I started in theater when I was six, after I saw my first play. I performed in dozens of local stage productions and moved to LA when I was 17 to attend theater school at UCLA. I found a job interning at a casting agency to learn more about the business side of the film and television. While I was working there, I landed a manager and agent, and was working as an actor by the age of 20. By 22, I was able to support myself entirely on my acting career, which continues to this day. It is probably what I’m most proud of in my career. 

I have NO idea how I got into theater school — I think it was on sheer hope and desire. I grew up doing theater, but I had never performed a monologue in my life and needed two (dramatic and comedic) to audition for UCLA. I rehearsed in my bedroom and didn't perform in front of someone until the actual audition. Looking back, it was insane but the only option available to me at the time! I performed Juliet’s "Spread thy close curtain" monologue from "Romeo & Juliet" and the other was an obscure piece from a weird play called "Coyote Ugly" set in Texas. I’m pretty sure I found both monologues in old books at my local library.  

The best part about going to UCLA was the creative community of actors and artists in Los Angeles. Being surrounded by vocal creatives was so different from my upbringing. I was almost silent my first two years there, but once I found my footing I truly made it my home. 

I learned everything along the way. One of my strengths is not feeling like I need to have every detail figured out before I leap. Through acting, I’ve learned not to be a perfectionist and how to be comfortable making mistakes in public. Jumping a bit earlier than you are ready allows you to stay ahead of the crowd- it enables your project to take on authentic nuances that it might not have otherwise developed if you didn't have that early conversation with your audience. I have two amazing business partners who are great at asking the important logistical questions. I’ve improved in that area through them.  I also finally learned how to manage my money (not always a strong suit for us creatives!) because I had other people I was accountable to.

This is a very challenging dynamic and one I’m still working through. Since I’m also dealing with major upheaval in my personal life, it limits the time and creative energy I have available to put toward my work life. I wish I had the magic answer.

I LOVE working with my business partners Jenn & Ashley! They are strong in all the areas where I’m weak and they’re the foundation that the business is built on. My acting career is sporadic and unpredictable. I need reliable partners who can keep it going for those weeks where I’m completely unavailable, and Jenn & Ashley always rise to the occasion. They’re both wildly creative, inspiring, and fun women to hang around. For my part, I think I'm good at generating creative ideas and schemes to push our company forward and keep us excited about working in this field of lifestyle content production. 

My day-to-day has two completely separate gears and I'm always in one or the other. There’s no overlap between my "Off" times and my "On" times. When I’m not on a show or movie, I wake up with my kids, make their breakfast, pack lunch for my three year old and drive him to preschool. My au pair helps watch my 1 year old while I handle business emails, work out, read scripts, paint, audition, work on Move LifeStyle, or go to meetings. I pick up my preschooler in the afternoon and spend some time with the kids, then finish all final tasks and make a plan for the next day before starting dinner at 5 or 5:30.

During my "On" times when I’m on a film, my days are typically 12-16 hours on set, so during those times my life gets completely out of balance. I don’t eat as well as I should, I go to bed at odd hours, I don’t sleep well, I don’t get to see my kids enough, workouts are almost impossible to come by, I fall behind in my website responsibilities, etc.

I try to keep the weeks following a film as open as possible, because I need that time to reconnect with my kids, take care of myself and get my feet back on the ground. It’s an odd life that can be extremely stressful if I let it, and I sometimes do. The best advice I received was to think of work-life balance on a large scale, as opposed to trying to find it day-to-day, because in my career it is impossible to structure things that way.

You can have it all, but not all at the same time, so take a big picture view. Work-life balance does not mean that every day is an evenly portioned dinner plate! For example, this week I’m working 16 hour days and only seeing my kids for about 15 minutes a day. But next week, I’ll be off this movie and I’ll be the one driving them to school, making their lunches and cooking dinner for them. So I do think I have work-life balance, but I have to look at it through a yearly, not daily, lens. I recommend other working moms try to do the same thing. 

Actually, I'm glad that I was fairly naïve at the beginning of my career. Otherwise I’m not sure I would have had the courage to try to start a career as an actress! It can be an incredibly disappointing and unstable career. I’m glad I didn’t know that before I jumped into it, because I’ve learned how to cope along the way. I’m a stronger person for having conquered those challenges and learned those life lessons. 

I don’t take anything for granted until I see the results! I have had so many almost moments where somebody is insisting "this show/project/movie is going to be HUGE" that I’m almost immune to that type of extreme positivity. I like to be hopeful but realistic. That way when something does happen to “blow up HUGE” or go extremely well, it’s just a really nice bonus and not something you’re reliant on!  

 I’ve also learned a lot about how to place my self-worth outside of what it is that I do for a living. This can be an extra challenge when you work in a creative field, as most artists know! Defining yourself through your career is truly an unsafe choice because you can’t rely on it. I’ve learned to value myself based on my actions in the world, my relationships and my character, not through achievements or external reasons. 

I’m currently excited about revisiting the program in The Artists’ Way. Whether you’re in a creative field or not, we are meant to be creative beings expressing ourselves! If you’ve never read this book, I highly recommend it to give yourself a creative shot in the arm — it prescribes a three month routine so summer is the perfect time to implement it.