Check Out Deborah Cortez’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deborah Cortez.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born into a family of artists. On my father’s side my grandparents were singers and on my mother’s side my grandparents were Circus artists, including my mom. The arts have always been a part of me. Since I was a little girl I wanted to be on stage. I used to put up puppet shows for my great-grandpa. Or pretend I was having a concert and my stuffed animals were my audience. I used to dress up in my oldest sister’s heels, wear her make up and jewelry and pretend I was a secretary or going to TV interviews. One of my favorite memories growing up was going to my mom and asking her to give me commands i.e to tell me to cry, laugh, be mad etc. I was lucky to have worked at the same Circus (Circus Tihany) I grew up in for their season in Lima-Peru when I was 15. So there was no surprise to my family when I was 16 that I decided to pursue acting professionally. My mom’s friend had a son, Henry Gurmendi, who was starting out with his theater company in Lima-Peru. Let me pause here to tell you that I was born in Argentina but I spent most of my teen years in Peru. I migrated to the USA in 1998. OK back to how I started, I went to apply for a non-acting job at my mom’s friend’s theater not thinking that he was going to audition me right there on the spot for his upcoming production: Peter Pan The Musical. Most of the roles were cast already but Henry must’ve seen something in me that he created a role for me, he made me the keeper of Captain Hook’s ship. Today Henry is a well known actor and director in Lima-Peru and his company now is called D’Art Productions, back then was G&G Productions. And that started it all. I’ve been acting professionally since 1996, mostly theater. Before moving to America I was studying at the prestigious Escuela Nacional Superior de Arte Dramatico in Lima-Peru and I was on my way to start my career there. But, I relocated to the USA in 1998, took a 15 year hiatus from acting to be a mom to my late son, Paul. In 2014 I resumed my acting career here in the United States. I trained at The Meisner Technique Studio in San Francisco before moving to Los Angeles. My teacher and mentor, Jim Jarrett, was one of the last people who trained with Sandy (Sanford) Meisner not only as an actor but he was trained by Mr. Meisner to be a teacher as well. I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 24 years before moving to my lovely city of Los Angeles. I’ve been in several theater productions, short films, feature films, commercials, and web series, but my biggest love is Theater. I’m represented by MDT Agency in the Bay Area and by Kreativ Media Partners here in LA and NY. I moved to LA in 2022. This is home for me, I love the weather, people and all the opportunities there are here. I knew this was the place I wanted to be when I visited LA for the first time in 2014. My first acting endeavor in LA was in 2023 with the 14/48 Hollywood Theater Festival. Since I’ve been a part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival a couple times, been back to 14/48 Hollywood, was in the Frida Kahlo play with Teatro Synergia where I got to play one of Diego Rivera’s lovers and the famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. And I’m also a student of Improv with The Groundlings School, currently at the Intermediate level. For the past few months I’ve been working on my One Woman show where I talk about my grief journey, returning to my faith and healing story after having lost my son, Paul to a car accident in 2021. I’m one lucky girl to be working and be mentored by the wonderful Josefina Lopez. I can’t wait for this production which will be up in the Fall of this year at Casa0101 in Boyle Heights. Wow, looking back I’ve been blessed to have such a career and in my late 40s I am still excited to see what my artistic career will bring to me.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. Moving to a new country, learning a new language and adjusting to a new culture has had its ups and downs. I’ve had many people tell me that I would not make it in Hollywood because of my accent, my age, etc. But I’ve also had and still have people who believe in me and see my talents outside of my accent or age. One of those being my husband, Feras who has been a rock to me. Supporting me in all ways, in my career, and especially during my first years of grief which were the most difficult ones. My mentors, my agents, my managers, my teachers, and my fellow artists. This industry is all about numbers and I understand that. I wish it wasn’t like that but that won’t stop me. I know that I have a gift given to me by God and through my acting I have the ability to move people, tell stories that need to be told, to give voice to those characters that are silenced for so many reasons and to heal. As hard as it can be, I don’t see myself doing anything else. That’s all I have left. So I won’t stop. I’m resilient. Rejection is a tough pill to swallow but it’s what makes me a stronger and better artist.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an actress and a new writer. I work in theater mainly but have also worked in film. I would love to explore Sketch Comedy more and that’s why I’m taking classes at The Groundlings School. I dabbed a little bit in Sketch Comedy when I used to live in the SF Bay Area and I loved how fast paced it is, and all the characters you get to create. Improv is such an important tool to have as an actor and it can be used in all forms, theater, film, TV, commercials etc. I also like to work on stories that talk about the social and economic struggles people of color face in the world. As a latina immigrant woman I understand deeply those issues and though my struggles are nothing compared to what others go through I feel it’s my duty to give voice to those stories as an artist. I love to make people laugh and I don’t have a problem making a fool of myself in order to make you laugh. We can all use some laughter in our lives. On the other hand dramatic plays and stories are also important. They keep empathy alive in us, it reminds us that we are all human and go through very similar struggles in our lives. It helps us feel seen and connected to each other. I do theater and work in both Spanish and English. The role I am the most proud of is that I got to be a Mom. I’m most grateful to have experienced unconditional love in that way. And though my son is in heaven now, I am very proud of the young man he was. I will always be proud of him, and now I have an angel that I get to call my own. If Paul was alive today I think he would be very proud of me. I don’t know if this is something that sets me apart from others, but having gone through such a loss and still working on my dreams may be it. Also being from the circus.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
It’s true that luck plays a big part in this journey but I don’t rely on it. Though I will say that finding my apartment in LA was a lucky thing. It was easy. I came to check it out and in a month I was moving there. I don’t think that’s normal! I believe that if you work hard you can make a path that will take you far in your career. One thing can lead to another. Don’t take it for granted or wait for Luck to come knocking at your door. I train hard, if I’m not working you’ll find me training. One of the things my Meisner mentor, Jim, says is: “Time will eventually catch up with your talent so don’t ever give up. The world needs you. The world needs artists like you.” And if luck happens to arrive, I will welcome her with open arms. In the meantime you’ll find me at my Boxing gym getting stronger because this career takes stamina and strength and I’m not getting any younger. Or I’ll be in acting school working out those muscles too, because it is our job as artists to keep growing, training, and learning.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.deborahcortez.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deb_cortez/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@deborahcortezactor