Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenna Edwards.
Jenna, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in a small town in Minnesota. I grew up being what I called a “walking statistic.” According to the experts, I should be a teen mom, divorced from an abusive husband, living in poverty, with some form of addiction in the small town I grew up in. But, my parents (my mom and her 3rd husband) were musicians and played in a rock band so I was introduced to the business side of show business at a very early age. And, I had always dreamed of coming to Los Angeles to be an actor. I made the move in 2000 and was lucky enough to quickly get my SAG card. After that, I got cast on roles in on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Malcolm in the Middle. After my Buffy episode aired, I was hit in the farmers’ market crash in Santa Monica where ten people were killed. I suffered debilitating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which manifested in me stuttering when I talked and not being able to read. I had to leave acting. It was heartbreaking. The following years led to serious healing and a shift into producing. That lasted a decade until just last year when my incredibly kind and supportive husband and I sold all of our stuff and set out on a year-long cross-country road trip.
We recently returned with me learning two major things (1) I belong in Los Angeles. There’s no city like it and it has always felt like home to me. And (2) I don’t want to be someone who has given up on their dreams.
That said, I am back with a fire I haven’t felt since I first moved here in 2000. I am getting my acting career back and adding author and youth speaker to my life. I believe all the adversity I’ve been through can be helpful if shared so I am giving talks to high schools on not being defined by your circumstances and pouring my experiences and stories into a series of young adult novels that I hope to turn into a TV show in the future.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has 100% not been a smooth road. As I said in the past post, I grew up with adversity. Every day was a struggle. Then, when I thought my dreams were all coming true (getting to be on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), a car hit me at 60 miles an hour and completely changed the trajectory of my life. The thing I will say about all the struggle is that there were always glimmers of light to break through the darkness and those glimmers (I believe) wouldn’t have happened anywhere other than LA. This city is magical.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
What I specialize in is aggressive optimism. I believe with all my heart that you need to find your dream, believe you can get there (that’s the optimism) and be as aggressive as possible in that belief.
The speech I’m working on for high schools and colleges is about just this. According to the statistic and the experts and the things that surrounded me when I was younger, my life should look completely different. I made a choice to break the cycle and was super aggressive in my belief that things didn’t have to be the way they were when I was growing up. That didn’t have to be my story. There are usually more examples of the negative side of life, but there are also examples of people who are doing the things you dream of doing. I set out to give kids permission and encouragement to find those examples and hold on to them with all their might. The thing I’m the most proud of is that I get to be one of those examples.
My attitude is definitely the thing that sets me apart from others.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
There is no better place for a business like mine. Being in the entertainment business in Los Angeles is magic. We literally make dreams come true every single day. Whether that dream is being made on the screen or it’s someone working in the industry’s dream, our entire job is to make those dreams into tangible realities and that is just so special. I mean, sure, there’s absolutely a dark side to the industry, but there’s a dark side to every single place on this plant. It’s our job to find and focus on the good. If you’re just starting out and want to get into the entertainment business, there is no better place than LA for that. You just need to make sure to be smart about it because the outside world would have you think that the business is done by those who are partying and hanging out on Sunset, but the reality is that the people actually making things happen are too busy to party.
Contact Info:
- Website: Youth speaking – speakjenna.com Acting/Authoring – jennaedwardsmedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennaedwardslife/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JennaEdwardsLife/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennaedwards
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
Carole Sanek
July 4, 2019 at 14:18
I have personally known Jenna Edwards since we met in 2015 at a conference in Las Vegas. She was walking down the hallway all gussied up in yellow everything and I called her over to where I was. We became friends and I had her on my podcast, we have talked on the phone, we had dinner where I live in FL when she was on her road trip and she has been a huge supporter of everything I do. I love her, plain and simple, I love her. Great interview.