-It is an honor to meet you. I really love that you're here.
Thank you so much. -Oh, thank you for having me.
I love being here.
-I could not sing "Wannabe" in front of you.
That's embarrassing.
I -- Oh, my gosh. I can't do it front of you.
But I'm happy you're here. I met your husband, by the way.
-You did. He told me about you. -Ooh.
-He did. No, he had a really good time with you.
-Okay, good. Yeah.
-You were doing the racing together.
-We were racing go-karts together.
Yeah, Christian Horner, who's, like --
Was it Oracle? Red Bull?
-Yeah. Red Bull. He's the team principal.
-F1. F1. He's massive.
And then I found out he's married to you,
and I go, "Oh, please."
[ Laughter ]
Chris -- He can come back any time you want.
But, you? Come on! -Oh, thank you very much.
-Welcome to "The Tonight Show."
[ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you.
He brought back -- Do you know how when you go on a TV show,
they give you a little freebie gifts?
-Yeah. -And he brought back a beach bag
with your name on it, and I kept it
and took you on holiday with me.
-No way! -Yeah, I did.
-I'm honored! Oh, I have to get you some swag.
I'm gonna get you some stuff. -It was very practical.
-I got a nice gift from you today, by the way.
I don't want -- But you got me some silky pajamas.
I was like... -Do you know, I was thinking.
Rather than -- You know, we can all buy each other flowers
and, you know, generic things.
So I was thinking, you know, this man, to me,
intuitively, you look sort of quite a dapper gentleman...
-Thank you.
-...and, you know, quite old-school.
-Yeah, that's exactly right. -Yeah?
-Yes. -And I thought, you know,
give you something you can really appreciate,
you know, move around the house...
-Finally someone knows me. And you are the one.
-You've done really well in your life. Congratulations.
Can I just tell everyone --
a long time ago I went on "Jay Leno," so...
-Yeah. -And you filled those shoes.
-That's right. Exactly. -Big shoes to fill.
And you've done incredibly well. -Oh, stop. No.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Because when you're the boss -- When you're the boss --
When you're the boss, nobody says, "Well done,"
because they think you've got it.
So well done. Your mother is very proud.
-[ Laughs ] -Yes.
-Thank you so much.
-You come from a small town, very rural.
Was it Saugerties?
-Yes. How do you know all that?
-Yeah, so you are inspirational for all those kids out there
that look for the American dream.
You are it. Everyone -- You know.
We're all so proud, Jimmy.
-Good night, everybody. That's it.
We have things to talk about. I want to talk about you.
Don't embarrass me anymore. I want to talk about you.
I want to talk about the book. Is this a -- Can I ask what --
Because your book tour started in New York.
What are your memories of New York?
Was it a Spice Girl? Was that the first time you were here?
-Yeah, I mean, I'd seen New York in a lot of movies,
and, you know, I love those old classics.
They brought me up.
You know, when my mother was at work,
I'd see all these movies, and they --
they sold me the American dream.
I don't think I would be a success as I was and I have been
if it wasn't for America,
because you say, "You can do it."
And so when I got here, I was like,
"Wow! Look at these skyscrapers.
These yellow taxis. This is amazing."
-I was wondering, if we -- If you don't mind,
if I can ask you some Spice Girls rumors...
-Yeah, of course.
-...and you tell me if they're true.
-Yeah. -Okay. Really?
-Yeah, yeah, absolutely, of course.
-Is it true that you've missed the initial audition
for the Spice Girls? -That is true.
And I'd like to say it wasn't really
the Spice Girls at that moment.
It was just some people auditioning for a girl band.
I did miss it.
I was up a mountain because my mother's Spanish
and I'd burnt my face.
Like, it was like really bad, like an apple and...
-Just from sun? The sun beating down on you?
-Ski -- In the Pyrenees. -Oh.
-Yeah, so I was up a mountain,
and I didn't realize you had to put sunscreen on
up a mountain -- because it was snowing.
And that was back in, like, the 90s.
You thought, "Oh, yeah. I'm gonna get the suntan," and...
-No, you have to dress like Taraji P. Henson
going to a Beyoncé concert.
That's how you dress when you go skiing. You cover everything up.
-Okay. So I didn't go to the audition.
But somehow I just kept that advert on my mirror,
and a few months later, I thought,
"Hmm. I wonder if that's still going."
So I just rang them up and they said, "Come along."
-The rest is history. Number two --
Is it true that we have you to thank
for the name "Spice Girls"?
-Well, so, I was in a -- I was in an exercise class.
And back in the '90s and '80s, you did the grapevine.
Do you remember that in aerobics?
So I was doing that. -No, yeah, no.
-So I get a lot of my ideas -- -What's the grapevine?
-You know when you do -- The '90s.
And you have to go step like that.
-Oh, like -- Oh, a step class. Oh, yeah.
-That kind of thing. Exactly. -Yeah, yeah. Anyway --
So, anyway -- So I was doing that.
And sometimes when I'm doing exercise, you get ideas.
-Yeah.
-And I thought, "We're all different.
What about Spice?"
So I ran back home and I called up the stairs
to all the other girls and said, "What about Spice?"
And they were like, "Yeah!" -Really?
-Yeah!
-But what were you originally called?
-Okay, This is when we weren't fully formed as a group,
but the management at the time, they called us Touch,
but they got...
-Yeah. So -- -Yeah.
-So they got rid of the management and Touch.
-Yeah. -"We're not Touch."
-Exactly. -That would've been a disaster.
-No touching. -No touching at all, no.
Spice Girls. -Okay.
-Yeah. And did you go, "Ginger"?
-Well, that was just made up. You know, the tag name.
Some magazine made it up, but...
-Really? -Yeah.
-I just love this stuff. Okay, great.
As Ginger Spice, you became known for the Union Jack dress.
-Yes. -And I have a photo of it.
-Mm-hmm. -Come on.
Are you kidding me? How cool is this?
Now, did you -- [ Cheers and applause ]
Is it true that you designed this dress?
-Yeah, 'cause what happened was --
So I always like making things.
And, uh, they gave us, like, different clothes
from different -- That was a Gucci dress.
It was, like, a black Marilyn Monroe swimming costume,
like '50s shape. -Yeah.
-And I was thinking -- Like Americans,
you know how you always celebrate,
you know, your country, and I was thinking,
"it's the Brits. I should put a flag on it."
And so the only way I could find a flag was a tea towel.
So I cut out a tea towel and sewed it on the Gucci dress.
-You're kidding me? -No.
-And performed at the Brits?
-Yeah, and then those boots, they're with car spray.
'Cause my father was a mechanic.
And -- Yeah, car spray.
-That's car spray? -Yeah.
-This -- Is this the greatest story?
Come on. Thank you for --
[ Cheers and applause ] -Okay.
-Alright. So, you've done that. You've kind of done it all.
-You're very creative, though. I was watching you.
Can I just say --
I didn't realize this until I saw your skit.
You are so funny.
[ Laughter ]
You are really good. And you wrote that.
You wrote it with your wife, didn't you?
It was very, very good. It was very good.
-You felt that? -Yeah. It was very good.
-I do run things by my wife.
She doesn't get any credit for anything.
-But don't we all run things by our partners?
-Did your husband help with this?
-Well, okay, so I said -- [ Laughter ]
No, no. Okay. Mnh. Right.
Anyone can identify with this, I'm sure, right?
So I said, "You know, darling, I'm writing this book."
And he was like, "Yeah, yeah."
This was about nine years ago I started.
-Nine years ago?
-Yeah, by the time it's come to the shelves, okay?
And I've written books before, but this one's a chunky one.
And I keep on going off to my writing shed and disappearing.
And then I would say, "Oh, can I -- Would you read it?"
You know, different drafts of it.
And he was like, "I'll wait till it's published."
That's what he kept on saying to me.
-Yeah. Good for him.
-Anyway, seven years later, finally, I go,
"Read it! It's coming out."
-"Hey. Hey. Read it, buddy. Figure it out."
-And the first thing he says to me, he goes...
"Ooh. It's better than I thought."
[ Laughter ] [ Audience ohhs ]
I was like, "Ah!" -Ooh.
-"Ooh," right? -Off to the writing shed.
That's what I say. Christian...
-And then he got to the end, and he went,
"Do you know what? I couldn't put it down."
He said, "I just wanted
to turn the page to find out what happened next."
I was like, "My work is done."
-[ Laughs ] Yeah.
Because who is -- -Okay.
-Who is it for and what is it? What can we say it's about?
-Okay. So first and foremost,
I think the world needs a new hero.
An ordinary hero.
Someone that's not airbrushed,
that, you know, finds a courage
you never knew you had, vulnerable.
-Yes! -Okay.
-So, it's based on an island, okay,
that's a bit like -- I can't say the movie,
but it's a bit like... -Oh, I know.
-Dinosaurs, but instead of dinosaurs,
it's endangered animals, okay?
-Like almost like a -- -Yeah.
-It's like a park. -Yeah.
-So, anyway -- Anyway, so, they're --
The school -- Okay, you'll like this.
Because I think you would have gone to this school, right?
So this school was built 500 years ago, right?
And it was built by Queen Elizabeth I
in honor of her mother, Anne Boleyn, okay,
Who got her head chopped off by her husband.
Not nice, right? -Yes.
-So Queen Elizabeth I builds the school, and she says,
"Do you know what? I'm not gonna get married.
I'm off that. But instead of the heirs,
I'm gonna have the students, polymaths...
really smart people."
I think you might have gone there, right?
"They're gonna be my legacy."
Okay? -Yeah.
-500 years later, Rosie Frost.
And she's, like, from the back end of nowhere,
like, back end of London.
She gets sent there, and she's like, "Why am I here?"
She's lost her mother.
Anyway, and she enters this game.
It's a bit like -- I can't say it.
A bit like this very angry game that's quite vicious.
-Like if you're very -- if you feel like eating.
-Yeah. Anyway, so -- I get it.
-Thank you. Yeah. -Right?
-Yeah. Yeah. -Very good.
I get it. I get it.
-Not "hangry," but, yeah, we're very close.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. But we can't say it.
-No, we can't say it. -Anyway...
So, it's full of adventure, but here's the thing.
This is the bit for everyone.
If anyone was bullied or felt on the outside, okay...
-Now we're talkin'. -Now we're talkin'.
-This can apply to anyone if you feel marginalized
or just not good enough, okay?
She meets the ghost queen of Anne Boleyn.
She's got her head on. Okay?
Now, Anne Boleyn, right,
when she knew she was going to be executed, right,
she wrote this rule book for her child that's 3
with four rules in it, okay?
These four rules, Queen Elizabeth I followed them.
Okay? And she became the greatest queen ever.
-Yes. -Okay.
-What are the rules? -Okay.
And these four rules get given to Rosie.
And you could follow these rules.
Okay. Do you want to know the rules?
-Yes. -Okay.
The first rule is have courage. Okay?
I'm gonna keep it simple. Which you did.
You stepped into Jay Leno's shoes.
You have courage. Right? -Correct.
Yes. That is right. -Right.
And anyone can follow these rules, okay?
If you're being bullied
or you just want to find your power, these rules.
Rule number two. Okay?
United we stand, divided we fall.
You have 300 people working for you.
We need all of you to get across the line
to make this a success.
Okay. Rule number two.
-I do. I need everybody. I need everybody.
-You do. You need that dude. He's amazing.
-I do. Yeah. -Quest.
-I know. -Exactly. You need Quest.
He's the backbone of this show. -Well...
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Okay. Right. Number three, okay, is never give up.
Okay? Be the light. Serve your kingdom.
You'll win your fight.
Basically, don't give up.
That boy, that little kid when you started out,
you went for it.
You know how many of those movies you were in?
-Three. -Three. You never gave up.
And here you are now,
but you serve your audience back at home.
This isn't about you. This is about them.
-Thank you. -Okay?
That's why you're here, right?
-Never give up. -Okay.
-I love this. -Okay.
The fourth rule is the most important rule.
Okay? This is your rule. Okay? It's Shakespeare. Okay?
It says, "To thine own self be true.
If you liketh not these rules, make up your own."
That's you. You live by your own rules, Jimmy.
-Yes. -Yeah?
-Exactly! Yes! To thine own self be true!
-It's all in here.
-I'm gonna read this with Winnie and Franny.
-Exactly. But it's an adventure.
-I have two little girls, 10 and 8, and they're --
My 10-year-old is just reading every single thing.
The 8-year-old just finished her first chunky book.
And we're very proud of her. Good job, Franny.
-Aww. -This is book number two.
Here we go. -Here we go.
-Congratulations. -Thank you so much.
-You are fantastic. Please come back whenever.
-Yeah. Well done, you.
-Geri Halliwell-Horner, everyone!
Her new book, "Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen," is out today!