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

Tiana , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Coaching Supported my Acting Career. A few years ago, I slowly transitioned from modeling to acting. And I had some great coaches by my side on that journey. My German coach at that time Matthias Beier introduced me to Ivana Chubbuck when she held a masterclass in Munich. I also took classes with Susan Batson and Michael Nouri in Los Angeles and New York. Investing in a coach is investing in yourself. Everyone added something important to my craft. And it’s an ongoing journey, there’s not really an end to it, it’s like creating your own toolbox.

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?

I hail from the town of Mönchengladbach in Germany, I began a full-time modeling career in the mid-1990s. I was scouted when I was a teenager. I was working at the Collection Première Düsseldorf. A year later, I was recruited by a top agency in Munich. Balancing my work and school life with completing my studies and my A-level exams was tricky. I later attended a university, studying psychology, all while my modeling career began to blossom. I was doing commercial work in Paris, appearing on magazine covers around the world, and walking on the catwalk alongside fashion legends such as Naomi Campbell and Nadja Auermann. I had a very promising model career and yet, my true passion since the age of 9 has always been acting. I relocated to Los Angeles in 2021 and now I’m acting and producing.

Together with my colleague Kasia Pilewicz, I produced “Magda” and we were able to get Oscar-nominated actress Abigail Breslin to play the lead. We are venturing into a socially critical subject, „The Story of Roe v. Wade” and the struggle of women for more self-determination and personal freedom. Now I’m working on my first feature film with Margaret French Isaac and we are in the development stage of a thriller.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to tell stories. As an actress, it’s not always possible to have so many options to choose which role you get offered. And as a producer I have more power in the beginning, choosing the stories I want to tell or I feel need to be told.

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

A big life lesson, just recently for me, is to detach from the outcome. And instead, enjoy the process itself. I felt like a hamster in a wheel. Too many projects, ideas, and possibilities, and this way I didn’t get anything done. Focus and presence are key to enjoying what you do and seeing the finish line eventually.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/tianapongs/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/tianapongs/