Check Out Emy Cassidy Mitchell’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emy Cassidy Mitchell.

Hi Emy Cassidy , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Where do I even begin. My story was built in seasons, and every one of them shaped who I am today. It wasn’t one moment or one decision that got me here. It was survival, surrender, growth, and reinvention over and over again.

I grew up in Alabama with three brothers and a stepfather who was far from kind. My household was a difficult place to grow up. I learned early on how to survive and how to be humble. I became a leader before I understood what leadership meant helping raise my younger sibling, emotionally supporting my parents, and becoming the person everyone leaned on.

From as far back as I can remember, I knew I wanted to be a model. When I was eight years old, I was scouted at a department store. That moment planted a dream in me. At sixteen, I was approached again by a scout from Los Angeles. He told me I would never be tall enough to model and suggested I pursue acting instead. That comment could have crushed me, but instead it opened a new door. I began adding acting to my path, still holding onto the modeling dream. All of this was happening in a small Alabama town with limited opportunities, but I never let that stop me.

From the ages of five to fourteen, I lived in an abusive home. We relied on food stamps. At times we had no running water and would have cereal with cold water. While I was never physically abused, I was verbally attacked, and I witnessed constant physical abuse around me. I carry something like survivor’s guilt. I walked away with fewer scars than those around me, and sometimes that guilt weighs heavy. I have always been the one people leaned on. The codependent daughter, sister, teacher, and caregiver. But my grandmother and God were my saving grace.

At fourteen, my mom finally found a man who was kind and did not lay his hands on her. Life started to ease up. I got into a magnet school for dance and theatre and began working. For the first time, I felt like a normal teen, performing and expressing myself through art. But at sixteen, I met a boy and things shifted. Without strong parental guidance, I lost my footing, failed math, lost my place in the program, and numbed myself with distraction. I lost the part of me that made me happiest.

But I did not let that be the end of my story. I paid for my own accelerated schooling, completed both eleventh and twelfth grades in one year, took a placement test for college, and entered college at seventeen. I was the first in my family to go. Because we didn’t have much money, I was able to get grants that covered at least the first four years. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so after two years I shifted my focus to working. I had to make money. I worked three jobs at once. Bartender, manager at a pizza place, and personal trainer at a gym.

At eighteen, I lost my father to a drug overdose after a failed suicide attempt. His father committed suicide when my dad was in his 30’s. Research consistently shows that having a parent who dies by suicide significantly increases a child’s risk of suicidal behavior later in life. I think about that alot, and thank God everyday for my mental clarity. Shortly after, I lost my cousin to suicide. Life felt dark.

I met a man and we moved to Tennessee, and tried to start a life together. Unfortunately, that relationship came with its own painful challenges. After we split, I moved to another town, got my own place, and took custody of my niece who was fourteen at the time. I also took in my oldest brother who was battling a meth addiction. I wanted one last chance to help them. I gave everything I had. I could not save them, but I tried with everything I had.

By twenty six, I found myself in a broken engagement and living a life I did not choose. I had completed all of my prerequisites for nursing school, passed my tests, and received my entrance acceptance. I remember holding that letter in my hand and thinking, I don’t want this. This isn’t my dream. I didn’t choose this path. That moment was my turning point. I put the paper down and made the decision that would change everything. From that point forward, I was going to choose myself.

I moved back to Alabama, rented a place, and started a business. But I still didn’t feel aligned with my purpose. One day I sat on the arm of my couch, leaned back, and asked God, what do I do. I heard one word. Atlanta. I took it seriously. Within a week, I packed my bags and moved to Atlanta with a roommate. I never looked back.

Once I arrived, things started to unfold. Within a month, I was booking acting gigs regularly. I started a cleaning business to pay the bills. Then came a big opportunity. I was selected for an ABC pilot called Ordinary to Extraordinary. I would be performing my father’s favorite song on guitar. I trained for months, was given equipment, coaching, and support. But the pilot got cut. It never moved forward.

A week later, I was cast as an extra in another production. On set, I was selected for a speaking role. In the acting world, that is called being Taft Hartleyed into the Screen Actors Guild. It was a major milestone. My momentum was building.

I started diving into personal development. Listening to people like Earl Nightingale, Napoleon Hill, Joe Dispenza, and others. I realized that I had been naturally visualizing my future for years without realizing it. So I leaned into it. I created my first vision board. I bought a blue poster board and placed a picture of a woman in a boxing ring. Fighting had always been a part of me. My dad trained in jiu jitsu. My brother was an undefeated boxer. I grew up sparring with my little brother while the older ones watched. It was chaotic, but it taught me resilience.

Soon after, I came across an audition for a WWE reality show. Out of over 10 thousand women, I was one of only ten selected. That moment proved to me that vision works. I had gone from visualizing it to living it. The show changed my life and introduced me to incredible people. We were in full production, and it was all happening. But when COVID hit, the show was cut short. That experience could have ended the dream for some people, but I was determined to keep going.

I bought a Kia, packed it with what I could, and drove to California. I stayed with friends in the Navy and house sat for them while trying to find my footing. Within a month, I suffered a major back injury. I could not walk, work, or do much of anything. For three years, I battled that injury. I sold my guitars, amps, and all the equipment I had from the ABC pilot just to survive. I lost the body I had built during WWE. I gained weight, lost muscle, and felt my confidence disappear. But slowly, I started to rebuild.

As I healed, I met mentors and built relationships that would change the course of my life. I created a marketing business for real estate agents and met Larry, who taught me valuable lessons about business and discipline. I met Janicke, a successful real estate agent, and started working as her assistant. Then I met Kathy, her mortgage lender, and began working for her too. These people showed me a new world. I saw the impact they were making, the money they were earning, and the lives they were changing. I realized I could build something like that too.

I realized that real estate and mortgages would offer me the freedom to create my own schedule and still pursue acting and modeling. I could help others and build my dream life at the same time. It sounded like the perfect fit.

As I made my way up the California coast from San Diego to Del Mar to Oceanside, I fell in love. It was an experience unlike anything I had ever known. For three months, I was connected to someone in a way I had never been before. We didn’t last, but he changed my life. That man made me question everything. My past, my future, my patterns, and my purpose. It was a deep soul connection, and even though it ended, I believe it was meant to happen. He was my mirror and my dark night of the soul.

After we parted ways, I moved to Los Angeles. I knew exactly what I needed to do. I came here to act, and it was time to fully commit to that path. I had spent too much of my life living for other people, carrying their needs, their pain, and their expectations. This move was about reclaiming my time, my energy, and my vision. I didn’t have every step figured out, but I had clarity and that was enough to move forward with purpose.

In LA, I had to start over again. I took a job working ten hour shifts at a doctor’s office in Beverly Hills while doing real estate on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I would take client calls during breaks and do everything I could to keep moving forward.

Eventually, I found work as an insurance inspector. That gave me the time freedom I needed to focus on auditions, modeling, acting, and building my business. I studied homes, learned my area, and became more confident in both real estate and mortgage. From there, everything started to align.

Today, I work with AXEN and NEXA Mortgage, two sister companies that allow me to serve clients as both a luxury residential and commercial real estate agent and as a wholesale mortgage loan originator. I work with investors, developers, business owners, and I help sellers, I help fund projects, financing for homeowners, investors, builders, I secure SBA loans, and guide people through some of the biggest decisions of their lives. I have finally found my professional home. After years of company hunting, I found a place that aligns with my mission and values.

I now live in Marina del Rey. My mother fell ill in Alabama and was not being properly cared for. In March, I flew back and brought her home with me. She is now in hospice, and I get to give her the peace and love she always deserved. It means everything to me to be able to do that for her.

I am also building my career in entertainment. I am currently represented by Models Package for modeling and acting and am interviewing with my first manager. I am working on a course about manifesting, so I can help others make their dreams a reality as I have mine.

I will officially be a SAG actress in 2026. I am currently writing a project inspired by my father’s life. It is a raw and emotional blend between Shameless and This Is Us, but more than that, it is a story rooted in truth and urgency. It explores what unresolved trauma does to a child, what silence does to a man, and what happens when pain is ignored for too long.

My father died from a drug overdose after a failed suicide attempt. I grew up watching him carry pain he never knew how to express. He was not weak. He was wounded. I watched addiction, emotional suppression, and generational trauma move through the men in my family like an unspoken pattern. These are not distant statistics to me. They are my reality.

I feel from a young age, boys are taught to be strong, to suppress emotion, and to push through suffering in silence. Vulnerability is often framed as weakness, especially for men. But the truth is that emotional isolation is deadly. When men are not given the language or permission to process trauma, it shows up in addiction, anger, depression, and eventually despair. Men die by suicide at nearly four times the rate of women in the United States. Over the past several years, male suicide rates have remained among the highest on record. Even after the pandemic, those numbers returned to pre pandemic levels and continue to rise. Suicide is now one of the leading causes of death for men, particularly among middle aged and younger adult men. These numbers are not abstract. They represent fathers, brothers, sons, and friends who felt they had nowhere to put their pain.

This project is my way of changing that conversation. I want to tell my father’s story not as a tragedy alone, but as a mirror for what so many men experience quietly. I want to explore how childhood trauma shapes identity, self worth, relationships, and decision making well into adulthood. And most importantly, I want to show another outcome.

In this story, the man survives. He gets help. He is seen. He is heard. Because I believe representation matters. I believe stories save lives. And if someone sees themselves in this character and feels less alone, and if people who have never experienced this are able to better understand others through this, then this project has done what it was meant to do.

Outside of film and creativity, my career in luxury and commercial real estate and mortgage lending gives me the resources and flexibility to fund and pursue these creative projects. I love what I do. I love helping people fund their businesses, and build their futures. I get to be a part of that. It is incredibly rewarding.

But my purpose is bigger. In addition to my fathers project, and my manifesting course, I want to start a pitch event in LA where filmmakers can share what they are creating and connect with investors and collaborators by showcasing their ideas and projects at a monthly event. I want to build something that opens doors for others, not just for myself. Life is all about connecting and collaborating.

I also want to create an aftercare program in my hometown of Montgomery, Alabama, for underprivileged children. I want to aptitude and attitude test kids, help them understand how they learn, and teach them the things our school system doesn’t. How to succeed in real life. How to understand and utilize their own way of learning and to know that their way of learning is ok, How to be an entrepreneur. How to build wealth. How to think outside the box. How to believe in themselves.

Moving away from my hometown was the best decision I ever made. You are only as big as what you know, and you cannot grow without exposure, travel, mentorship, and experience. I didn’t realize how much I needed to become my own person instead of being everything for everyone else.

I have lived in fight or flight for most of my life. But what began as survival turned into strategy.At the end of the day, every setback I faced sharpened my clarity. Because I chose to let it. I come from rebuilding. I come from learning on the go. I come from choosing growth, even when it is uncomfortable. What began as a dream turned into execution. Acting and modeling became my platform for confidence and storytelling. Real estate became my foundation for stability, ownership, collaboration, and vision.

I have learned how to build from nothing. I have learned how to carry responsibility without excuses. I have learned how to be resilient and how to keep moving even when life knocks you down. I owe everything to God. I live by faith. I always have, and He has never let me down.

Alright, 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’s been a bumpy ride to say the least.

I experienced educational setbacks as a child, not able to concentrate on being a child, having to grow up to fast. As A teenager, navigated grief after losing my father to overdose and my cousin to suicide, and later became a caregiver to both my niece and my brother while trying to hold my own life together.

Professionally, I faced constant uncertainty, projects that fell through, opportunities cut short, and moments where I had to start over with very little. I endured a severe back injury that left me unable to walk or work for years, forcing me to sell personal belongings just to survive and rebuild my health and confidence from the ground up. I also made multiple cross-country moves without a safety net, living on faith alone, balancing survival jobs while pursuing acting, modeling, and building a career in real estate and mortgage.

Emotionally, I spent much of my life in fight-or-flight, carrying responsibility for others while postponing my own dreams. Learning to choose myself, without guilt, was and still is one of the hardest struggles of all.

Every step forward required resilience, faith, and a willingness to keep going when the outcome was uncertain. What began as survival eventually became strategy, but it was never easy, linear, or guaranteed. When I look back on those things, that was the freeing feeling of it, the jumping , the faithful diving into the unknown that made it so beautiful.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work across two worlds, entertainment and real estate. I’ve always felt like I have both a creative side and a business side. I’m a professional actress and model, and I also work in luxury residential and commercial real estate and mortgage lending. What’s cool is that those careers actually support each other instead of competing.

On the entertainment side, I’m represented by Models Package and I’m building projects that focus on meaningful storytelling, including a film inspired by my father’s life. On the business side, I work with AXEN Realty and NEXA Lending, helping people navigate real estate and financing decisions with clarity and confidence.

What I’m most proud of is creating a life where I don’t have to choose between stability and passion.

Im working on a course on manifesting, I am writing songs, I am singing, Im dancing again, Im truly able to live in my creative world and that makes me the happiest.

I’m known for being bubbly, ambitious, resilient, and hardworking I bring good energy, I genuinely care, and I don’t give up easily.

What sets me apart is that I genuinely care about people and I do what I say I’m going to do.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
For me, the best mentors didn’t come from asking someone to “be my mentor.” They came from becoming an assistant to the people I wanted to learn from, along with showing up consistently, being useful, and earning their trust.

Getting proximity to people I admire, working alongside them, assisting them, or supporting their projects in real ways.
Leading with value, not asks. I always look for ways to help first, this comes naturally to me and maybe thats why it feels normal, even doing this in small ways, instead of focusing on what I can get, you should never lead anything with that.Listening more than talking, in the beginning. People notice curiosity, humility, and they like to talk about themselves.
Following through, Doing what you say you’ll do is one of the fastest ways to build credibility and relationships.
Being genuine, I don’t try to impress people, I focus on building real connections. That’s what lasts.

In networking, I’ve learned that it’s not about collecting contacts. It’s about building relationships slowly and intentionally through networking and actually getting yourself out there. You cant just stand there like a stick in the mud, be advantageous to your future by talking to strangers. Some of the most important people in my life started as strangers at an event. I met my closest colleague that I do the most business with in a gender neutral bathroom, not many can say that lol

My biggest advice is to stay curious, stay humble, treat everyday like its Christmas, and stay consistent. The right mentors tend to appear when people see your effort, integrity, and growth. The right people will align with you when you are truly living in your purpose, and if you dont know your purpose yet, I advise you to keep trying things until you start to see the path your supposed to take.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emylending.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theemycassidy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecassidymitchell/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emy-cassidy-1416592a2/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/marinadelreyrealtor/