Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Guillory.
Paige, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m originally from the small town of Fordoche, Louisiana. In Fordoche, there are no stoplights and everyone knows everyone. I come from a musical family. My mom grew up singing in gospel groups. My brother can sing. Both of my grandfathers sang gospel, and my aunts and uncles all sang. Pretty much everyone in my family can sing or play an instrument.
As a child, I loved the idea of being a performer. I enjoyed putting on skits and concerts for the family. I also enjoyed imitating characters on television. Additionally, I loved writing poems and short stories. I decided around the age of 10 I wanted to be an actress, but my mom was hesitant of me being in the film/television industry. It took some time, but she later realized how important acting was to me and became one the biggest supporters of my acting career.
The fire inside of me never stopped, and I finally convinced her to allow me to have an acting agent in high school. I had no professional training, so I wasn’t receiving as many auditions as I’d hope for.
Although in my heart, I knew I wanted to be an actress, I focused more on my education and getting into college.
In 2013, I graduated high school as valedictorian and began my college journey at LSU. I decided to pursue a degree in Mass Communication in hopes of becoming an on-air news reporter. This would allow me to combine two of my passions, television and writing.
After graduating from college, I accepted my first new reporting position in Kansas. I eventually made my way back to Louisiana to work as a digital news producer for a station in Baton Rouge.
After a couple of years of being in the news industry and not being able to do any acting at all, I decided to make a career shift. I began working as a marketing coordinator which allowed me more flexibility to pursue acting.
Since college, I have been featured in a few films and commercials. My biggest features were in “Into the Badlands,” “Popeyes Commercial,” and “The Long Shadow.”
After getting married in November 2018, my husband and I moved to Dallas. Since being in Dallas, I have been featured in the stage play “The Awakening.” I was also featured in a local Amazon Prime series. I have found great acting coaches and actors to help me along the way.
In addition, I’m currently working on producing a Christian EP titled “Finding You.” This is my first time sharing my music with the world, and I’m looking forward to the process.
I’ve been working hard for the past two years with acting, but I know I still have more work to do. I’m excited for what’s to come with acting and music.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been the smoothest ride to get to where I am. The hardest part for me was believing in myself. I didn’t know many people in Louisiana who were doing what I was doing, so I didn’t have any mentors or connections.
I had to take baby steps and work really hard to build connections. I had to put myself out there and figure it out.
Since not a lot of people in my hometown were trying to pursue acting, I wasn’t encouraged to go for it. I was never discouraged by anyone, but I had no one to really push me to pursue it.
It wasn’t until I met my husband that I truly had someone who encouraged me to believe in my acting skills. He encouraged me to be the best actress I can be, and he still helps me to this day with preparing for my auditions. After having my husband believe in my talent, I began to believe in myself and put the work in. After I put the work in, others began to believe in me too.
I would encourage young women to find someone or a group of people that can pour encouragement and positivity into you when it comes to pursuing your dreams.
In this industry, rejection is common. I face it often, and I get way more no’s than yes’. It’s important to remain confident in your abilities and affirm yourself every day that you were given these gifts for a reason.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Currently, I work as a communications coordinator and an actress. I also sing. I’m so proud of the music that I have been working on since May of this year. The music will be released by the end of the year, and I hope people love and connect with it. I’m known for acting, singing and writing.
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
I think two of the biggest barriers are equality and assurance.
As a woman in the industry, specifically a minority woman, we are not assured representation. We have to demand it. We do not have assured leadership, we have to work twice or three times as hard to become part of that space.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: paigevguillory
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Paige-Guillory-265523437475235/
Image Credit:
The headshots were taken by Ken Duane – VisionsByKen
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