Rising Stars: Meet Annick Nicoli

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annick Nicoli.

Annick, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up, as I was learning how to communicate, I realized that sometimes words weren’t enough to translate what I was feeling. That realization was the first step of what would become a journey of expression through art. I believe that each work requires a unique medium for it to be fully translated, that is why I don’t limit myself a specific art format.
From acting, to painting and writing, I have navigated through different art forms. In 2023 I released my first single “Cheia de Graça, né?”, the title is a reference to the song “Garota de Ipanema”. This song is a calling for the hyper sexualization of Latino women, especially Brazilian, and an invite to exploring Brazilian art and culture. I am releasing a song called Flower Girl in June 2025, followed by 7 other songs. Flower Girl is about a girl that, the more she learns about the world, the less curious she becomes about it, what makes her choose to live in a world she built inside her head.
Songwriting has been a way for me to try to make sense of what is happening to me and the world around me, it is almost like my way of journaling. I wrote my first song when I was around 6 years old, and I’ve been writing ever since. After taking a scriptwriting class at LMU, I found myself drawn to long form writing. In scriptwriting, I found an opportunity to dive deeper into storytelling and explore the journey of characters that change as the story progresses. I am currently working on two scripts that I plan on submitting to competitions.
I am the first in my family to attend a university outside of Brazil. In the begging of the pandemic, I was studying marketing at ESPM in São Paulo. I though marketing was very interesting, but I was never truly passionate about it. The lockdown allowed me to take some time to reflect about what I truly wanted to do, that is when I applied to study theatre arts at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. I have been doing theatre my whole life and I have made some of my best memories onstage. Studying theatre became an opportunity for me to be able to collect more of those memories. At LMU, I learned how to take on different roles in a production, from scriptwriting and directing, to costume designing and even working as crew on school productions. Those experiences allowed me to explore even more ways in which I could express my creativity. As a Brazilian woman studying theatre arts in the United States, I have been through many situations that proved how excluding the entertainment industry can be and how much gender inequality there is in this line of business. Experiencing how bias the industry is, makes me want to work alongside those who are willing to change it.
Through content creation, I have built a community of over 1.7 million followers on TikTok. I create content around fashion and how it is a beautiful avenue to express yourself. I also document my journey in Los Angeles. Through my content, I aim to encourage my followers to go after their dreams and inspire them to create for the sake of creating, without looking ate their work through judgmental lenses or aiming for perfection. I believe that there is no right or wrong way to make art, and that, as long as, you are feeling something as you create it, you are in the right path.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I believe that one of the biggest fears I had to face was not just to be seen by massive amounts of people, but to be seen trying. I realized that I cannot expect for everything I create to be great or to become a sudden hit, and that I needed to be ok with be seen failing or making mistakes. The more I entered the entertainment world, the more I realized how difficult it is to curate what parts of you will be shown. That inspired me to open up about my journey and show people, not just the beautiful things about creating art, but my day to day struggles as well. I believe that watching someone else’s journey can be helpful to your own journey, because it allows you to see that everyone is trying.
I believe that the biggest challenges I faced when moving to LA had to do with the cultural shocks. First of all, it was really hard for me to make friends at first. Even though I was fluent in English, I was not used to engaging in conversations outside of a classroom environment. On my first week here, I remember calling my mom, crying, because everyone was speaking too fast, and I couldn’t understand anything. Another thing I had to adapt to was living on my own. In Brazil, it is not common for kids to move out of home as they go to college, so that was a major change for me. I remember being completely lost, and because of the pandemic, my parents couldn’t come with me to LA to help me adjust, which made the whole process even harder. On my first finals week, I spent the entire week only eating melted shattered cheese because I was overwhelmed with everything that was happening and I just couldn’t find time to buy groceries or cook. With time however, I learned how to take care of myself and slowly break the language barriers. I believe that going through such a drastic change of environment helped me grow, and it has made me lose my fear of change. I realized that, even though it may take some time, that I am able to adapt to a different place. This has made me become more open to new experiences and embrace more opportunities.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As I mentioned before, I navigate through different areas of self-expression. When it comes to music, I write songs both in English and in Portuguese. In every song I make, I incorporate elements of pop, bossa nova, and other Brazilian beats. My first song was produced by “Dorsal Musik”, a Brazilian label. I am currently working with a Brazilian producer based in LA called Jonathan Maia. Together, we are creating songs that explore different feelings and capture elements of brazilin music.
I have just got my Bachelors in theatre arts at LMU, where I participated in many productions, some onstage, and some in the backstage. I am always auditioning to different projects and creating some of my own. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by so many amazing creatives that I met throughout my journey, many whom I have studied alongside. We are always collaborating in each other’s projects and creating together.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe that sometimes the thing you fear the most is exactly what you need to do to move forward. As humans, we tend to find comfort in what we know, what can make us stay where we believe is safe. There were so many projects that I chose not to release because I thought that they weren’t perfect. I realized that nothing is ever going to be perfect, because we change every day, and with that, our conception of what is perfect. We are always being exposed to new ideas, which can make us reflect upon our own creations. I decided then to start doing things without expecting them to be perfect.
I realize that If I wanted to overcome my fear, I would have to start small. One of the first things I did, was changing my hair. I know that may sound silly, but for the longest time, I would only do my hair at the salon, and I would worry so much about the result. So, I went to a CVS, bought an auburn hair dye (after years of only getting blonde highlights) and died my hair at home. It didn’t look perfect, in fact, that experiment made my hair have three different colors. However, that made me realize that it wasn’t that big of a deal. The world did not end because my hair did not look “perfect” in my conception. After that, I started being more open to experience and to make mistakes in different areas of my life.
In my new song “Flower Girl”, I cried as I was singing part of it, which made my voice crack a little bit. I thought that was beautiful, so I kept it in the final take. I remember going to sleep after the recording session and questioning myself whether I should have sung that way, because some people may not like it. But then I forced myself to remember that art and beauty is relative, and that exploring different ways to express myself is a beautiful thing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://annicknicoli.squarespace.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annick_nicoli/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@annicknicoli
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@annicknicoli