Yaniv, who was also an aspiring actor at the time, explained to People in 2016: “I remember thinking, ‘Who is this older woman who’s working at a laundromat seven days a week? And why does she seem so happy all the time?’
“Here I am struggling to make it in Hollywood, working at a coffee shop, and across the street there’s this ball of fire, like a pink-wearing, singing, dancing diva who turns out to be homeless.”
He began filming their days together on his iPhone 4 after befriending her, with the footage later being used in the documentary.
It is in Queen Mimi that the world found out about Zach’s selfless act toward Mimi, though he was reluctant to take part and make it public, as he did not want it to be seen as a publicity stunt.
Mimi explained how the pair’s decades-long friendship had begun, revealing to Glamour in 2016: “I taught him how to wash his clothes.”
Zach joked: “We talk about sex, Mimi and I, and we laugh a lot,” before adding, “It is my honor to know that woman.”
After Zach sorted Mimi out with a safe place to live, he also introduced her to Renée Zellweger, who helped her to furnish her apartment.
Despite their star status, Mimi never thought of Zach or Renée as anything other than her friends, explaining: “I really appreciate Zach and Renée for [everything they’ve done].
“I have a place to live now and my own bed. I now get my social security, so it helps me pay [for food] and my phone bill.”
And although she no longer had to sleep in the laundromat at night, Mimi made sure she was still there for the customers, telling Glamour: “I still go to the laundromat every day.
“I do my own washings, of course. I go there to keep busy and teach people how to wash their clothes. People come into the laundromat and say, ‘Oh, I know you! You’re a star!’ It shocks me.”
Mimi died in 2021 at the age of 96, having shared photos of her birthday celebration just months earlier, which was attended by Renée.
