Meet Vivi Devereaux

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vivi Devereaux.

Vivi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in South Africa in the eighties during a difficult time in the country. Apartheid was powerful and my parents made many sacrifices to raise us as best as they could. I’ll start this by saying my family is full of intelligent people with advanced degrees and qualifications, When I left high school I too had started down on this path. I started a business degree and was a couple of years into it when I was scouted by a modelling agent while I was at a shopping mall having just concluded a meeting. It turns out this man had followed me from the restaurant all the way to my car to simply observe how I walked. Next thing I know, I’m doing fashion weeks. And then being signed by modelling agency and a theatrical agency. I had a crisis, I could either continue down the path of business or become an artist. The pressures both internally and externally were tangible. The call of the artist was loud.

I ended up living in India for a year trying to understand why on earth I would want to do this. A lot of introspection. When I finally decided that being an actor is what i want to do, I called a local radio station and asked “if I wanted to be an actor, where do I go?” The guest at the time on the station was a musician who was on tour. He mentioned Los Angeles, I found an acting school in LA, and that was where I was “born” artistically so to say. Being an actor, has given me a voice that I had kept quiet as a child for years. It allows me to be free. It allows me to dream. And what a wonderful feeling that is.

Great, 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?
Absolutely not. After I got my acting diploma, I had to leave the US to tend to urgent family needs. The next five years were spent in a wilderness. An artistic wasteland. I sacrificed everything. We had people who were not happy with our family and had started to do the best they could to harm us. When their attempts to kill us didn’t work. They shut us down financially, effectively black balling us. This was a time when certain external influences meant that we not only had to fear for our lives, but also had to wonder where we would sleep next, or where the next meal would come from. Our calls were tapped, and we were hiding when we had to. I effectively disappeared for years from people who knew me. When someone asks me what do I know about fear? I say all there is. I have been chased at night. I have stared death in the face. And somehow, survived. We as a family survived.

One night I remember well, was when I was working as a lumberjack, trying to get a business off the ground to survive, I looked up at the stars at night, watching a plane fly overhead. How warm and comfortable they must have felt, while I was freezing in a forest alone. I vowed. I wouldn’t stay there forever. I would return to claim my life and move forward. And of course, certain challenges still exist to this day. I don’t know how we survived what we did. Or how things aligned to have me back in the US and rising day by day. But I’m grateful.

Please tell us about your work.
I’m an actor. An artist. Entrusted to take you on a journey and tell a story. To give you a voice. It took me going down this path to realize why certain events in my life happened the way they did What sets me apart? I’m a man of color, born in Africa with a British accent and background. When I open my mouth in this city and in fact, most parts of the world, it initially confuses, then intrigues. It opens up a conversation about life, humanity and love. And every now and then someone says that I should be James Bond. One day.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I have two. One is my 13th birthday. That was a watershed moment in every single sense. Images and sensations from that day continue to inspire me today. To keep going for what I want, and that I’m worthy. We all are. The second is taking a homemade go kart down a very steep hill in our neighborhood with two friends and flipping it. The resulting crash and mayhem when we finally scraped, bumped, road rashed, rolled and thumped our way to a stop still makes me laugh to this day. As did the nurses face when she saw us and her jaw dropped.

Contact Info:

• Website: vividevereaux.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vividevereaux/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vivi.Devereaux/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vividevereaux

Image Credit:
Alicia Chandler, Robert Kaz, Chris Violette

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