Jessica is hilarious, smart, compassionate, and down to earth. She’s a SoCal girl through and through; grew up in Palos Verdes, spent high school years in Newport Beach and went to USC for college. Naturally, I interviewed her.
Why did you move to LA specifically? “After I graduated from the School of Theatre at USC, I moved to Hollywood to pursue my dreams. I love LA and I love acting and doing improv and sketch comedy… even though it’s taken me a few years to start making money doing it.”
What drew you to acting? “Well, in retrospect (and after years of therapy) I’ve realized that I needed a vessel in which to shine. You see my older sister is deaf and required a lot of attention from my parents growing up, so when I got cast as the lead Oompa Loompa in a Palos Verdes community theatre production of Charlie in the Chocolate Factory I thought, ‘This. Is. It!’ But in all seriousness, I love making people laugh, I love live theatre and connecting with an audience and I love that telling beautiful stories can inspire other people to look at their lives and create change.”
What’s your favorite type of performance? “I perform regularly at The Second City with my troupe Trust Fall. I’m blessed to be able to perform improv and sketch comedy with my best friends. I get to laugh all day long. I also dig Cirque du Soleil.”
Which actor/comedian do you most admire? “Catherine O’Hara is brilliant. She’s beautiful and makes me laugh like no other. I grew up watching Molly Shannon on SNL and she quickly became a hero of mine. She’s so committed and the reason she is so funny to me is because she’s so honest and believable. I mean…Mary Katherine Gallagher? I walked around with my hands under my armpits for a year or two after Superstar came out. And then there’s my all time favorite. Will Ferrell. Nuff said. Oh god, and Mike Myers. Franny, how can you ask me to pick one?! Oh and for serious actors? I’d say Charlie Sheen.”
What are your goals/aspirations? “Keep doing what I love doing and hopefully make a consistent living doing it. I’d love to do some more traveling soon. I love checking out the world. Hmm… what else. Oh I’d really like to get a Disney annual pass and it’d be sweet if all my friends had one too. Then we could live there. Last but not least, someday I’ll master this Nicki Minaj impression I’m working on.”
Hidden talents not too many people know about? “Most of my friends know I can burp on command. If you piss me off or blow my mind, I might sing about it with guitar in hand. I make mean green smoothies and one time I played Ultimate Frisbee. I killed.”
Jessica…what can I say….you just rock.
Frances Iacuzzi Photography 