Meet Olivia de Bortoli

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia de Bortoli.

Olivia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My parents are originally from France and Switzerland (I have triple citizenship) and worked for Club Med so we were able to travel a lot when we were young. We ended up living in Florida for a while and I got my degree in Broadcast Journalism and International relations at FIU in Miami. When I graduated, I wanted to live in a bigger city so I followed my sister to Chicago where I got a job working the assignment desk at a FOX affiliated new station. I worked there for about a year before I decided I needed warmer weather and moved to Los Angeles.

I landed an internship at KTLA (LA’s number one news station) pretty quickly but the only spot they had available was in entertainment news. I had never done entertainment before but immediately fell in love. My job mostly consisted of getting coffee and helping the anchors with whatever they needed but it soon transitioned into following the reporters to red carpets and then doing interviews of my own. I soon got promoted to producer and was writing scripts, editing videos, covering red carpets, junkets, and so much more. I was hooked. I still knew I wanted more on air time though, so I pitched a new segment to the sales team. A segment where we go around LA and highlight the different cool things we can do in this city. They loved and now I do both entertainment news, interviewing the biggest A list celebs, and host a segment called “The Bench”. I also branched out and have hosted music, sports, and other lifestyle shows and hope to continue that in the near future. I have a passion for adventure so hopefully, I can host an adventure show someday soon.

Has it been a smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road, but I guess if it were smooth it wouldn’t be worth it right? Living in Chicago was amazing but also had its challenges. My job started at 5am and sometimes they haven’t cleared the snow from the streets at that time yet. So I would be walking to my bus stop at 4am in negative 10 degree weather with snow up to my knees softly whimpering. It also didn’t pay very well so I would bartend at night. My schedule was 5am to about 1 pm and then bartend from 3pm until about 1am and do it all over again. Who needs sleep right?

When I moved to LA, the weather improved drastically but my schedule remained the same. My internship (and then producing job) started at 5:30 am and I worked until about 1:30/2pm and then I would go work in a restaurant at 3 until midnight. It was rough and I didn’t sleep much or have a social life but I was pursuing my passion so nothing would stop me.

It is also LA so there are a lot of people trying to do what you do. You get a lot of “no’s” and “you’re not good enough’s” but you get thick skin and keep trying and eventually you get there. You can’t forget to enjoy the journey a little too.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love LA mostly for the people. Everyone is from somewhere else and has a story to tell and everyone has a fire inside them to be something and be creative. I’ve seen the people of LA come together and fight racism and social injustices like no place else. They are passionate about life and will stop at nothing to live it.

I also love that you can do literally anything you want in this city. You want to go dirt biking in the morning and eat at a Michelin star restaurant at night? No problem. You want to go surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon? Also cool. You have some the best art in the world, both in galleries around town and in the streets.

Contact Info:

• Email: oliviadebortoli@yahoo.com
• Instagram: @oliviadebortoli
• Twitter: @oliviadebortoli

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