Entertainment: Mandy Moore

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Crushing on the woman who's crushing her career. 

On Saturday morning, wearing a blue sweatshirt with the words, "For most of history Anonymous was a woman," across her chest and a pink "pussy" hat, actress Mandy Moore, joined a reported fellow 750,000 women, men, and children at the Women's March in Downtown Los Angeles. 

Though the pop "Candy" songstress turned Golden Globe nominated actress has received accolades for her current work on This Is Us on NBC, this past weekend Moore took the streets as if to say, This, Is ALL of US. "What a way to celebrate the collective energy of so many people unwilling to sit idly by. One for the books," the award nominee wrote on her Instagram. Not what some would expect from a former TRL charter, but crushing career stereotypes is part of her repertoire.

Moore escaped the standard downward spiral of a young-to-fame pop princess. When critics said she was simply “too nice,” she kept working, at times typecast, but steadily building her acting career. Since her debut in role in 2001 as the voice of a Girl Bear Cub in Dr. Doolittle 2, Moore has been cast in over twenty films. She managed to keep her 2015 divorce relatively private. And steers clear of the pomp and circumstance of Hollywood. Maybe it's that angelic smile that keeps her floating above the drama, or the fact that Moore keeps her head as firmly attached to her shoulders as her feet to the ground. “At 32 years old, I feel a comfort in my own skin and a sense of determination in my choices that I thought I had all along but really I had no idea,” the actress admits. "There’s no substitute for time or the wisdom and clarity that comes with it. I’ve been working hard to quit apologizing for things I have no control over or no business apologizing for in the first place.”

Or perhaps it’s the lessons she’s kept tucked in her toolkit from her teen years in a notoriously sexist music industry. “Surround yourself with GOOD people,” she says. “I’m lucky enough to have a stable and supportive foundation when it comes to my family and friends so I’ve always attributed that as being the most critical piece of the puzzle. Beyond that, always, always, always trust your gut. When in doubt, DON’T.” 

"Always, always, always trust your gut. When in doubt, DON’T.” 

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Those women include a stellar squad of empowered women who, Moore says, have “shown me that there’s so much value in learning how to say no, staying true to your vision and finding the courage to take risks.” And her mom, who sent her daughter a pillow the morning of the Globes embroidered with the phrase, “so believed she could so she did.” That she has. 

At present, the low-maintenance performer's risks include making active and bold choices in her life and career, something that wasn’t always the case. “Like a lot of people,” she explains, “I allowed fear to govern my life for a period. I became exceptionally good at making myself and my needs as minuscule as possible as not to disturb other parts of my life. Once I realized that those broken patterns weren’t leading me where I wanted to go, I leaned into the pain, embraced change and started owning my power.” Whether she’s singing, acting, or marching down Broadway, the choices she’s making are her own. 

The industry, and the viewers who turned out in droves to watch This Is Us last fall, are taking notice. With a radical 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a two-season renewal from the network, things are looking sweet for Moore. But she’s not taking any of it for granted. “Having a job that inspires and challenges me as much as this one does is all of the reward I could ask for. Having said that, this is a WHOLE new world to me and it’s equal parts mind-blowing and humbling. I keep reminding myself to be in the moment and that it’s ok to really appreciate it and not write it off too quickly.” 

We suggest taking a similar approach to Moore and her career, wherever that particular march may take her.

Entertainment: Rachel Bloom

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Nothing crazy here. 

Rachel Bloom, co-creator and star of the irreverent musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on the CW, grew up with an affinity for four things: singing, dancing, murder, and death.(#bestfriendstatus?) Her years spent in Southern California’s beachy-clean Manhattan Beach were jointly filled with anxiety and a love for musical theater. An outsider at school, those showy tunes were all she listened to until 18, when the theater nut headed from the shores of CA to the smells of NY to major in musical theater at NYU's Tisch program. But everyone experiments in college. During her time at Tisch, Rachel branched out, started performing with Upright Citizen Brigade Theater, and “fell in love with doing sketch comedy.” 

Post NY, back in LA once again, Rachel worked as a staff writer on Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken, but wasn't entirely satisfied. “My first TV writing job was with a bunch of older, more experienced men, and many of them were brilliant but mean to me. I went home and cried a lot during that period.” And she hadn't shook the musical-comedy bug. 

"My first TV writing job was with older, more experienced men. Many of them were brilliant but mean to me."

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Six years ago the first video she posted on YouTube, “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury,” about the sci-fi writer, went viral. For his part, Bradbury reportedly saw said video on his 90th birthday and dug it. A second short, involving a singing "historically accurate Disney princess" who coughs up blood and warbles about a blacksmith with a "daughter-wife, ten-years-old and pregnant," caught the attention of her soon-to-be Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator, Aline Brosh McKenna. It was also the first very public mix of all the things that fascinated Rachel a child. (See above: singing, dancing, murder, and death.) Rachel credits those shorts as the most important step in her career. “Filming what I wrote was immensely important,” she explains. Advice taken from her husband, who many years ago told the actress, "‘Film what you write.’ At the time he was way more experienced than I was," she shares, "so I took his words to heart and it really paid off.”

Even if her road to success was paved with tears, they were not for wont. The CW ordered five additional scripts even before the premiere of My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Last January, Rachel won her first Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical. And Crazy Ex is just that: a cherry musical on top of a dark, modern day comedy. The blunt name of the show ironically pegs women in a role men have long loved to brand them as: crazy. But the use of music, clever dialogue, and conversations amongst female characters that have nothing to do with men, debunk and deconstruct the male-driven stereotype. 

Rachel says that the impetus for the show was always to deal with the contradictory messages women deal with on a daily basis. Telling TIME, “We’re taught to be strong women, we want to be strong women, but both our western ideas of romance and also our own emotions make us crazy. Women are fed all of these contradictory ideas about what love is and what you should and shouldn’t have and you’re supposed to have it all, but you’re also supposed to fall in love.”  

Wise words from a woman who says that “female empowerment means seeing oneself as a citizen of Earth first, and how one's gender informs that second.”

Comedy has always appealed to the songstress. “On a primal level,” she shares, “being funny suddenly made me cooler than I could ever be off-stage. I fell in love with comedy writing due to the creative freedom one could find through structure.”

"Being funny suddenly made me cooler than I could ever be off-stage."

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She’s been very open about her own anxieties, “making it,” and capital F fears. “I have a lot more confidence now. I'm not afraid that every bad idea is an omen of me being a talentless hack,” she says. Quoting an acting teacher who once told her, "Laziness is a form of fear," Rachel says that bit of advice has stuck with her. "It really hit home with me." 

And now, we welcome Rachel, her oddities and talent, into ours. 

Entertainment: Zelda Williams

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Free to be Z. 

Zelda Williams is chatting about bouldering with YouTube star Hannah Hart, a form of rock climbing performed without ropes or harnesses. In a way, it’ s climbing in its simplest form. Just you, the rock, and your moves.

Hart is covered in bandaids from her first indoor bouldering experience in Los Angeles the prior evening. “It's safer to climb down than jump, though they have padding,” explains Zelda. She’s using words like belay (which, we had to look up), referring to techniques used by climbers so that they don’t fall too far. It’s a sport that Zelda is well-versed in, having surprisingly amateur bouldered with her brothers growing up in San Francisco. But as you get to know the writer-actress-director, her knowledge of all things random feels perfectly in place. One of the walking Wikipedia's favorite fact to drop on the unknowing? "Humans are technically, by our own definition, an endangered species, at least where the universe is concerned."

The daughter of the late comedian Robin Williams and producer Marsha Garces Williams, the Zelda's childhood was normal-ish. And though the 27-year-old grew up with a legendary father, she’s never tethered herself to his name. In many respects her move to Los Angeles at 17, after taking a few college courses and deciding she would try her hand in the glittery city, was one without ropes. 

It was Zelda, her ideas, and her dance moves (which, the performer will occasionally show off on IG). But roles didn’t simply appear. It’s been ten years since that initial move. “As an actress I was tired of waiting around for people to give me permission,” shares Zelda. “I wanted to constantly tell stories, whether I’d been ‘cast’ to do so or not! So I took the time between projects usually spent waiting for the next person to hire me working to hire myself.” 

"As an actress I was tired of waiting around for people to give me permission.”

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During that time of “lots of lonely nights in” and “many carpal tunnel exercises,” she developed 12 scripts. One for every month if you’re counting. “I got to spend almost this entire year telling stories, as a writer, a director AND an actress! It was hard work, but it’s been a literal dream come true.”

In 2015 she directed musician and friend of over ten years JoJo’s music video for “Save My Soul.” It’s a stark and beautiful work shot over the course of one night in the desert, touching on addiction, powerlessness and loss. Most recently she directed “Zero,” an episode she also wrote for the forthcoming anthology thriller “Dark/Web,” and has been actively shopping her pilot about dominatrices in legal dens. (Yes, she did plenty of in-person research.) “While I think the sexual politics of it may be too ahead of it's time, it's still so fun to open that discussion up in a room full of suits,” she laughs.

Zelda doesn’t see her move toward directing as a shift, “but more,” she shares, “an expansion on what I already was doing. I'm still an actor, but acting is a popularity contest, and I wanted to create even if I wasn't in demand because it's what I love.” Acknowledging that “there isn't a perfectly Zelda shaped hole waiting there for me.” 

That desire is what drives her past inevitable times of doubt. “Truthfully, I'm one of those sci-fi nerds who's most fascinated by our relative cosmic insignificance. We're 7 billion tiny, short life-spanned ants on one fairly unremarkable spinning rock out of an infinite number. What we do as individuals, in a universal sense, means nothing.”

But don’t write that off as nihilism. The video game lover says, “We have to believe that, as individuals, what we're doing means something, that everything accumulates somehow to equal a life that doesn't immediately fade out of memory as soon as it ends. So I create, even if no one will ever see it or read it, because at least it means I'm still doing something, and therefore, still living.” 

"I create, even if no one will ever see it or read it.”

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Her relationship to herself is “ever-changing,” noting “though thankfully mostly for the better, even in spite of everything that has happened.” And she’s settling into herself more, taking stock of who she wants to be. “This last five years was especially hard, and who knows where the next five will take me, but as I've gotten closer and closer to 30, I've found myself very much looking forward to my life ahead, however long it may be.” 

“I've become more comfortable expressing myself,” she admits. “Even when I know the response may not be positive. I've started living my life for me, as opposed to the person I'm with, the family I was born into, or the expectations of anyone who cares enough to be watching. And, though this will inevitably come and go, I've finally become more comfortable with who I see in the mirror.”

It’s a bravery that filters through her every move. It’s bouldering a career; climbing without ropes. 

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Entertainment: Franchesca Ramsey

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Morally resolute, intersectional feminist. 

Franchesca Ramsey had been making her own hilarious YouTube videos, a mixture of song parodies, impersonations, and socially conscious comedy sketches, since 2006, but it wasn’t until she made “Shit White Girls Say…To Black Girls” and went viral, racking up 1.5 million views in just 24 hours, that Ramsey was really put on the map. The video has 11 million views to date, and it gave Ramsey the confidence to pursue entertainment full time. “Quitting my day job took a huge leap of faith, but I knew I wouldn't be able to pursue the opportunities I was most interested in with a 9-5.” We’re all better off for it, as since then the actress, video blogger, and writer has quickly become of the most exciting voices, in both comedy and social activism, of our time.

Ramsey spent time as a writer and contributor to "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore," where her recurring segment #HashItOut was a stand out part of the show, and in 2015 landed her current gig as the host of "Decoded," an MTV News web series that speaks to issues of race and culture. She also still creates original content on YouTube, both for her comedy channel Chescaleigh and her lifestyle channel Chescalocs, which focuses more on beauty, natural hair care, and styling (the two channels have over 250k subscribers and 29 million views combined), and does speaking engagements at colleges, inspiring and educating (and cracking up) students around the country with her incisive wit and cutting intellect. In short, she’s killing it. But ‘twas not always so. In fact, just a few short years ago, Ramsey was considering giving up on entertainment altogether. “In 2014 my videos weren't doing very well and I had a hard time booking auditions, so I seriously considered abandoning entertainment and leaving NY,” she recalls. “Instead, I got a remote job writing for Upworthy and used that to supplement the few acting jobs I was able to pick up until things started to take off.”

Even now, as accomplished as she is, Ramsey still encounters more than her fair share of challenging moments. “Being a woman of color on the Internet is challenging, let alone being one that openly talks about racism and feminism. I deal with an intense amount of harassment, which at times can be discouraging, but is also a reminder of why these conversations are so important,” she says of the trolls who follow her every move. Ramsey credits her husband, her parents, and her audience for keeping her going when things get rocky. “I'm really fortunate to have people around the world that enjoy my content and continuously reach out to let me know that it's making an impact on their lives,” she says of her devoted fans. A self-described “gym rat,” Ramsey also works out five days a week at 7 am. “It’s when I really let go of everything and just focus on accomplishing whatever my trainer puts in front of me,” she says of her routine.

"Being a woman of color on the Internet is challenging."

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Aside from her family and fans, Ramsey raves about her friend and mentor, Tracee Ellis Ross, as an ongoing source of influence and inspiration. “I'm incredibly inspired by her talent, work ethic and humility. She's given me tons of great advice over the years and most recently I got the chance to write for her when she hosted Black Girls Rock for BET,” Ramsey says of Ross, whom she met a few years ago through her YouTube channel. “She's incredibly gracious and a firm believer in supporting and uplifting other women which, is something I think is incredibly important.”

Another thing Ramsey (and we) think is incredibly important? Activism, and specifically, a commitment to intersectional feminism. “It's important to acknowledge our privilege and remember that there are all types of women from a variety of walks of life that face challenges that we do not,” Ramsey says. “If you're truly committed to advocating for women you have to be willing to stand up for all women regardless of race, sexuality, physical ability, religion, class or gender identity, not just ladies that look like you.” For her part, Ramsey is already making a big difference in the steering the current cultural conversation. As for her personal goals? “One day I'd like to be in a position to break and foster new talent,” she says. We have zero doubt that will happen, and probably much sooner than she thinks.

Entertainment: Kelly Oxford

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Doing the work every damn day. 

Kelly is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

In sparkling silver Gucci shoes and her signature oversized black frames, Kelly Oxford is part Glenda the Good Witch, part witty writer. “I wear these everywhere,” she says. Maybe referring to the shoes. Maybe referring to the glasses. It’s a great combo. And so is she. 

If it was possible to be a native Californian-Canadian, Kelly Oxford would be it. Nice, but not too nice. Easy going with a serious affection for hard work. “Doing the work every day,” says Kelly, is the most important step she’s taken in her career. That and doing, “try[ing] not to fuck with anyone else along the way.”  

It seems simple enough, but sparkling shoes aside, not everything in LA glitters; there is no overnight success story. Kelly is no exception.

The Canadian born writer started a blog in 2002, anonymously sharing stories, made the jump to MySpace, and then joined Twitter in 2009. As the social media star’s Twit-tale goes, the little blue bird and her ability to kill it in 140-characters or less, brought her attention. But Twitter can only take a gal so far. It was Kelly and the aforementioned hard work that flew her from the platform to the bank. 

"I see other women as inspiration rather than 'competition.'"

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It was seven years ago when producer and writer Jhoni Marchinko of Will & Grace, and most recently 2 Broke Girls fame, told Kelly that she would help her break into TV. “And she did,” Kelly says. “I was thrown into this business fast. Warner Brothers bought the first screenplay I wrote.” Post-WB purchase, in 2012, Kelly and her family moved from Calgary to Hollywood. “I can say that learning how the business works from the inside has been the biggest change from five years ago.”

The working writer has penned books, like the New York Times bestseller "Everything Is Perfect When You’re a Liar," TV and film scripts, and isn’t too shabby with a hashtag. Last November, post-election she reinvigorated her Twitter base, asking women to Tweet her their stories of sexual assault using the hashtag #notokay. It’s a platform that has given her voice, as well as a voice to serious issues that affect women.

While she gained early attention via Twitter, Kelly has been actively working, writing, and selling TV and film scripts in Hollywood-- not such an easy feat. "This is the cheesiest answer," she says when asked how she supports her peers and moves the needle in the face of a difficult career choice, but, "I see other women as inspiration rather than 'competition.'"  

Though she didn't initially love that her career was boosted by Twitter, these days she forgives herself more, obsesses over dogs and crystals, and swears by the routine of going on walks. She also warns, “Enjoy the congratulations you receive when you sell a project, because no one is patting you on the back while you're doing the work.” 

Her kids keeps her going, so does grinding it out over a keyboard daily, which, includes the task of staying engaged with her online audience— something the writer admits has been a challenge. But she's up for it, knowing that every step taken is one in the right direction.  

“Until the 1960s,” says Kelly, “women were just ‘fathers’ daughters,’ and then ‘wives.’ Anything since then has been a movement toward empowerment."

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Entertainment: Constance Zimmer

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Hitting a career high. 

Constance is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

At the age of 46, Constance Zimmer, actress/mom/director/wife/advocate, is just now hitting her stride. Many of us first fell for Zimmer as ruthless, skirt-suited studio exec Dana Gordon on "Entourage." The cutthroat character was an instant fan favorite, in part because she served up some seriously strong female vibes in an otherwise testosterone-drenched plotline. After a six year run with HBO complete with a spin-off movie, Zimmer reprises her not-to-be-f*cked alter-ego as power producer Quinn King on Lifetime’s Peabody-winning, Bachelor-inspired "unREAL." In an industry as notoriously sexist and ageist as Hollywood, Zimmer is changing the game, defying stereotypes and shining in her first leading role as a woman in her 40s.

“I wish I could take credit, but it's the amazing women like Marti Noxon, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, Shonda Rhimes, Sharon Horgan, Jill Soloway, Lena Dunham and the list goes on, who are changing the roles written for women,” says Zimmer, on overcoming the the industry’s well-documented women problem. “The audiences are changing. We want to see more characters we can relate to… the landscape of television is changing, too. There's more room now for actors to find their voice.”

In an episode of the female-fronted “Better Things,” co-created by the hilarious Louis CK and Pamela Adlon, Zimmer and Adlon’s characters play rival actresses often vying for the same audition. But if you’re looking for a catfight, don’t hold your breath. The competition is nothing more than fiction. “I've never felt competitive with my friends. I have gotten through the ups and downs of this business by believing that we all get the roles we are meant to get. I only have love and support for my friends whether we are up for the same part or not.” For this cool-headed approach, Zimmer thanks her acting coach. "20 years ago, she told me ‘You are enough.’ I still use it to this day, it's something I work on all the time.”

Constance is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

A lot has gone well for Zimmer in the last five years, personally as well as professionally. “I have always been incredibly grateful for my career, but definitely since I turned 40 I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin,” says the "unREAL" leading lady, who jokes that playing fierce matriarchs on TV has allowed her to express her inner voice without getting in trouble for it. “Because of that, the roles I've been lucky enough to play in the last five years feel like I'm using a different muscle. I also feel a little more responsible in how I portray these strong women, I want them to be relatable.”

"Since I turned 40 I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin."

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In real life, Zimmer is fiercely devoted to family. While many of her shows aren’t exactly child-safe, she recently procured her old sitcom “Good Morning, Miami” on DVD and looks forward to a moment of calm to sit down and watch it with her daughter.

This year, Zimmer will celebrate yet another first — her directorial debut with an episode of "unREAL," already renewed for a third season. “I look forward to directing more. I have directors I dream about working with like the Coen Brothers, Jeff Nichols, or Wes Anderson, and of course some favorite actors to work alongside would be Meryl Streep, Tina Fey and Mark Ruffalo.”

Zimmer is is leading the way for a new era of leading ladies, and that means using her status for advocacy. “I find it unbelievable that a woman doing the same job as a man is not making the same amount of money. That's mind boggling to me.” On a personal level, she’s a firm believer in amplifying female voices. “I make sure that all women in my life know they are special and that their voice is unique to them and not focus on trying to being someone else.” While her favorite piece of life advice may not be what you’d expect: “Don't wait for a special occasion to wear that fancy dress, wear it now!”

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Entertainment: Nicole Byer

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Breaking all the rules. 

Loosely speaking, Nicole Byer, is a boss. The comedian, writer, and actress who stars on the semi-autobiographical comedy Loosely Exactly Nicole, her show on MTV, has broken every typecast mold. But it wasn’t something the comedic storyteller intentionally set out to do. Nicole didn’t want to be an actor, but rather, an illustrator. One hitch, she couldn’t draw. 

What she lacked in technical skill, she made up for with energy. It was the comedian's mom, the person whom Nicole credits as “being so supportive,” encouraged her to join her high school play, and work out some of that energy on stage. The performance was a comedy. 

It was the first time she received a lot of laughs and it had a life-changing effect. “Making someone laugh is magic.” Nicole shares. “It’s also powerful and therapeutic.” 

She’s been after that feeling ever since. After spending many years doing “doing a lot of free improv shows in a basement,” Nicole reticently credits her career to “being at the right place at the right time.” 

But being in said "place" has taken plenty of work. In 2013, Nicole launched her career on MTV with Hasan Minaj’s Failosophy. A few months in the network worked Nicole and her comedic chops into the reality-comedy-advice series Girl Code. There was a bit of learning curve for the actress, who didn’t fully understand the show’s concept. Basically, she went into the studio and talked. “We live in a world,” she says on the show, “where we’ve made it very easy to give opinions.” And opinions were given. The women on the show discussed feminism, slut-shaming, gay besties, and pussy power. They talked about it all. But Nicole, growing more disinterested in being a talking head, was looking to break into scripted-television. However, when the roles available weren't up to snuff (aka, fully-formed, not typical typecast bull) Nicole did what any intelligent badass woman would: wrote her own. 

For people breaking into the biz, Nicole says it’s important to, “stay in your lane,” and “keep your eyes on your own paper.” But she’s more than willing to lend an ear to an aspiring comedian. “I try and be as helpful as possible when someone has a question about comedy.” 

Nicole wants all women to know that they are “are beautiful, smart, strong as fuck and special. We also have to listen to each other and remember to be inclusive. There's feminism and intersectional feminism.”

Recently telling the Hollywood Reporter, “It went from me going out for a part of a hooker named Bertha to making my web series that I loved and I'm so proud of.” She wants to change the roles available for women, especially women of color, to be three-dimensional, fully-formed characters. 

“All women are beautiful, smart, strong as fuck and special.” 

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She knows that her humor isn’t for everyone, but adds “nothing is off limits if I find it funny.” 

As for what’s been a roadblock on her journey, “Life,” she jokes. Which is also what she says keeps her going. That and the hope of one day making Whoopi Goldberg laugh. She’s already got both her grandma and Beyoncé to giggle. We’re thinking Whoopi isn’t too far a shot. 

Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Entertainment: Sanaa Lathan

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Paying it forward. 

Many of you know Sanaa Lathan, the famous Tony nominated actress, but what about Sanaa Lathan, the philanthropist who conditions young women out of foster care? In August 2015 Sanaa established the Sanaa Lathan Foundation, a charitable organization that helps women transition out of foster homes and into adulthood.   

Blessed with a supportive and ambitious family, Sanaa grew up with many advantages not afforded to many. Raised in New York she followed in her mother’s footsteps with a passion for acting. After studying the arts at Yale University's School of Drama, the actress moved to Los Angeles at the behest of her father, a television producer. It was on her very first day at school that an acting teach doled out a piece of invaluable advice. Telling the young thespians, "Success is measured more by the ability to preserve in the face of adversity than your talent." Without a doubt, the presence of family and the opportunity for education molded Sanaa and prepped her for success and unavoidable rejection. "This business is not for the faint of heart," she shares. Her father also help prepped her for the world of Hollywood, telling his daughter: "Every audition, give it everything you've got, because it will literally or figuratively be an investment in your future. It will pay off eventually. Even if you don't get the job." Sanaa says, "He was right."

Today the working activist hopes to do the same for these young women experiencing hardships.  "One positive moment with a young person provides the possibility of changing their path in the right direction forever," she shares.

"One positive moment with a young person can change their path forever." 

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Did you know… there are currently 28,000 children in foster care in Los Angeles county alone.  Half of those kids won’t graduate college and experience grave learning disabilities and developmental delays.  At age 17 these children become legally emancipated, unprepared for the reality of adulthood, and fifty percent become homeless or incarcerated.  The vast majority of these emancipated young adults turn to drugs and sex trafficking, with no structure or understanding of where to go.  “Without actual support they could wind up in the same cycle that got them in foster care in the first place,” explains Sanaa.  Hence, the Sanaa Lathan Foundation’s mission is: to empower young women aging out of foster care to transition into adult independence through improved self-esteem and access to higher education. 

“Making a real difference in people’s lives” has always been the most important part of Sanaa's livelihood. So she has a very hands-on approach. Working alongside Kenadie Cobbin, the founder and creative director of HerShe Las Vegas, the Sanaa Lathan Foundation provides housing and facilities to abused and neglected foster children transitioning into adulthood and empowers them towards healing and change.  She also provides an annual 7-day summer camp where these young girls blossom, build a new community and friends and learn life tools they’ll have forever.  

Sanaa believes in the power of “mentorship, time, and giving youth the possibility of hope for their future” and builds the philosophy of her foundation in it. She hopes to provide these young women with role models and a sense of family, citing her mother and the women in her family as her guiding light. "They are some of the strongest spiritually and emotionally people I know,” says the actress who also started transcendental meditation four years ago after a particularly stressful year. Twenty minutes a day, plus the her family's light and humor in the face of life's challenges is what uplifts her spirit. It is her hope to share that same positive mentorship with her girls. "Hope and perseverance," she says, are crucial steps to achievement and tools needed to break intergenerational cycles.

As for what she hopes for her future? Simple: "To still be joyfully doing it all when I'm a little old lady like Betty White."