Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariyela Wald-Cohain.
Hi Ariyela, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in South Africa and moved with my family to Israel as my parents didn’t want me to grow up with the Apartheid. I grew up on a kibbutz in Israel, served in the IDF and did my BFA in Costume Design for theater at the Tel Aviv University. I always wanted to work in Hollywood so my husband and I moved to the USA right after I got my BFA. I have been working as a Costume Designer designing movies, TV shows, commercials and music videos for the last 20 years. Last year I was humbled to win my first Emmy. Full circle moment: I now also teach a class about Costume Designing for Film and TV at the Tel Aviv University, I do the class over zoom and go for a workshop once a semester, it is incredibly rewarding to share my experience with the next generation of Costume Designers.
I have been fortunate to be able to find different ways to give back in between jobs, with PATH and my involvement with The Lollipop Theater where for the past 3 years I have designed a superhero for a child that is ill, an incredible organization. I am also part of the steering Costume Designers Guild Pay Equity committee. I feel blessed to have a life in the industry as well as out of the industry, friends from my life in South Africa, Israel and the USA. I am the luckiest person, to have my husband and three children be so supportive of this very demanding career, they are my inspiration every day.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Coming to the United States into the entertainment industry with out knowing anyone in the industry definitely has had its challenges, working my way up in the industry has not been easy but has given me an appreciation for this rare people who are loyal and willing to go out of their way to help you succeed and grow, I have taken that to heart and always try and help young people who are trying to break into the industry with an understanding of how challenging it can be.
Since I did not grow up in the USA, I did not experience the same pop culture that most Americans grew up with, so while I am proud of where I am from and whom I have become, I do lack in culture references and find myself needing to research basic things when working on specific projects.
My parents have both passed in the last few years but leaving them over 20 years ago to pursuit my career, it was not an easy decision and it was tough all those years of being so far away from them, I am forever grateful that they were so selfless and never made me feel bad, they truly let me follow my dreams.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
The first movie I saw in the movie theater was E.T. I lived on a kibbutz, an adult took up as a group on the public bus for a field trip to Jerusalem to the movie theater to see E.T.
I was memorized. That was the beginning of my love for movies which later propelled me to study Costume Design and ultimately be doing what I love today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ariyelawald-cohain.com
- Instagram: ariyelawaldcohain
