Kevin Hart. And if Haddish ever doubts her success, all she has to do is look to her Alexander McQueen dress for proof.
Don't miss:
- Here's why Oscars are only worth $1
- 22-year-old Oscar-nominee Timothée Chalamet's 1st big splurge was on Knicks tickets
- Jay-Z racked up an $80,000 bar tab and left an $11,000 tip
Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook!
