We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caroline Elise. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caroline below.
Hi Caroline, thanks for joining us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
My first paid gig as an actress was appearing in a music video shot in New York for a Jamaican rap artist in 2020. I had just started auditioning a few months before and I was beyond excited to not just get booked but to also get paid for my time. The excitement definitely showed through on set because I got bumped up to a featured role.
Besides giving me the positive reinforcement I needed to keep trying (auditioning always has more rejections than positives) I also walked away with professional footage to use in my portfolio and made a few friends that I still am connected to today.
Caroline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am an actress and filmmaker that previously lived another life working in big tech. Before the COVID pandemic I had been climbing the corporate ladder, running an event marketing business, and teaching yoga – but even with a million things keeping me busy, I always felt like something was missing. For me, the pandemic was a wakeup call that life was indeed unpredictable. It made me realize that I was eternally a theater kid and that I still had a passion for performing and creating.
As an artist, I focus on representing women’s stories and women in roles where they are the heroes of their own stories. For me, this has looked like creating my own film projects and short form content on TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
TikTok has been my most successful social media platform. I took to it because I saw how I could share videos of my acting and comedy. The advice that worked for me was to be consistent (I spent several months posting 3+ times per day, which helped me figure out my style and get better/faster at video creation) and be authentic. I think it is hard to put your real self out there online, but you do get rewarded.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I’m inspired by Reese Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine. I really admire how she started as an actress and then created a production company and publisher to focus on publishing primarily women-authored books and transforming them into TV and film. My goal is to be like Reese and get more women’s stories on the big and small screens.
Contact Info:
- Website: carolineeliseellis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caro4ever/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@plnt.based.mami