We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Corri English a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Corri, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I’m currently a co-creator/co-host of the podcast Hi My Name Is Mom.. it started as a passion project – 3 moms, sharing real life stuff with each other in private, and deciding the therapeutic convos we were having might just be helpful to other mamas in the thick of the isolation, confusion, fatigue, and unquestionably WORTH IT job of being called MOM. We pulled a mic up to our very unfiltered conversations, and have been going that for over 100 episodes. It’s been so much fun, and also a ton of work at times- but much like being a mom – SO worth the mom community we have built. We share the incredibly high-highs and the really low-lows, and all of the in between that create the parenthood roller coaster all of us raising tiny humans live on! It’s one of those rare projects that feels like I’m truly giving as much as I get.. which is hard to find, but always my goal as a creator/entertainer.
Corri, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
It’s hard to decide exactly what I should title myself at this stage in my career.. once upon a time I could have summed it up as actor/voice-over artist – my world was about tv and film jobs, animation, video games… I’ve had the opportunity to work with amazing teams on so many projects I’m proud to have been a part of! While that’s still a big part of my life, writing music & momming have really come to the forefront… I have had the chance to write for so many wonderful artists, as well as release my own music… AND the real surprise of my life was becoming a mom of 3 kiddos! Once upon a time, I was married to my career… and then I met my person (Ty Bentli – proud wife shout-out: listen to him live on Apple Music Country every weekday from 9-11 centra! :)… and we had a little (but BIG) surprise – our son, Radley!! Almost 10 years later and we have 2 more perfect little peanuts (Sebastian, 4, and our baby girl Teddi, 1) and my best role ever is MOMMY. I have way more kids than I ever imagined, and I love it more than I could have dreamed.. It’s fitting that the entertainment industry project currently taking center stage for me is the podcast I co-host with 2 of my real life mom friends – the Hi My Name Is Mom podcast, which you can catch on all the podcast platforms, as well as the video version on YouTube (YouTube.com/HiMyNameIsMom). It has been such a marriage of my career and my real life, and I LOVE it!!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is, without a doubt, the human connection. When I was a little kid, performing for audiences, my WHY was seeing the people in the crowd smile.. if I could make people happy, I was happy. When my band was playing for US troops overseas in Iraq, I felt that in such a potent way, yet again… I could bring a piece of home, and a little escape, through music… and feel so much love in return. And now, with my podcast, the messages we get from moms let us know that we are creating that same undeniable connection…if we can help a mom who feels judged and isolated feel understood and seen… that’s what it’s about. It makes me emotional just typing it. Kinda crazy to think my “why” hasn’t really changed since I was 4 years old!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
There was no bigger career pivot for me than when I became pregnant with my first child! The majority of my life as an actor was built in Los Angeles, and suddenly I was 3 months pregnant and moving to New York City to start a family.. not only was my body changing, but my team changed – my agents, manager, and alllll of the casting directors I’d spend years creating relationships with, were now across the country. I felt like I had to start from scratch. I remember being 2 weeks postpartum, and telling my agents I wanted to come in for a meeting – to prove I was READY to jump back in. I squeezed myself into Spanx and put on makeup one-handed while I bounced my newborn. I was. not. ready. I wish I’d had the perspective then that I do now – I would tell that girl to chillax and enjoy her baby, that work could wait, that nothing else really mattered right now. I did learn that lesson, but it took time… it’s not easy to go from an entirely career-focused person to full-on mama. Today, I still pour myself into work.. but I have much better boundaries!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.corrienglish.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/corrienglish
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/corrienglish
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corri-english-0323191a7/
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/corrienglish
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/corrienglish
- Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@corrienglish?lang=en Hi My Name Is Mom Podcast: http://www.youtube.com/himynameismom http://www.instagram.com/himynameismomofficial
Image Credits
Inda Reid, Kaela Kinney