Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Isadora Ortega Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry

An Interview With Ming Zhao

Network…I am not saying party; I am saying real networking. Build your relationships with the film schools and audition for thesis films. They are the producers, directors, and writers of tomorrow.

As a part of our series about Inspirational Women In Hollywood, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Isadora Ortega.

Haitian/Cuban actress Isadora Ortega is rising up in the entertainment industry as one to watch. Already making strides as a triple threat, Isadora has made waves as an award-winning actress, producer and writer.

After falling deep in love with the art by watching telenovelas with her mom, Isadora knew at an early age that she wanted to take part in a career that was diverse in the art of expressionism. While living in New York, acting was at her fingertips and Isadora went on to study the art, including voice over, improv and body movement at the Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, as well as at Susan Batson Studios. She soon went on to appear in various Off-Broadway shows such as “Eating Out” and host TV shows such as “Cook up” On Tempo. After a successful run in New York building her brand as an Afro Latina artist, Isadora knew her next move would be pivotal to her career. Once relocating to Los Angeles, Isadora didn’t waste time getting into the groove of things and quickly went on to produce and star in several projects, including web series, short films and shows such as “Laff Mob” on Tru TV, while growing her social media presence.

Isadora can next be seen executive producing and starring in award winning film, Another Love Story. Isadora plays budding novelist Miriam Ramos, a women fresh out of a toxic relationship, who quickly finds herself in a dark place, desperately seeking to live a lavish life and to be romantically in love. Starting to believe that she is the problem, the hurdles of life quickly weigh on her until she meets and falls deeply in love with the man of her dreams — That is, until her new found love reveals itself to be a tragic nightmare not even her closest friends could see coming. After making its way through the festival circuit, the film has gone on to win multiple awards ahead of its official July 29th release, including Best Director, Brandon Morson, and Best Actress, Isadora Ortega, at the 2021 New York Int Film Awards and most recently selected as Best Feature Film at the 2022 Gold Movie Awards.

Off screen, Isadora can best be recognized as an author, most recently publishing her first Graphic Novel called “The Curse of the flower”//”La Maldicion De La Flor” based on the legend of Anacaona. The novel follows leader of her tribe, Anacaona, as her people’s lives are turned around by conquistadores, who too willingly took more than was offered. In defense to protect her people, Anacaona’s rage quickly developed in a way no one saw coming — a night where everything was set into motion so she could visit our world…time is an interesting thing, sometimes it heals you and sometimes allows your rage to grow. But Anacaona’s legacy will not be silenced, only impact our world. Isadora’s hit novel was met with praise and fans can soon see the short film come to life and make its rounds in the festival circuit in 2023.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, to Dominican parents. I was raised by a single mother who worked hard every day to give me the best education and life she could afford. My father was always in the picture, even if it was not physically. I grew up around strong women, from my mom to my grandmother. I always understood clearly what it meant to work with discipline, even when you don’t feel like it.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I see acting as the freedom to express all your personas that would otherwise be judged by society. There’s no judgment in acting, and you get to use so many parts of yourself. Acting is so healing to me because we can always bring parts of us into every role. I have been able to understand more about domestic abuse victims by playing one because understanding the needs and wants of Miriam helped me understand why so many people feel trapped. I fell in love with acting by watching Telenovelas with my mom. I loved how one person can transform themselves from the inside out and live the lives of so many.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I was told that I wouldn’t be able to play a role of a Latina because Hollywood doesn’t understand what an Afro Latina is… I just smiled and kept training because we should never allow people to project their limitations on us.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Well, I was doing a self-tape for a Christmas film, and I started the taping and messed up my first line. Like a proud New Yorker, I said “F***”. When I was done with my audition, to my belief, I did well with editing my slate and scenes! Unfortunately, I forgot to edit the “F***” out of the audition, and yes submitted the audition with my fabulous F-bomb. I got a callback directly to a producer session, to my surprise. The producers, writers, and casting brought it up after the session and mentioned they thought it was funny. The moral of the story is triple check your auditions and give yourself some grace because we are not perfect.

Honestly, nothing specific comes to mind, but I will say that all the mistakes that I have made, whether they were funny, reckless, or just stupid, helped shape the woman I am today. Making mistakes is part of living life, and the silver lining is learning to make new types of mistakes tomorrow, not the same.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My mom, she’s has always believed in me and prayed for me. She’s always praying for that big contract. She paid for classes, for pictures, bought clothes for events, and gave me money to help me pay my rent when I couldn’t. She doesn’t understand the world of acting, but she just knows that that’s what I was born to do. She’s my biggest fan.

You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

Network…I am not saying party; I am saying real networking. Build your relationships with the film schools and audition for thesis films. They are the producers, directors, and writers of tomorrow. Don’t take” No” personally, and I know it is easier said than done, but it is true. We give a piece of ourselves to all these auditions and are disappointed but just keep booking the room (when casting keeps bringing you back, it means you are doing something right, and that’s booking the room.) We can fail at so many things in life that if I fail, let it be at something that I love and am passionate about. Even when I have challenging dates, I know that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Also, build your circle because this career can be lonely.

What drives you to get up every day and work in TV and Film? What change do you want to see in the industry going forward?

I want to do this for the rest of my life because I am very passionate about it, and I am working on my end to add the diversity to the films and content that I produce that I would like to see in the industry. I honestly want Afro Latinos to be more part of the conversation regarding diversity because when the “Latino diversity” conversation is being held in Hollywood, I don’t believe they are talking about Afro-Latino actors and actresses that look and sound like me.

You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?

Another Love Story is the Domestic abuse film I produced last year and is set to release this July 19, 2022. This is a passion project that is very dear to my heart. This movie is based on how my best friend/sister was killed. I knew that domestic abuse was a big social problem, but I didn’t realize how big it was until I started doing my own research. We don’t really have laws in place to protect the victims of domestic abuse because the law doesn’t want to get involved with a husband and wife’s relationship or couples of any sexual orientation.

I am also the executive producer of “Hope Street Holiday” which I co-wrote with Brandon Morson. I play the role of Galia Garcia, aka Lia Garcia. Lia loses her way when her mom and best friend pass. She’s living the life that she thought she always wanted, but now it feels empty and meaningless. The holidays are the best time for her to return home, and she finds herself and her passion around family while finding the real meaning of life and love. We have a beautiful and very talented cast. My “aunties” are played by three beautiful and talented Afro Latina actresses. I felt at home! I know so many people are going to be able to relate to the characters in this film.

We are very interested in looking at diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share a few reasons with our readers why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture and our youth growing up today?

Diversity is important because it is a reflection of what the world really looks like. Cast in film and tv shows should represent what the world looks like. This should not only be limited to the cast but also the crew working in these films and tv shows. Two clear examples are “In the Heights” and “Encanto,” so many people were upset because the “In the Heights” cast didn’t look like the people of Washington Heights, which has a big population of Dominicans — Washington Heights is called Little Dominican Republic. Now let’s take a look at “Encanto.” So many people and kids could see themselves in this movie’s characters. Representation matters because we can see people who look like us playing different roles and positions in life.

What are your “3 things I wish someone told me when I first started?”

-That I am my only competition

-To only be concerned with the things I can control, and that’s my training.

-Be yourself

Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices, or treatments that you do to help your body, mind, or heart to thrive? Please share a story for each one if you can.

I start my morning with some prayers, followed by affirmations. In my car, I listen to some praise music. At night I pray, and I sleep with meditation sounds. I burn sage and palo santo every other day, lol. Working out is part of my wellness, and I love going to the spa when time permits.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”?

“Dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.” — Shonda Rhimes

&

“The real heroes are those who rebuild their lives using adversity as a stepping stone to greatness in the midst of the chaos life has thrown at them.” — Nikki Rowe. Just keep moving; everything that is not going your way is just happening for a season.

You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I dream of building a Domestic Abuse foundation where we can start a partition to change the laws in place. To use the foundation to rehabilitate people that are survivors of domestic abuse because Domestic Abuse victims suffer from PTSD as a soldier that fought in a war.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!

Shonda Rhimes would be my person. She’s a showrunner, creator, writer, and executive producer. I would love to hear her process and how you put a writing room together. Where her inspiration comes from?

Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?

Instagram and Facebook @lablacklatina

This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!