Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Alexis Allen.
As a break-out star on WGN’s hit series “Outsiders,” actress/playwright/author Tina Alexis Allen most recently starred as Shurn, a force to be reckoned with in the clash-of-cultures drama rooted in coal mining Kentucky. With Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti on board as an executive producer, she acted alongside Tony-nominated David Morse (“The Iceman Cometh,” “Treme,” “Hurt Locker”) and Ryan Hurst (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Bates Motel”). As an author, Tina’s coming of age memoir, Hiding Out, was just published by HarperCollins and praised by the likes of Megyn Kelly, Fr. Richard Rohr, Rosie O’Donnell, and The Washington Post which said, Hiding Out “brims with sexuality, drunkenness and urgency…a can’t put down read.”
The youngest of 13 children in a Catholic family growing up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Tina was a tomboy at heart. After accepting a basketball scholarship to the University of Maryland, she caught the fashion bug, earned an MBA in marketing and moved to NYC. While working as a fashion executive on Seventh Avenue, she spent her weekends seeing Broadway shows and igniting a love of the arts. Some soul searching led to Tina leaving her successful career to pursue acting. She has since been celebrated for her diverse range of roles in theatre, film and television. “Acting coach to the stars,” Susan Batson, (Oprah, Nicole Kidman, Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper) has described Tina as “a true chameleon—capable of playing anything.”
Tina wrote and performed her critically acclaimed solo show, SECRETS OF A HOLY FATHER, in New York and Los Angeles. Based on her life, Tina yearned to understand the complicated and highly secretive double life of her father. By transforming herself into him, she took her father’s journey exploring the universal themes of family betrayal, redemption and forgiveness in a tour-de-force performance.
In Los Angeles, she performed a 12-character one-woman show, IRRESISTIBLE, lauded by critics as rivaling the work of Lily Tomlin. For her work in THE BREAK-UP NOTEBOOK, she was nominated for a GLAAD award alongside Jane Lynch. In addition, she starred in and produced the Slamdance Jury Prize film PHANTOM PAIN, and played opposite Theresa Russell in the 2014 feature film, MOVING MOUNTAINS.
In addition to acting and writing, she is the Co-Founder of Gina Raphaela Jewelry, which merges art, fashion, and social consciousness. The brand uses deconstructed and transformed bullets as a foundation for daring necklaces, rings and bracelets. Their philanthropic mission provides a percentage of all proceeds to be donated directly to non-profit organizations taking a stand for peace.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Healing from a very complicated childhood which you can get a sense of from reading Hiding Out, my recent memoir. My Megyn Kelly interview in particular gives a great overview of my story and the challenges I have overcome. Here’s the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=188Jkf9TMlM
Please tell us about Tina Alexis Allen.
I am incredibly proud of my two years as part of the WGN hit series, Outsiders and the badass character I played, Shurn – a fan favorite.
I also am very proud of the socially conscious jewelry brand I co-founded with artist and designer, Gina Raphaela. Our mission at Gina Raphaela Jewelry is to turn inert bullets into stunning statement pieces that also bring awareness to the issue of violence. Partial proceeds are given to non-profit organizations that support peace. You can see our designs and mission here at ginaraphaelajewelry.com
Transformation is at the core of all my creative endeavors and turning darkness into light is my ultimate goal.
Currently, I’m directing Extremities for Dynamo Studio in Hollywood, We will be running at the Broadwater from Sept 7th – Sept 22nd.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing.
Pricing:
- Amazon link for Hiding Out, a Memoir of Drugs Deception and Double Lives https://www.amazon.com/Hiding-Out-Memoir-Deception-Double/dp/0062565672
- Ginaraphaelajewelry.com
Contact Info:
- Website: tinaalexisallen.com
- Instagram: @tinaalexisallen
- Facebook: TinaAlexisAllen
- Twitter: @tinaalexisallen
Image Credit:
June Pascocello, Bobby Quillard, WGN America
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
