07/01/2026
Before he became a household name, comedian Zach Galifianakis befriended Elizabeth "Mimi" Haist, an elderly woman who had spent nearly 20 years living in a Santa Monica laundromat. Mimi had become homeless in her 50s following a divorce and survived on tips from customers while sleeping on a plastic chair between washing machines. During the 1990s, Galifianakis was a struggling actor who frequented the laundromat, and the two formed an unlikely but genuine bond. Despite his eventual meteoric rise to fame with The Hangover, Galifianakis never forgot Mimi, continuing to visit her and check on her well-being long after he no longer needed to visit a public laundromat.
When Galifianakis learned that Mimi was still struggling, he took substantial action to improve her life by finding her a permanent apartment and paying her rent and utilities until her death in 2021 at age 95. He even enlisted the help of actress Renée Zellweger, who assisted in furnishing the new home. Beyond financial support, Galifianakis treated Mimi like a true A-list guest, famously bringing her as his date to several high-profile red carpet premieres, including The Hangover Part II and The Hangover Part III. Their heartwarming friendship, which challenged Hollywood stereotypes of fame and charity, was later immortalized in the 2015 documentary Queen Mimi.