Rising Stars: Meet Demee’ Wilcher of Los Angeles/Rowland Heights

Today we’d like to introduce you to Demee’ Wilcher.

Demee’, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Demee’ Pilar Wilcher and I was born in Los Angeles, CA.

From a young age I was involved in the arts, performing my whole life. Acting, dancing and show choir really shaped me early on. After graduating High School, I studied drama for two years at community college then transferred to my four year, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, I studied in both California and New York, where I received my BFA in Acting, Writing, and Directing. In 2018, I started developing my series BILLIE, which has been my main focus artistically since. By 2020, I expanded into photography and began my own production Company, Rosebud Productions, as a way of bringing all of my creative work together. I’ve been so blessed and very fortunate overall. I’ve also had the support of God, my parents, family and friends throughout this whole journey, my close support system have always believed in me and encouraged me to live my dreams. My plan is to grow as a creative day by day and build a legacy for myself and future black artists’.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of my biggest challenges has been learning to stand in my confidence as a black woman and as an artist. For a while, I struggled with truly trusting my voice and believing I belonged in the spaces I was stepping into. On top of that, I’ve experienced deep personal loss. I’ve lost two of my brothers, and in 2020 I went through the passing of my second brother (they were twins). That period shook me, but it also forced me to dig deeper into my art. I leaned on the people closest to me, including a partner I was also collaborating with creatively. That relationship, and the work we built together, helped me move through grief and reminded me how healing art can be. Even though our paths aren’t the same today, that time was pivotal for me. It gave me resilience and pushed me to pour myself fully into projects like BILLIE and to launch Rosebud Productions, where I now carry everything I’ve lived through into the stories I create.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The work I do now is as an actor, writer, and photographer. I specialize in acting and photography, mainly for brands, but I’m known for being an actress. What I’m most proud of is creating a project with friends I trust and admire, and being able to fund it myself. I think what sets me apart is that I genuinely care about people. I love connecting and getting to know others, and I feel like I’m meant to do this, I know I am. I’m proud of where I am today because everything I wanted 5 years ago, I have now and I just want to keep growing from there. The project I’m working on is called BILLIE (starring me, Damaris Chambers, Jennifer Nwene, Chloe Adrian and Alaska Jackson.)

It follows 5 friends living in Los Angeles who are apart of the LGBTQ community, showcasing their lives, friendships and everything in between. I wanted to highlight Black people who are inspiring, hardworking, and complex, because that reflects my friends, my family and community. Representation matters deeply to me, and that’s at the heart of the stories I want to tell. Black Excellence and vulnerability, I want to show how complex we are as a whole.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
It might sound cliché but success to me means being fully content and being able to share what you’re doing to the fullest extent.

Longevity, Happiness and Legacy is what Success means to me.

Pricing:

• Photography: $1500 base rate
• Script Writing: $100+

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/demeepilar?igsh=dmVtbGxhMGxvNDFh&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
Tre Melvin