Tori Amos' Real-Life Stint as a Cornflake Girl

Stacy Conradt
facebooktwitterreddit

Long before Tori Amos sang “Cornflake Girl,” she was Cornflake Girl.

Back in 1984, when Tori was just 21, she beat out Sarah Jessica Parker to star in ads for Kellogg’s Just Right, a breakfast cereal with flakes, raisins, dates and almonds. Apparently the experience of uttering monosyllabic moans of delight for whole grains wasn’t the artistic release Tori was looking for, and after a couple of other disappointing Hollywood experiences, she decided to get her music career in order.

I’m sure you’ll agree with Tori after you check out the video. It reeks of the ‘80s:

For the record, the hit song doesn’t have anything to do with the Just Right commercial. Tori’s official story is that she was inspired by the Alice Walker book Possessing the Secret of Joy, which is about female genital mutilation. What Amos took from the book was women betraying other women, and she turned the concept into Cornflake Girls vs. Raisin Girls. There are lots of homogenous flakes in a cereal box, but only a few meaty raisins.

That’s the official story. But don’t you think maybe just a little bit of her was inspired by the time she shilled for Kellogg’s?

facebooktwitterreddit