Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Ricks.
Emily, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello! My name is Emily Ricks. I am an actor and singer-songwriter. I got started in the industry when I was 8 years old after booking the role of Bonnie in Toy Story 3. I never intended on becoming an actress as I grew up on a ranch in a small town called Ojai, CA. I never even thought about joining the arts until I did a small community play for fun. A manager spotted me in one of the performances and helped me pursue acting seriously in LA. Toy Story 3 was my first audition ever. It changed my life and since then I’ve been fortunate enough to portray many roles and chase my dreams in music. I ended up getting very sick when I was about 17. It stopped me for a while, and I had to have a pretty intense surgery on my aorta, but now I am finally healthy and back to pursuing my dreams 🙂
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?
Definitely not! Being an actor is NOT glamorous. You go on hundreds of auditions and only end up booking a very small percentage. I have been in the industry for 16 years, and I can definitely say the majority of the journey is straight up rejection. But, it does make the wins feel even greater, because of how much determination it takes to stick with it. Beyond that, the two personal struggles I’ve had are my health and losing my dad when I was 12. Shortly after Toy Story, my dad suddenly passed and it really rocked my world emotionally. It’s taken me a long time to process grief at a young age, but now I am making an art inspired by it. I’ve written so many songs about the weight of losing someone that young and am releasing an EP this summer! The road has been full of twists and turns, but each one has made me a more mindful and compassionate person. I am in such a a good place now, and am thankful for the ways in which the difficult parts of my life have shaped me.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am known as an actor and singer-songwriter. Up until recently mostly the first one, but I am now in full swing with my music. I am really proud of my work in animation which includes Toy Story 3, Win or Lose and quite a few other shows and movies. I also did an indie film called “Beautifully Broken” in 2018 which I’m very proud of. We filmed in South Africa. It was a very emotionally complex role, so I’m thankful I got to really expand my range with that project. Now, I am really excited to be releasing music. I have an EP called “Dear Dad” coming out this summer and just had my first song “Call It Falling” hit 400K streams 🙂
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
All the memories I made with my dad. I grew up on a ranch and we used to go exploring on the weekends. It was the best. We’d hike by the river with our dogs. My best memories are with him.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emilyricks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imemilyricks?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@imemilyricks?si=eHikpWvyYqqarmg4
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@imemilyricks?_t=ZT-8wm7t2f0x6x&_r=1
