We recently connected with Lori Cortese-Buckheit and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lori, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I have no regrets about when I started my acting career. I truly believe that God has a path for each of us, and if this dream had been meant to take shape sooner, it would have. I wasn’t ready for my voice to be heard any earlier, and I trust that everything unfolded exactly as it was meant to.

For many years, I held onto this dream in silence, too insecure to share it with the world. In my younger years, I dabbled—going on a few auditions, taking the occasional acting class in NYC—but I never fully committed. At one point, I was even given the opportunity to play Annelle in a local theater production of Steel Magnolias —a role made famous by Daryl Hannah in the ‘90s. But I backed out. I was too worried about what other people would think. I simply didn’t have the confidence to be who I was meant to be at that time in my life. I can’t say I don’t look back on that young girl and feel sad for her, knowing she didn’t yet have what she needed to soar.

Then, life took me in another direction. Becoming a mother to my beautiful daughter, Kristie, was the greatest joy of my life, and I never once regretted putting my dream on hold. I poured my whole heart into raising her, and watching her grow into an incredible young woman has been my greatest blessing. She is, in every way, the daughter I always dreamed I’d have.
And so, I waited.

When Kristie was around 16, I felt the time was right to slowly begin training as an actor. Step by step, I embraced the dream I had once set aside, and when I was truly ready, I pursued it wholeheartedly. Looking back, I see that everything fell into place at just the right time.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My journey is about more than acting—it’s about storytelling and connecting with others through various creative outlets. It started in education, where I began teaching 8th grade English right out of college and later transitioned to teaching 5th grade reading and writing. I have spent 30 years working with struggling readers in the New York City public school system and have always related to my students, as I faced similar challenges in my own youth.

To meet the needs of my students, I designed a curriculum consisting of lesson plans and activities that would engage the kids and help them learn effectively. Eventually, I discovered a platform where teachers could sell their materials to others. That’s when Elsie’s Corner was born—named after my initials, LC, which come from my first and maiden name, Lori Cortese. What makes Elsie’s Corner special is that it has grown organically, without any formal marketing plan. Still, I’m proud to say that I’ve sold over 38,000 lesson plans across 14 countries. The impact on teachers and students worldwide has been incredibly fulfilling.

Scared Pink, my first children’s book, was inspired by my experiences as a mother, teacher, and someone who has dealt with some pretty debilitating anxiety. The lessons I’ve learned throughout my life shaped the story and its message of finding strength through fear. It also serves as a classroom resource, helping young readers practice fluency and develop essential reading skills in a fun and engaging way.

As an actor, I bring the same love for storytelling, authenticity, and passion for making a difference. Whether through teaching, writing, or acting, my goal is to help others feel seen and understood. If there’s one thing I hope people take away from my work, it’s this: It’s never too late to follow your dreams. And when you do, stay true to your heart—because that’s where the real magic happens.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience isn’t something we’re born with—it’s something we build, often through the hardest moments of our lives. For me, that journey started in childhood. I never knew my father; he left before I could form a single memory of him. My mother, one of the first female police officers in New York City, raised my sister and me on her own. Every night, she put on her bulletproof vest and walked out into the city’s most dangerous streets, leaving me with a fear that became a constant companion. I’d lie awake, terrified that she wouldn’t come home, that my sister and I would be left alone. That fear never fully left me. It grew into an anxiety disorder that shaped so much of my early life, often pulling me toward depression.

As if the weight of that anxiety wasn’t enough, I also struggled with feeling different. My mother worked long hours, which meant she couldn’t attend school functions like the other moms. While my classmates had their mothers cheering them on, I sat alone, pretending it didn’t bother me. My curly hair, wild and untamed in the 1970s before good hair products existed, only made me stand out more. Coupled with my anxiety, shyness, and struggles in school, this chipped away at my self-esteem, leaving me feeling like I didn’t quite belong. I lacked guidance and often felt alone, unsure of my place in the world.

Those feelings didn’t disappear as I got older. They lingered, shaping the way I saw myself and the world around me. Still holding on to issues of self-esteem and the weight of others’ opinions, I found myself facing a new fear—one that would challenge everything I thought I knew about myself. From a young age, I had always wanted to be an actor, but I only admitted it to others later in life. By then, pursuing this dream seemed foolish to many. Still, despite the doubts and ridicule, I took a leap. Luckily, I had the unwavering support of my husband and daughter, who stood by me as my cheerleaders and helped me take those first steps toward my dream. And while he may not be a cheerleader in the traditional sense, my loyal pup Winston, has been by my side every step of the way, a constant source of comfort and unconditional love.

Over time, I learned that resilience isn’t about never struggling—it’s about finding strength in those struggles. It’s about taking the pain of the past and using it to carve a future where I refuse to let fear define me.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission as a creative is to show that no amount of adversity can stop a person from achieving their goals. That it is never too late to pursue something you love. That slow and steady wins the race. That the opinions and jeers of others often reflect their own insecurities and jealousies. And that most people wish they had the courage to put themselves out there—because vulnerability is often just courage in disguise.

I know this because I’ve lived it. For years, I let fear hold me back, afraid of judgment, afraid of failure, afraid of proving the doubters right. I buried my dream of being an actor under the weight of insecurity. When I finally admitted it—out loud, later in life—it seemed foolish to many. I was mocked, doubted, and told it was too late. But I pursued it anyway. Because the truth is, dreams don’t have an expiration date.

Encouraged by loved ones, I took those first steps toward something that had always been in my heart. And in doing so, I realized that the only real failure is never trying at all.

So my creative journey isn’t just about acting or writing—it’s about proving that fear does not have the final say. That the struggles of the past don’t define us unless we let them. And that when we finally embrace our passions, unapologetically and wholeheartedly, we don’t just find success—we find ourselves.

So, to anyone who is reading this and is afraid to follow a dream – afraid of being judged. To someone who is giving in to the criticisms of their own mind – I know that fear well. But I also know that the things we build up in our heads are often far scarier than reality. The last stanza of my book, Scared Pink, speaks to those fears perfectly, and it reads:

That night we finally realized,
In my room so perfectly pink,
Things are usually not as scary,
As our brains might have us think.

The fear might always be there. The doubt might always whisper. But you are stronger than both. Chase the dream anyway!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/elsies-corner
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elsies_corner/?hl=en
• Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/loribuckheithttps://www.instagram.com/lcbuck/?hl=enhttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm13573192/?ref_=fn_all_nme_1

Image Credits

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