We recently connected with Tara Struss and have shared our conversation below.

Tara , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was definitely born with a natural love of performing and music. I remember being very young, 3 or maybe 4 years old, and loving hearing any music at home or in the car with my parents. On a family vacation when I was about 5, the hotel had a piano player and I was dancing around as he played. When he stopped, I thought the applause was for me! So I’ve always had the bug as they say. It look a long time for me to really overcome myself and my own limitations to just put my foot on the gas and go for it though. I moved to NYC about 12 years ago to pursue my dreams but became quickly discouraged because I was definitely not “the Type” to get ahead in the business, being very overweight and insecure. I distracted myself by working meaningless jobs to pay the bills but every time I hit a dead end in life I just came back to what I wanted to do-perform, be seen, be heard, make art that matters to me and maybe if I”m lucky someone else. That’s what I’m on the planet to do and what I intend to do. I’m in a place now where the rejection doesn’t hurt me, I know who I am and what I can offer, and I forge on because I know the path will appear.

Tara , 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?

Wow, what a wonderful question. The first thing that jumps out at me is what I’m most proud of and the main things I want people to know about me which are that its never too late to pursue your dreams and go after what you want and what lights you up! I know it sounds corny, but it’s true. If you’re breathing you can keep pursuing the things that you want, and I feel really lucky that the industry & society seems to be coming around to the fact that life doesn’t stop when you’re 40, and you don’t have to have it all figured out. I’m booking amazing gigs with big clients (for both VoiceOver & modeling) that a few years ago I wouldn’t have even imagined, and Im feeling so grateful. So for those that don’t know me yet, I am a singer & performer, VoiceOver actor and model. I love co-creating with people and bringing my best to all my endeavors. Being challenged and stepping outside my comfort zone is my new favorite thing to do. Vocally, I like to think of my voice as Kelly Clarkson meets Pat Benatar, with definitely huge helpings of soul thrown in, and I absolutely love to perform in front of an audience and knocking people’s socks off. Voiceover is something I started during the pandemic like many others, and I really am enjoying the solo performing aspect of it and how much I have to rely on myself and my imagination to get the client’s message across. When it’s just me in my little closet vocal booth (I’m sure many New Yorker’s can relate) it’s oddly comforting and challenging to me. Ive always been hugely passionate about fashion and beauty, but never felt there was a place for me in that world. But, like I mentioned, the world is opening up and there are new opportunities. I did a recent global campaign for huge skincare brand that was so thrilling and so fun! I can’t wait to do more in the future. I love collaborating with like minded and awesome people, it truly gets me out of bed in the morning. Well that and my dark roast coffee made in a maganette.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Well, I have a lot I think. But we all do don’t we? I think the best thing we can do is try and learn through every sh*tty experience we have, and have it make us a better person. Seven years ago, after ignoring symptoms for awhile, my discovered I had a 6 pound tumor on my right ovary & fallopian tube. It was putting so much pressure on my kidneys I was immediately admitted to the hospital after my CAT scan because they thought I was going to have kidney failure. I had a major surgery, and long recovery, and literally think I invented feelings because I had never been through anything like that before, and it really destroyed me for a period of time. Im grateful that I have been healthy since, and for my amazing doctor. However, I know for a fact that since I made a mental shift during that time, and wanted to have the experience be a bit of a teaching moment for me, that it made me a way better person. I definitely wouldn’t be the person I am today without it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

That I’m not worthy. That I was/am not the right look, not talented enough, not this, not that, too much this, too much that, you get the idea. Fill in the blanks of all of our internal dialog that doesn’t serve us. I know that this is my ego and my brain trying to keep me safe from the unknown. Whenever I have those moments, I just give myself a break and acknowledge the story I’m telling myself. But then I press on. Meditation has been the single best tool for me into noticing my thoughts and interrupting my automatic thought patterns that keep me stuck, and then teaching myself new ones.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @tarastruss_
• Linkedin: @tarastruss
• Twitter: @tarastruss
• Tiktok: @tarastruss

Image Credits
Erbert Chong (photos with flowers)