We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle Lopez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

This question is bittersweet to me because this is where it all started. It was 2005. I was in kindergarten in Catholic school and it was time for our annual Spring production. This year we were doing Wizard of Oz, and I was set on playing Dorothy. Out of the five girls auditioning for the part, I was lucky enough to get chosen for it. There was nothing like the excitement that being on the stage brought me. From that point on, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career as an actor.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

One thing people don’t know about me is that I work with kids and I really enjoy my job. During the day I work in an afterschool program at an elementary school in my neighborhood. Children are so honest and creative that in a way they fuel me as an artist to keep on being authentic and true to myself. The same way the kids inspire me, I hope that I can inspire other people.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me being an actor is so rewarding because I get to constantly share my work with others. This not only brings me joy, but it also brings joy to whoever is watching. I do what I do because I like it, but it also brings me satisfaction when I hear someone tell me that my performance really touched them.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

For me, I would say that I just wish I had started earlier. No one in my family really knew how to go about starting an acting career, but luckily I had a supportive mother. In 2014, she took action and put me in acting classes at Casa0101, which has a special place in my heart until this day. It’s home, it’s where it all started. Another place I trained for acting was at Barbizon acting and modeling. I still vividly remember my mom driving me to Diamond Bar every Saturday morning for class. I’m beyond grateful to everyone who has supported me along the way and helped me achieve everything I’ve accomplished. However, I still do sometimes wonder how much further I would be if I had started when I was a kid.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://msha.ke/michelle722
• Instagram: @lidd0_michelle

Image Credits

Credit to @emi_aggeler
Credit to @labrujacreative