Rising Stars: Meet Dia Michelle

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

Hi Dia, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Dominican Republic where I used to shower in buckets as a baby. My family was very poor. My father was raised in NYC and brought us to America. I grew up in New Jersey and went to an all-black school makes Lincoln elementary school in Englewood. Englewood wasn’t gentrified yet it wasn’t a good neighborhood so I and my siblings weren’t allowed outside much. I became a heavy gamer. We then moved to PA where I became the biggest tomboy and became rebellious. My mom slapped me once a week which was well deserved I was coming home at 1 am at 15. Walking in with a dead phone not caring about anything. I just wanted to be around friends at the time and Although I was a good person I wasn’t the greatest daughter. I met some friends and I got into dancing. I and my cousins won every talent show 1st place. Friends told me I needed to focus on both dancing and singing and that’s when I started social media. I then wore many corporate hats until I became a social worker/ Mental health worker and after 5 years of that, I decided to take a huge leap and go all in on my talents.

I moved to LA and networked my ass off until I met some solid people out here and after years of working we turned to family. I started making funny videos with an ex and my social media grew- I had gone from 1K- 50K followers in just a few months and had higher engagement than my peers who had millions of followers. My ex was unfaithful and I left and room later with my friend Jessica Vanessa from there I learned a lot from her on how to maneuver as an influencer/content creator. After a few years of improv comedy, I became b comfortable in front of a Camara. I then met Dr.Louis Jones a black LGBTQ Emmy-winning director who gave me my first real non-comedic acting role. Since then am a 2X Telly award-winning actress!

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?
I would say it’s t was getting into bad relationships. Everything is tied to our childhood. I love my mother and my father deeply. They were just two people that did not need to be married. I grew up, wanting to be married to the right person, and do better than what I saw so I developed an anxious attachment style.

I would put people who I allowed to treat me badly before me. I would neglect myself and pass off my connections to these men I wanted to fix. Many bridges were burned in the process. I can now at 32 look back and acknowledge all of this. I created the struggles for myself. It was always me vs me.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I would say I am most known for my comedy skits. I feel if I show a stranger my archived videos the probability of them seeing at least one of them is up there. I used to post 3 videos a day and would go viral a lot. I am embarrassed by some of them now so that is why they are archived

I am a recording artist with a five-octave range. A lot of my recorded music cages my voice, so I am proudest when I sing live. My voice is uncaged. Nothing is scripted. There is no choreography. I can just let go and sing the way I feel the song and I’m proud of the moments that I wow myself. One time I performed with a concussion, I had to sit down while singing and I sang a ballad that was dear to me and at the end of the performance, a woman came up to me with tears in her eyes and told me it was her favorite song and she felt I sang it to her. I will never forget these moments.

I am an actress. I specialize in drama and I have comedic timing. I don’t try to be funny and I think that’s where I win with my comedy. I’m not afraid to be ugly, and I’m afraid to commit to a bold decision on set. I am a series lead regularly on 2 shows on Amazon prime I have been seen on BET and I have an hour episode on Sundance TV. I never talk about myself so when I do interviews and everything like this I can say I’m proud of myself.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My favorite book right is Celestine Prophecy. It’s soo much to explain but it has changed my life dramatically please read it. For my birthday my sister got me to untangle your anxiety. I never knew I had anxiety until someone explained to me that I did, and that book definitely helps me out in moments.

I am a mental health worker so I have the luxury of being surrounded by my therapist friends who let me check in with them so I definitely recommend therapy to everyone especially when the books and coping skills you have access to don’t feel like enough.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjgLnu0pS8l/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR9ReTyS/

Image Credits
Arnold Shoots, Prince of the Gram, Jay Verma