How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Niecy Nash-Betts

How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Niecy Nash-Betts


Nicey Nash-Betts has only ever lived in Los Angeles โ€” and sheโ€™s proud of that.

โ€œIโ€™m an OG Angeleno,โ€ says the Academy Award-winning actress whoโ€™s lived all over the county, from Compton to Palmdale. When I ask her why sheโ€™s stayed, she says, โ€œThe weather.โ€ And also: โ€œMy family is here and I feel like as a whole, people who are from L.A. are a lot more down to earth. Itโ€™s the transplants who come here with some weird energy. But the people who are from L.A. are just lovely.โ€

Sunday Funday infobox logo with colorful spot illustrations

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

Starting Tuesday, Nash-Betts will star in Ryan Murphyโ€™s new Hulu show, โ€œAllโ€™s Fair,โ€ which follows a crew of female divorce attorneys as they leave their male-dominated firm to launch their own practice. Itโ€™s a role she almost didnโ€™t take.

โ€œI was just coming off of doing โ€˜Grotesquerie,โ€™ so I was like, โ€œOoo. It sounds like it might be a lot work,โ€ says Nash-Betts, whose credits include โ€œClaws,โ€ โ€œThe Rookie: Fedsโ€ and โ€œWhen They See Us.โ€ โ€œSo I waited a little bit and then I slipped in at the last minute and was like โ€˜OK, Iโ€™m in!โ€™ โ€œ

She joins a star-studded glamorous cast of badass women including Sarah Paulson, Kim Kardashian, Glenn Close, Naomi Watts and Teyana Taylor. What was it like working with them?

โ€œWe donโ€™t just genuinely like each other, but we have respect for each other,โ€ Nash-Betts says. โ€œAnd when you respect somebodyโ€™s time, their talent, their effort, you know that youโ€™ll always have one of your sisters to lean on that day even if youโ€™re going through something in your personal life.โ€

When Nash-Betts isnโ€™t on set, she can be found bopping around the city with her โ€œhersbandโ€ singer-actor Jessica Betts, whom she married in 2020, and spending time with her three adult kids. Her perfect Sunday in L.A. involves hitting up the farmers market, getting a coupleโ€™s massage and ending the night in the same way she did when she won her first Emmy in 2024.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

7:30 a.m.: A slow morning

It depends on how early I want to get to the farmers market, so I may wake up around 7:30 a.m. and then just slow roll the day. Make my spouse a cup of coffee. Weโ€™re not big eaters in the morning. Occasionally I will get up and make an omelet with all the things and some smothered potatoes, and bring it upstairs on a cart with some juice. Now, Iโ€™m telling you the truth. โ€œBaby, am I telling the truth?โ€ [Looks back and screams out to Betts in another room].

9:30 a.m. Get my essentials at the farmers market

Iโ€™d grab a shower and say, โ€œLetโ€™s get dressed and go outside, and see what the world has for us today.โ€ I love to go by the farmers market. Itโ€™s where we get all of our peppers and vegetables. We like the eggs, the fresh pressed juices and we get our dog snacks from there. I like to go to the farmers market on Saturdays at the Commons in Calabasas, but if Iโ€™m going on a Sunday, itโ€™s the one in Westlake. I just think that itโ€™s a one-stop shop for everything that weโ€™re looking for and typically the vendors are really kind. I donโ€™t know if thatโ€™s because they want you to buy their stuff or thatโ€™s just who they are, but either way, Iโ€™ll take it.

And every now and then, I might find a little bop, a little sundress, a little something to throw on, drop the things back off and then head down into the city.

Noon: Stroll around the Grove

If the weather is great, weโ€™ll take something out of the garage thatโ€™s a convertible because thereโ€™s nothing like the L.A. sunshine. Then depending on what time we can get spa appointments, we might go to the Grove first and walk around. I like the shops that are there. Sometimes you might get a little sweet treat when youโ€™re walking around, but you can always impromptu decide you want to go to the movies and push your plans a little later. Itโ€™s just centrally located and it has all of the good things that I like.

2 p.m. Couples massage and a cocktail

Next, weโ€™d head to the Four Seasons for a coupleโ€™s massage and a cocktail. Sometimes weโ€™ll go to the Four Seasons Westlake. Sometimes weโ€™ll go to the Four Seasons on Doheny [Drive], but we like to get a spa room, which is in the back. Itโ€™s like a suite with a fireplace and a bed in there. You can relax. You have your own private plunge pool and we get our services in the suite. We both always get deep tissue.

5 p.m.: Thai food for dinner

Afterward, weโ€™d drive down to Farmhouse Thai in West Adams because we love it there and we have come to love the owner. I always get the crab fried rice, the whole cripsy fish, the cup of ramen noodles with the short rib on top and spring rolls. Thatโ€™s the standard order. But if I donโ€™t go out to dinner, I will make crabs every weekend. So sometimes, my kids will come over and eat. If I get to lay my eyes on them during the weekend, thatโ€™s always a good time.

9 p.m.: Skinny dipping and champagne

When we get back, we are definitely getting in the pool. Skinny dipping and champagne is how weโ€™re going to end the day. We do this often. Even when I won my Emmy for โ€œDahmer,โ€ people asked, โ€œHow will you celebrate?โ€ and I said, โ€œSkinny dipping and champagne.โ€ And it just so happened, we found a hotel downtown that had a full-sized swimming pool inside the room, so thereโ€™s pictures on my Instagram of us in that pool, skinny dipping and drinking champagne. I think that night, we were probably drinking Perignon.

11 p.m.: Hang in the pool until I get sleepy

If I have to get up early on Monday morning, then I might try to lay down around 11 p.m., but if I donโ€™t have to get up and be anywhere, itโ€™ll maybe be around 12:30 or 1 a.m.

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