Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephanie Michel Rodriguez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Stephanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I think the most emotionally impactful project that I’ve worked on so far was a short film entitled “Ya Queremos Pastel.” In the film I play a 17-year-old mother of two that had to leave her children in her home country so she can work in the U.S. and send funds back to them. I’m first-generation Mexican-American and this is a story I have heard and seen many times within my own family. Getting to explore the complicated emotions that come with something like this and bringing the story to life was something that really meant a lot to me.

Stephanie, 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, commercial model and writer that was born and raised in Oxnard, California. Before I fully committed to a career in the arts, I got my degrees in English and Media & Cultural Studies. After graduating, I spent time working on a congressional staff and with a non-profit for low-income children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. In my professional career, I saw the power of effective communication, advocacy, empathy and the impact of representation in the media. These experiences continue to shape my approach to acting and writing.

In 2022 I found my way back into the Arts and have since been a part of about 30 different projects. I’m fiercely passionate about minority representation in media because I believe that storytelling has the power to break down stereotypes, open minds, and create empathy. By portraying and creating a wide range of characters authentically, I hope to contribute to a more diverse and inclusive entertainment landscape.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Since I was really little I loved being creative and performing but I always told myself it wasn’t “a real career.” So, I set out to be a lawyer because that’s what I thought I wanted to be and I did all the internships and college organizations and jobs that I could in order to reflect all this. I did a Summer internship in D.C. at my top choice of internships and then started working on a congressional staff and realized I was “living my dream” on paper, but in real life I was miserable. COVID-19 hit right when I was about to take the LSAT so I was really forced to stop and think about what it actually was that I wanted for myself. I thought I was in too deep and when someone said “well, why would you just keep going deeper?” I realized I didn’t have a good answer. I finally got to a place where I was able to acknowledge that I want to live my life as a creative and now I’m doing everything I can to do that.

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

The library, social media, talking to other people that are also starting out like me, podcasts and so many others. These resources seem so glaringly obvious to me now but when I was in the very beginning stages of this journey, I thought I needed to spend so much money on all these different things in order to be the best I could be but there are also so many things that you can do for free. What I do invest time and money into now is going to an acting studio that I’ve found works really well for me and surrounding myself with a community there. I think it’s also super important to have people you can learn from and learn with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/stephmichelr
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmichelr/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/e5cUyY5nYqg?si=Xq0TsC34FyBUQdPX

Image Credits
Lesley Bohm Photography