Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Jennifer Ryan

Jennifer Ryan shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: When have you felt most loved—and did you believe you deserved it?
I have felt the most love this year. I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in May 2025. I am happy to say I’m now cancer free after my double mastectomy in July 2025. I was touched and surprised by how much love and compassion was shown to me throughout my diagnosis and treatment. Friends from all stages of my life, some I just met , others I had lost touch with over the years, and others that are currently very much in my life rallied by my side to provide encouragement. It truly showed me such a beautiful side of humanity and I will be forever grateful for the love. It meant the world to me and helped me to heal and gave me strength. Love you guys!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Jennifer. I play many different roles in life. The one I’m highlighting in this article is my life as an actor. Acting has been a life long passion for me. I believe I may have mentioned this story previously, but I found acting in the age of 13. I was a very introverted young lady. My parents were both educators and believed strongly that every child needs to have extracurricular activities but they couldn’t find any that I was good at. I tried gymnastics, cheer, and softball as a kid. Nothing hit for me. I’m horrible at sports! One of my mom’s co-workers suggested that I try theatre at San Diego Junior Theatre in Balboa Park in San Diego. I didn’t get the in the first play I auditioned for but I was cast on my second try. Game over! I was hooked instantly. I met so many talented kids with personalities very similar to mine. I finally felt like I fit in and had my space that I thrived in. Soon, I was taking dance and singing lessons so I could be competitive for lead roles. I had a few leads at Junior Theatre and lived for the next play. After high school I auditioned, and was accepted, to The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. It was a two year program. Half of the students get cut after the first year but I made the cut and graduated from that school. I honestly had the time of my life eating, breathing and living acting with the best people. It was such a magical time for me. After my time at acting school, I couldn’t find an agent in LA and got pressure from my parents to go to traditional college. Then life happened. I got into a career as a Recruiter, got married, had two kids, got divorced and remarried. About 6 years ago I returned to acting by taking acting classes. It felt like home again being back working on my craft. Since being back into acting, I am now focused on film and television projects. I finally found great agents and a manager to represent me. I also study continuously with renowned acting teacher, Howard Fine. He has truly helped me grow as an actor and I feel so very fortunate to study with him.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
That’s an easy one and a bit deep. Since growing older, I finally realized that I’m worthy. I didn’t feel that way about myself as a child. As I mentioned earlier, I was very shy as a child. I still am until I get to know you well but I’ve become very good at covering that. My home life didn’t help matters. My father was a loving father in many ways but also emotionally abusive. I believe that’s one of the reasons that I was so shy. Easier to stay under the radar. I never felt like I was worthy of good things. It wasn’t until I moved to LA for acting school that I started to believe that I did have worth. I started to feel validated and loved. It’s been a lifelong journey for me but now, more than ever, I feel I’m worth it and I hope I make those around me feel like they are worthy as well.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would tell my younger self that things do get better and you will have a beautiful life. Don’t stress so much about the small things. Be bold, take risks, love hard, have fun, laugh, travel, and find joy wherever you can. Enjoy the ride!

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
This industry tells itself that the most talented actors book the roles. This often is not the case. Many times that can be true but I know plenty of extremely talented actors that don’t book most of the roles that audition for. There are so many factors that go into booking a role. It could be they decided to change the character’s sex, body type, ethnicity, or the actor that booked it has more network credits, or the person cast knows the director, and the list goes on and on. I know this because I’ve been told there were factors that had zero to do with my acting and were beyond my control. My current agent told me this as well when I signed with her. It’s actually been freeing to realize that it isn’t always about talent. I don’t take it personally any longer. You just cant’t. Rejection is the norm in this industry and you have to not let it crush you or this won’t be sustainable for you. I just control what I can control and that is continuously being in acting class every week working on my craft and growing as an actor. I keep showing up for my craft so I am ready when those big auditions come up. Slow and steady wins the race. Consistency wins the race. It’s a marathon and not a sprint.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What will you regret not doing? 
I’m not big on carrying a lot of regret. Regret doesn’t help you move forward and thrive. I say this because, even when my life has been difficult at times, it’s made me who I am today. Everything from the wins to the tough times filled with despair. Every bit of it shaped who I am today.
I will say, if I had a regret, it would be not sticking with acting when I was young and just got out of acting school in Los Angeles. I had a lot of pressure from my parents to give up that dream and go to college and earn my Bachelor’s degree in Business. I did that. And my career as a Recruiter has provided me and my family with a comfortable life. But it was never something I was passionate about. When I got back into acting class six years ago I felt that passion for the craft. It was dimmed but it was always there. I’m a happier person now being back in acting. I sometimes wonder what could have been with my acting career had I stuck with it all these years. But, the good thing about acting is you never “grow too old for it”. In fact, with more life experience your acting becomes deeper and you have more to bring to the table for the characters you play. I’m back at it now and I don’t look back with regret.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifer.a.ryan/
• Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11362541/

Image Credits
Headshots by Sean Kara Photography