Zach Galifianakis Paid Old Homeless Woman’s Rent for Decades & Spent Time with Her as She Lost Her Family
When Zach Galifianakis met Marie “Mimi” Haist, she was volunteering in a laundromat, surviving off tips left by customers. She was only allowed to sleep between the washers and dryers so customers couldn’t see her.
Zach Galifianakis was only a budding actor when he met Mimi Haist, who was working and living at a laundromat. Years later, when The Hangover star heard about his old friend becoming homeless, he decided to help by finding Haist a place to stay. He kept in touch with “Queen Mimi,” remaining her friend for the rest of the elderly woman’s life.
In the ’90s, after she separated from her husband, Mimi Haist worked at a laundromat in Santa Monica in exchange for tips. The owner also allowed her to sleep there, as she had nowhere else to go. One day, Zach Galifianakis took his clothes to be cleaned at the same place and met Mimi by chance. “I taught him how to wash his clothes,” Haist recalled years later.
Years later, when he heard that Haist was struggling, the comedian found her an apartment to live in.
The 2 became friends while the aspiring actor continued taking his laundry to the laundromat Haist worked and lived at. Years later, Galifianakis became successful and found out about Haist no longer having a place to live. He remembered the elderly woman fondly and decided to help her by finding her an apartment. Galifianakis also introduced Haist to Renée Zellweger, who became her friend as well and who supported her by furnishing her new apartment and buying her groceries.
Despite his success, the actor never neglected his friendship with Mimi Haist.
