There is a clip, one of many but a standout, of Nicole Rosé Stillings during her time as a contestant on HBO Max’s The Big Shot with Bethenny Frankel. “Real queens lift each other up,” she says matter-of-factly. “And I’m a fucking queen.”
It’s the epitomization of everything that Stillings believes in, delivered in one now-iconic line. For the multitalented entrepreneur—DJ, podcast host, mentor, UNICEF NextGen board member—being a queen (as defined above) is central to being a modern woman.
“It’s about being fearless, authentic, and magnetic,” Stillings explains via video from her home in Sarasota, Florida, discussing the concept of “big queen energy” (which is also the name of her podcast). “She’s always going to push herself—not always to the limits, but through her fears, and in pursuit of her bigger dreams.”
Stillings is certainly all of those things: fearless, authentic, and magnetic. She is quick to offer up the truth of how she’s feeling today (cramped from her period), explaining that since she froze her eggs a few months ago, her cycle has been a bit unpredictable. Even her willingness to discuss her reproductive plan speaks volumes; women’s fertility is still too often seen as a taboo topic—something whispered about at book clubs and nowhere else—but Stillings is unafraid to share her journey. It’s one of the many ways she is using her platform to inspire other women.
“I just started having these dreams, three or three nights in a row, where my ovaries came to talk to me and were like, ‘Set us free. We just want to be free,’” Stillings recalls. After speaking with some friends (and even a stranger), she decided to follow her gut and freeze her eggs; she chose to use Kindbody in New York, and while she admits that she experienced a lot of discomfort throughout the process, she emphasizes that every woman’s body will react differently.
The daughter of two brain doctors, Stillings understands the importance of mental wellbeing just as much as physical, which is something she frequently discusses with guests on her podcast. Her own morning routine has been distilled down to a sort of science: she wakes up early (between 6:20 and 6:40), drinks a bottle of water, and takes her supplements. “Then the first thing I do is notice what side of the playing field I am on: is the cup half-full or not half-full?” she says. “If the cup’s half-full, great: I think more exciting thoughts. If it’s not, though, I immediately just redirect: what is the quickest thing I can find to feel better? ‘Oh you know what, I am excited about my workout today.’ Or, ‘Look how cute my dog is.’ Just something to get moving in that direction.” This is followed by meditation for at least 15 minutes. And then she’s ready to face the day as the most well-equipped version of herself.
Based between Sarasota and New York and frequently traveling for work (pandemic notwithstanding), Stillings—whose DJ clients include Saks Fifth Avenue, Vanity Fair, Sephora, and W Hotels—is no stranger to being on the road. Because of that, she has come to realize that for her, home really starts from within.
“A sense of home is really about being in the right headspace,” she reflects. Said like a fucking queen.
