This month’s professional spotlight features Ella Thomas, an accomplished model and actress with credits including, 7th Heaven, Entourage, CSI: Miami, All My Children, NCIS: Los Angeles and more. She is currently playing Willa on the Quarantine series. Read this month’s spotlight to learn more about Ella and her path to becoming an actor and model.

Could you briefly explain some of your responsibilities in your current career role.

I believe that any career in an artistic medium comes with the responsibility of reflecting and documenting the current times. We serve as the storytellers; especially actors. We inhabit and represent the human experience without judgement. Personally, I also feel I have a duty to be of service and find a means in which I can give back to my community.

What inspired you to pursue a career in acting and modeling?

Since I was a child, I’ve always been drawn to creative mediums such as acting and writing because the world felt full of possibilities and endless adventures. Modeling was not something I initially pursued. I was discovered in high school by a modeling scout whose daughter was my classmate. Adai was supportive as long as it didn’t interfere with my studies but after a few years I found that I needed a stronger foundation on which to build a future. That was the reason why I went to university and earned my degree in Biology. I continued to work in fashion all through school and after graduation I moved to New York. It was there that I began to realize that the creative outlet I had always been seeking was called “acting”. However, it seems too much like a daydream and even though I went to acting classes I never felt I could have the audacity to pursue it as a career. Losing my Mom changed everything because Adai had always encouraged me, she always believed in me and she always loved movies. That was when I made the decision to move to Los Angeles.

What was your approach to following a career path in acting and modeling?

Everyone has their own process when it comes to building their craft because it’s not a linear journey. When I moved to Los Angeles I knew I had to find an agent and a manager but first I had to prove to others as well as myself that I could be successful. I researched and took every class available. I asked for advice and guidance from peers and built my career slowly and steadily. There were no shortcuts.

What has been your favorite role you’ve played so far?

My favorite role was my first major television guest star on 7th Heaven. It was almost one year to the day that I last heard Adai’s voice. The character is an angel who comes back to say that she is grateful that she has left her children in safe hands, and they will all one day do great things with their lives. It felt like a message from My Mom to myself and my sister. When I saw myself on TV in my Zuriya… I saw her and I was so proud to be her daughter.

Is there a philosophy that drives your career?

My philosophy is best summed up in one of my favorite quotes my Henry David Thoreau “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams… live the life you have imagined.” To me it means that there is no such thing as failure if I am doing my absolute best.

What do you consider to be your greatest professional accomplishment?

My greatest professional accomplishment is the platform that this career is giving to me to reach the youth of the diaspora. I want to continue to be a voice of support to the Eritrean community both here and abroad. I want to honor my mother’s legacy and the sacrifices she made so that I could follow my dreams.

What’s one piece of advice you would give someone looking to transition into your line of work?

Modeling is different then acting because you must always be conscious of your looks and how you move through space. Acting requires you to completely be unconscious of your surrounding and lose yourself in a world that is not real. Modeling teaches you to hide your emotions and represent your client in the most positive manner, acting requires you to show and share all of your feelings. Both these fields require you to give so much of yourself that my advice would be to know yourself and be steadfast in who you are… to know your voice as well as what and who you represent. Your instincts are your strongest ally.

Outside of all of your hard work and efforts toward building your brand, what do you do for fun? Hobbies?

I have always loved to travel and am a voracious reader. I’m usually reading few books at a time switching back and forth depending on my mood. My favorite travel locations usually involve a beach… probably because I spent my childhood playing and swimming in Massawa.