Dina Eastwood

Dina Eastwood has had more than her fair share of identities. She was born Dina Marie Ruiz (the family pronounced it “Roo-ez”), daughter of an African American-Japanese father and an Irish-German mother. She lived on “the wrong side of the Dumbarton Bridge” in Fremont, she says, one of the only brown children in a white school. She grew up to be Dina Ruiz (“Roo-ease”) the KSBW news anchor, then became Mrs. Eastwood after marrying Clint in 1996. She became an instant mom to three of his children, and soon had a child with her new husband. Later she tacked on band manager and TV reality star, among others, to her titles.

After she and Clint divorced in 2013, she went into a self-imposed exile from the public eye. (She and Clint have not spoken in four years, she says.) She took on yet another new identity as the wife of Scott Fisher, a friend from her youth who she married last year. She says time away has given her time to breath and reflect on just who “Dina” is. Now 52, she’s currently pursuing her master’s degree in creative writing at San Jose State University. Her thesis: a memoir – not a tell-all, she says – exploring her identity.

With the turmoil behind her and a clearer sense of who she is, Eastwood is stepping back into the public view. Last year she agreed to emcee the Kinship Center’s annual fundraising White Party, and she reprised that role for a second time on Sept. 23. The Salinas nonprofit’s mission – to support adoptions, relative caregiving and guardianship – is one Eastwood says she believes in deeply.

The Pebble Beach resident caught up with the Weekly before heading off to teach yoga to middle-schoolers as a volunteer at the Seaside Boys and Girls Club.

Weekly: Your whole life you’ve been constantly on the move working or learning something new. Were you this energetic as a kid?

Eastwood: I was very energetic, very curious, very talkative. I had a racist incident in first grade, when I was called the “N” word. I didn’t know I was any different from my peers at that time.

Once that was brought to my attention and I knew I was different and felt ugly and not up to par with anyone else, then I became this over-achiever who just did everything, to make sure I got recognized. So I always threw myself into a lot of things. I loved school. I had a lot of friends, I liked helping. It was great for me.

You’ve had so many different names and identities in life…

That’s what my thesis is called “Identities” – I have goose bumps right now. Because I’ve had these bizarre identities. At my age you get to reflect, if you make time to do so, and figure out what really fits. It’s like I’ve gone through this huge wardrobe of identities and I’ve found something that fits. And it’s a person who stays home six days a week and takes care of dogs [she has six pugs]. I have a pretty quiet life. It’s really very different from what I did from 1990-2015, really 25 years of running hard.

Your Twitter posts are almost entirely poems you’ve written about daily life. Where does that come from?

I guess it was me experimenting with stuff I like to do. I’ve always written little poems. I actually used to advertise in the Weekly in the ’90s to be an undercover poet for people. I’d get the facts for the love poem, then write the love poem to give to their whoever.

I’ve just always loved rhyming and playing with words, and Twitter is cool because it makes you have to express yourself very quickly.

What do you miss most about your KSBW days?

I miss the energy of my job being different every single day. I was a slug getting to work, but once I was there I never wanted to leave. Nine hours would just fly by. However, I’m such an empath it started wearing on me. I started having nightmares all the time.

Every time I go to Safeway people say to me, “Aren’t you still on the news?” and it’s been 20 years. That’s a huge compliment. It blows my mind.

What’s something about you that would surprise people?

If I have to speak in public, my anxiousness is over the top. But never [on camera] at KSBW – that’s because it’s three people and a camera.