​I grew up in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago and dreamed of being an actor. I was one of those highly energetic kids always forcing my family to watch me put on puppet shows and other one-girl performances. I acted in a number of drama camp and school plays, and I saw my dream coming true when I was accepted to the BFA Acting program at Illinois Wesleyan University. During my time at IWU, I discovered the fascinating world of voice and dialects. Suddenly a new dream began to take shape.
From 2012-2018, I worked as a dialect/vocal coach in Chicago. I coached over 60 theatrical productions, worked on multiple major television shows, and provided private accent coaching to countless actors. In 2017, I made a video with BuzzFeed called “How to Do 12 Different Accents”, in which I modeled and gave tips on 12 accents. The video went viral within 24 hours and now has millions of views on YouTube and Facebook.
In 2018, I moved to London to start the MFA Voice Studies program at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. I am now in the second an final year of the program. For this year, we have to work in the industry in some fashion while also writing our master’s dissertation. I am spending this school year at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where I am teaching Acting for Non-Majors, assisting with voice classes, and dialect coaching CCM productions.
I am legally blind with limited vision in my left eye and no vision in my right eye. I am very open to talking about my blindness. In Fact, I am known for my blind jokes.