Meet Michelle Kagan of View Park/Windsor Hills

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Kagan.

Hi Michelle, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name is Michelle Renee’ Kagan, and I am originally from the Pacific Northwest. I’ve lived in Oregon and Washington State and moved with my family to Gardena, CA within Los Angeles County in the late 1980’s, which was a very interesting time to be a teen. My adolescent years were filled with team sports such as basketball, swimming, drill team, and later cheerleading in high school, school and community center dances, roller-skating, sleepovers, working in fashion as a retail sales associate at Lerner’s and dating. Growing up in Los Angeles at that time, had its challenges. There were some fearful and extremely dangerous situations I recall, such as being in close proximity to neighborhood gang violence, and losing friends and classmates to it.

After high school, as a way to escape the craziness of the mid-nineties in Los Angeles, I applied to and was accepted to attend Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, which is the furthest CSU (California State University) within the state and is roughly less than two hours away from the California/Oregon State border.

While at HSU, now Cal Poly Humboldt, I studied Speech Communications and Broadcasting. I had a campus radio show on the student run KRFH 1040 AM station that I hosted and co-hosted with a dear friend, who I am still very close to 30 years later, by the name of Leslie Sigala. During my time as a student, I served as the Editor of the campus newsletter, The Multi-Cultural Times, was an award-winning member of the Forensics (Speech & Debate) team as well as a member of the HSU Lumberjack Cheer team for football and basketball. After college, I moved back to Los Angeles, married, quickly started a family with my college sweetheart. I also worked as a Special Occasion Specialist/Personal Shopper at Nordstrom for the first few years upon graduating from Humboldt until I was offered my first office position as a tax preparer for a company that specialized in tele-communications tax preparation.

A few years later, my husband at the time, and I received some devasting news that my husband’s mother/my mother-in-law was diagnosed with an aggressive form of ovarian cancer, and she requested that we move back to our college town of Arcata where she lived, so that she could spend the rest of her days enjoying her grand-daughter Nina, her son, and I. We quickly packed up and moved back to Arcata where I began a career as a licensed life and health insurance agent/broker for the next 7 years before I opened my own insurance agency named after my daughter’s middle name, Kamali Insurance Services. I was the first black woman to do so in an overwhelmingly white community that has a deep hidden history of ethnic discrimination, which I only experienced briefly as a college student living in the community known for “liberal hippies” and “conservative red necks”. I was successful and enjoyed serving my local community until my husband and I found out that we were having another child.

At that point, my priorities shifted toward family, and I closed my insurance agency. I spent the first year of my youngest child’s life caring for him during the day and working evenings as a hotel front desk agent. It was a challenging time financially, and I knew I needed to go back to work on a full-time basis. When my son was 13 months old, I was hired as a HR Manager/Office Manager at the local newspaper where I worked for the next three years, until my marriage fell apart, and I made the tough decision to move back to Los Angeles, where my parents, siblings, and other relatives resided.

It was the best decision of my life, and although it was more expensive to live and it took time to secure full-time employment, I was reconnected with my support system of friends and family who I had missed daily from 2004 to 2017.
Doors were opening up, and I began to connect with people within the fashion/beauty and entertainment industry, which I had wanted to work within since graduating from college in 2000. The next few years, I began print modeling for CIE Fashion Magazine, and accepting independent film roles, which eventually led me into red carpet hosting and television production where I am working currently.

During this phase of my life and career, I have had the honor of interviewing and becoming personal friends with many celebrities from fashion, film, and music. As of last year, with the partnership of my childhood friend, Damian Sanders, the CEO/Publisher of CIE Fashion Magazine TV, I realized a childhood dream of hosting my own talk show called “Michelle Renee’ Hollywood Live” where I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing and getting to learn all about established and breaking new stars of fashion, film, music, sports, and entertainment.

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 has not been a smooth road, I have dealt with a lot of adversity, between divorce, bouts of unemployment, and rejection in modeling and acting roles.

However, I persevered and kept going. I am a woman of strong faith, and I had to lean deep into my faith in God daily to keep me grounded and directed towards my goals.

There is nothing standing in my way, but me, and I try my best to not get in my own way through the power of positive thinking and not skipping steps along the way.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m currently doing a few things professionally. Such as working as a member of the production team for daytime courtroom television network Justice Central. Hosting my own talk show, Michelle Renee’ Hollywood Live, acting in short films, as well as writing screenplays, a memoir, and starting a fashion line of luxury sleepwear for men, women, and children.

I am most proud of the work I get to do each day in all those areas. I’m known for being the person, people want to share their stories with as well as providing positive energy and encouragement to any and every one I encounter on a daily basis.

Lastly, I can’t forget to share one of the most memorable career moments that I am proud of, and that is my impromptu interview with Westcoast Hip-Hop Legendary artist and super producer, DJ Quik. That interview inspired me and helped me to gain a new friend and industry mentor.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I have had a few notable mentors and supporters such as Damian Sanders CEO/Publisher of CIE Fashion Magazine, Ximena Valero Global Fashion Designer of Valero Brands and Transformable Fashion, DJ Quik Legendary West Coast Hip-Hop Artist and Super Producer, Candy Scott, Global Fashion Designer of TechNoir Candy, Parris Harris, Fashion Designer/Author, Runway Model Coach, Bobbie Bell-Conley Runway Model Coach.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @michelle_renee007
• Facebook: @Michelle Renee Winston Kagan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellerkagan/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/jL-U1QDaznc

Image Credits
Photographer for Photo 1 Cheri Webb
Photographer for Photo 2 Jimmy Canon