Portraits of Hollywood

It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around Hollywood.

Karan Joshi

It all began in 2013, I was in the first year of my degree college. I was studying accounting and finance at that time. We had a college fest going on and they were looking for a photographers for the event. At that point, I was a hobbyist photographer with no camera so I just used to borrow it from my friends. I kept shooting for all the college fest that year. In 2015, I got my first camera and I started posting pictures on Instagram regularly. Read more>>

Mercedes Simonian

We are part of an iconic property on Melrose Ave. also known by some as the Taj on Melrose. Our family has restored this historic landmark to its original glory reopening the property as a hotel in 2010, adding the Old Hollywood Glamour themed bar and kitchen known as The Edmon in 2017 and then opening the coffee/dessert shop in 2022 on the corner. Read more>>

Isaac Anthony

I was born in Dayton, Ohio, and raised in the inner city by a hardworking, blue-collar family. films and art were always my escape, which lead me to an arts focused middle and high school where I thrived in visual arts-but never dared to audition for drama. I was the kid who loved storytelling but dreaded being seen. Read more>>

Shannon Hennebry

Studio á Go Go is what I like to call your fitness dive. It’s Lagree, which is a high-intensity, low-impact workout done on reformer-style machine, but set in a space that feels more like a night out at a dive bar than a traditional fitness studio. Disco balls on the ceiling, moody lighting, and music that makes you want to move. It’s nostalgic, gritty, fun, and a total departure from the polished “clean girl” aesthetic that dominates most Pilates and fitness spaces in LA. Read more>>

Dale Reinhold

In my work with buyers and sellers of residential real estate in the Greater Los Region, I take pride in serving a diverse range of communities. As a way of giving back to the community, I have made a pledge to donate 10% of my commissions to a nonprofit organization of my clients choice. My ultimate goal is to help every client feel supported, informed and empowered to make the best choices for themselves and the community. Read more>>

Matt Roberts

In my early 40s, I was working in substance use treatment, assuming this would continue to be my area of focus, but at some point I randomly started working with a client struggling with OCD and tics. Being the diligent therapy nerd that I am, I did my research and found that Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) was the correct course of treatment and I hit the books! I found ERP (and behavioral therapy approaches in general) to be so effective and satisfying that I never went back. Read more>>

Meredith Bishop

I’ve always been fascinated by people’s stories. I started out at a very early age as a professional actor, and I’ve spent most of my life in the film and TV industry, whether working in casting, running a production company, making short films, or acting on stage. So I’ve always been curious about what makes us tick and how our early experiences shape our self-worth and influence our relationships. Though I spent years embodying people’s inner worlds, I’ve always dreamt of being a therapist. Read more>>

Proud Refuge

Started as a singer songwriter. Moves to LA from Sacramento with a dream and iphone full of songs. From sleeping in my car and couch surfing eventually led to me writing some of the greatest music of my life. One thing I realized was that The journey is more important than the destination. I never lost faith. God began slowly connecting me to the right people which eventually led to my recording my debut project “The Ambassador” at Paramount studios in Hollywood which is set to release before the end of this year. Read more>>

John Gheur

I started out in Hollywood, back when studios were just getting into digital stuff. I got lucky and worked on some big movies like Harry Potter, Men in Black, and Fast & Furious. I was the Creative lead on over 450 online campaigns. Those projects showed me how great stories can be when you mix them with tech innovation and breaking ground on the way we engage with stories and brand. Read more>>

Mason

With my background in bootstrapping start ups, it was only a matter of setting the date and everything else would fall into place. Coincidentally, the next week I ran into my friend Matteo at the market, who’s an incredible Michelin trained chef. I shared our vision with him and pitched the idea of getting him to cook for us at the farm. It would be a challenge – we have to build an outdoor kitchen from scratch – but I promised it would be a fulfilling and fun process too. Lucky for us, Matteo had also been dreaming of doing something new and different with his skillset and this was the perfect chance. Read more>>

Alan Delabie

I started martial arts at a very young age. I became European champion in nunchaku, then earned a black belt in karate, and later specialised in kickboxing. I went on to perform martial arts demonstrations on television before beginning auditions to become an actor. Over time, I appeared in several films and eventually took on leading roles. Read more>>

Flor Tapia

I first started off working in dispensaries and managing their social media accounts. My love for content has always been there. I remember being 14–15 and being so active on Facebook, wanting to be “Facebook famous.” I have always known I was made for social media. At 18, I started appearing in YouTube videos. My ex-boyfriend was a huge YouTuber, and I would appear in his videos here and there. I was always known as “the girlfriend.” I almost felt like a shadow, but I knew my appearances would make a difference in the future. Read more>>

Hadiyyah Smith

Covid had other plans and it forced us to put our plans on hold and one of our founders moved away. But in 2023 we came back with a vengeance and started Run Amuck Entertainment. We wanted to continue to do original shows and we wanted to highlight the fact that we are a Woman and Minority owned company. And now two years later we are here with an LLC and a Non-profit that we use to bring Shakespeare and the classics to under represented communities with our Run Amuck in schools program! Read more>>

Anjali Rao

But honestly, every wrong turn has somehow rerouted me to the right path. As eat-pray-love-y as that sounds, it’s true. The biggest struggle for me has been this constant itch: am I really living up to my full creative ability? I’ve got passions that pull me in every direction — painting, stand-up, TV writing, poetry, ceramics, cooking. Some days it feels like I’m spinning a creative roulette wheel. Read more>>

Bruce Duff

I was fortunate in working with a lot of people who were both open-minded and generous with sharing knowledge, oftentimes as we learned together. As you see, from 1984 to 2017, I worked for three companies. I know people who changed music jobs ten times in half that period. I was happy for the most part at every stop, until things stopped moving forward as I had hoped, at which point I made a transition. Being completely independent as I am now can be very challenging, I am no doubt the toughest of all my employers. I call my own shots and move from day to day. Read more>>

Ashton Pierce

I moved to LA from Chicago when I was 17 to attend USC. While I was at USC I minored in Music Business. Growing up, I always assumed I wanted to work on the business side of music rather than be an artist but I always wrote lyrics and melodies in my head. After graduating I decided I wanted to do the whole session songwriter thing and attended song writing camps to try to get placements with major artist. Somewhere along the way the music I wrote started to feel more personal and life experiences ultimately compelled me to write and record my debut EP “Under Pressure”–which I just released this summer. Read more>>

Rozalin

In 2013, I opened my private practice and also worked as director of a residential substance abuse facility. i specialize in couples and adults, and during the pandemic my work expanded to teens, who now make up half my practice. I work with many artists, musicians, and high-profile clients. Today I balance my practice, raising two daughters, now 20 and 18, and writing a self-help book. And then there’s Leo, my Labrador. The love of my life. Read more>>

Siefyan Jawan

Podcasting and Interviewing came later on. Growing up I always knew I had multiple gifts and talent but I was too shy to Display them. With Music I started singing covers like Eric Benet and other R&B Singers that were similar to my voice, then I started playing around with different beats and started writing to them in my own tone. I always believed that practice makes perfect. Now with Podcasting and Soon to be streaming I will also find the joy in that as well and I’m excited. Read more>>

Howard Henley

I moved to LA after saving some money and started auditioning for plays and short films. Booked a few of those and got my first agent. My first agent Candace Stewart is still one of my closest friends to this day. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have worked as much as I did. I started booking work in commercials and tv then decided to get back into hosting. I was given the shot to become a correspondent on two nationally syndicated shows at the same time which was a dream! Celebrity Page TV and The Daily Buzz. Read more>>

Andy Estrella

When I first started teaching back in 2013, I was figuring everything out on my own — how to create lessons, keep students engaged, and adapt to different learning styles. Later, when I got accepted into Berklee, I made the difficult decision to pause teaching entirely so I could fully commit myself to my studies. That was a big transition because I went from teaching regularly to focusing solely on becoming the best musician and educator I could be. Read more>>

Joelle Issa

I also had to learn about ADA requirements, safety codes, and local regulations, which was overwhelming at times. There were moments when it felt like the business might not take off, but I stayed committed and focused on building a reputation for reliability. Over time, word-of-mouth and repeat clients helped me grow, and I’ve learned to handle the ups and downs that come with running your own business. Read more>>

Micheal Marcelio

During the pandemic, I took a leap of faith and moved to LA to pursue acting seriously. Within my first year, I booked a pilot with Grammy Award–winner Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jenkins, which was slated for FOX, as well as a Guest Recurring role on *Artificial*, an Emmy and Peabody Award–winning series. From there, it really felt like things took off—and I’ve been on this journey ever since. Read more>>

Arina Ossipova

In 2018, I opened My Ideal Nails in Hollywood. What started as a small pedicure studio has grown into a place where we specialize in complex foot care. Many of my clients are dancers, athletes, nurses, chefs, and hairstylists, people who spend their lives on their feet. Over time, I realized that my work wasn’t only about beauty, but about restoring health, confidence, and dignity. Read more>>

Nicki Baber

Those experiences shaped everything. I realized that ghosts and fear weren’t just scary, they were stories that connect people. So when I started creating content, it felt natural to bring together storytelling, makeup, and the paranormal. What started as posting spooky little videos for fun on TikTok grew into something so much bigger. Today, I’ve built a community of over 7 million followers on TikTok (and still growing), and I share everything from ghost stories and true crime to fan-submitted experiences that remind people just how strange and fascinating the world can be. Read more>>

Paul Olele

My name is DJ Paul 703. I moved to Los Angeles three years ago from the DMV area, but my DJ journey began about 12 years ago while I was at a prep school in Canada. My love for music—and honestly, my obsession with controlling the aux—pushed me toward becoming a DJ. Read more>>

Jordan McAuley

Over the next few years, I grew ContactAnyCelebrity.com into a membership site used by fans, businesses, nonprofits, and the media to contact celebrities. My service offers an online database of 59,000 celebrities, influencers, and public figures. You get their best mailing address if you want to send a fan letter, plus their agent, manager, and publicist’s contact info if you’re a nonprofit or business. Read more>>

Barbara Moroncini

You can hardly refuse a gig, because you don’t know when the next one is coming, so you have periods of super intense activity, and, especially at the beginning, gaps that make you feel financially quite fragile. And you have to continuously put yourself out there. I am the worst hustler you’ll ever meet–self-promotion actually causes me physical pain–but there’s a lot of competition out there. You must self-promote. It’s a part of the job I truly dislike, so I mostly rely on word of mouth, which is not always ideal. Read more>>

Shantel Behroozan

Never a smooth road. As a mother of three and married to a celebrity dermatologist… dancing on social media wasn’t always looked upon as a good thing. I got a lot of push back from the community but continued and did the impossible. Got a whole community of women dancing that had never danced before! In addition to that, having my own health issues, financial obligations and raising teenagers all while maintaining an active social life has not been easy. Read more>>

Vardanush Ketikian

Over a year and half ago, I launched my telehealth weight loss practice to make this kind of care more accessible, especially for busy women who often put themselves last. Along the way, I saw that weight loss is about so much more than food and medication—it’s about lifestyle, mindset, and building a healthy relationship with your body. That vision inspired marmean, which means “body” in Armenian. I wanted to create more than a clinic—I wanted a platform where medicine meets lifestyle, where women can find science-backed guidance but also feel supported, inspired, and empowered. Read more>>

Elsian Atienza

I grew up in Oak Harbor, Washington, and music has always been a part of me. After high school, I focused more on balancing college and life, but in 2022, during a really difficult period, I found myself back in my room writing and recording as a way to process everything I was going through. What started as an outlet quickly turned into something bigger once I began sharing my songs online and people connected with them. Read more>>

Patricia Cunliffe

I also produced abstract art and would display my pieces at various cafes and coffeehouses. When I started choreographing and producing fashion shows at various clubs – I realized that I enjoyed producing and directing more than I did making the pieces. That’s when I made the transition to schlep my artwork instead of dresses and decided I wanted to make a documentary – but I needed a subject matter. Read more>>

Samuel Alexander Skeen

My story begins with a life lived across the world. No matter where my family traveled to, entertainment was the most potent and powerful language I could ever speak. I didn’t share a vocabulary with my new friends in Spain or Sweden, but we all became friends watching movies and playing games. That’s when I knew a creative life and career was for me. Read more>>