Back in 2017, Robinne Lee dropped by a local L.A. news station for an interview promoting her role in “Fifty Shades Darker,” the second film in the steamy series based on books by E.L. James.
“You’re venturing out a little bit now with a new novel…” the KCAL anchor said to Lee, whose filmography already included “Deliver Us From Eva,” “Hitch” and “13 Going on 30,” teeing the actor up to mention her career pivot. “I have a novel coming out this spring called ‘The Idea of You,’” Lee replied, grinning.
The premise was unique: A divorced mother and art gallery owner, living in L.A. on the precipice of turning 40, takes her daughter to a concert meet-and-greet and the 20-year-old lead singer of the band falls in love with her. The story, Lee explained, was “as much about a love story complicated by celebrity and the underbelly of fame” as it was an exploration of what it’s like to be a woman facing middle age and challenging society’s problematic notions that you’re no longer “𝓈ℯ𝓍ually viable” or “multilayered” past that point.