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I was born and raised in Hawaii, went to college in Michigan (Go Blue!) and my first post-college job was as a rollerskating waitress in a Manhattan restaurant called The Saloon.
The Saloon had three stairs from both the kitchen and bar down to the dining area.
STAIRS. And me on roller skates.
I would go down the stairs backwards, using only my elbow for support -- sometimes carrying six plates of food, a full tray of martinis…or hot coffee. As you might imagine, there was a lot of flinching from terrified diners as I rolled up with my tray and quick-stopped in front of them.
Everyone at The Saloon was in the arts, so acting was loosely on my radar but I never thought it was something I *should* do. I mean….who gets to be so lucky?
Eventually, I left the roller skates behind and started working in a JOB job -- sales & trading for a Wall Street bank. It wasn’t *quite* Wolf of Wall Street, but….kinda….
Finally, roughly 20 years later, I gave myself permission to “just” be an actor. And it’s thrilling. I’m excited to wake up every day because today could be the day I get my dream role (I’m looking at you, Jason Bateman).
In my down time, I make a mean Snickerdoodle and I’m an Extreme Fondant Sculptor. I also love watching Instagram reels of people getting surprise visits from their loved ones and kids finding out they’re being adopted. And I have a lot (A LOT) of really embarrassing stories. So next time you see me, let me know if you want to hear about the 'Underwear on the Trading Floor Incident' or when my very public rap to LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" went horribly wrong. I've got a million of 'em.
Or, if you'd rather the Snickerdoodles, I'll just need some advanced warning.