Today we’d like to introduce you to Leilani Ramos.
Leilani, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey began when I was a little girl living on a tiny little island in the Caribbean. Obsessed with Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, my dreams of living in California continued to progress. All I wanted was to be like all of those kids on TV, but it felt impossible living so far away. My parents’ divorce at the time, felt like the worst thing to happen to me. My mom and I left Puerto Rico and moved to Florida. We lived there for about six years. When I turned 15, I didn’t want a quinceañera. So when I turned 16, my mom gave me the option of a party or a trip. I chose the trip and off to the west coast we went. We flew into San Diego and that was it. We fell in love. We took a road trip up the entire west coast. Staying in different cities and visiting family along the way. We drove all the way to Vancouver and back.
Flying back to Tampa was quite a sad moment. We were back home for less than three weeks when we decided we wanted to move to California. We packed up our stuff in the car and made the trip across the country. I finished high school in Temecula, CA as I continued to explore my love for Theatre that I had already begun at my previous high school in FL. I moved to LA for college and majored in Musical Theatre at AMDA. I got my Bachelor’s, and here we are a year and a half later literally living my dream. I’m an actress living in Los Angeles. That little girl all those years ago would probably be peeing her pants right now.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been smooth. Leaving Puerto Rico felt like the roughest part of my journey. That’s literally when all of my challenges began. That first year in Florida, I was bullied the whole school year because I was “different.” The following year my parents put me in Taekwondo hoping it would help with my confidence. Which it did until it didn’t. A lot of things happened at the Dojo that many of us, including myself, were affected by. My confidence level decreased significantly. I felt like I was never good enough to do anything. Which ultimately affected me in my art. I never believed my teachers when they said something I performed was good. I nitpicked at my voice even when I knew it was still developing. I never got a part in college musicals and I told myself it was because I sucked. I wanted to be perfect even when I knew acting was a lifetime journey. I wouldn’t give myself a break. It wasn’t until after I graduated college that I started to regain confidence in my abilities.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I act and I sing but I do love to do print modeling work here and there as well. Right now, I’m focusing on improving myself as a performer. I recently started picking up guitar again and I’m so excited to finish learning. I’d love to maybe explore singer/songwriter stuff in the future.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Signing with Volition Entertainment. The year after I graduated college, I worked my butt off to get work. I wanted to build my resume and build a reel good enough to sign with someone. My manager Lisa is the sweetest and I’m so grateful to be working with her.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.leilaniramos.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @leilaniramosofficial
- Twitter: @leilar622
Image Credit:
Andrien Trujillo; Keron Lacey; Simone Sassudelli
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