"Hi, my name is Georgie. I’m 25 years old and a Libra (whatever that may mean to you). I was born in Windsor in 1995 to a Welsh mother and English Father. When my sister and I were babies, my parents moved us from rainy England to suburban America - a northwest suburb of Illinois called Hinsdale, to be exact.”

Hi, my name is Georgie. I’m 25 years old and a Libra (whatever that may mean to you). I was born in Windsor in 1995 to a Welsh mother and English Father. When my sister and I were babies, my parents moved us from rainy England to suburban America - a northwest suburb of Illinois called Hinsdale, to be exact.

I had a lovely childhood in the suburbs. I went to great schools, and made friends easily. School was tough, though, and while I loved going to learn, I felt different to the other kids and often very misunderstood. I fit in, but not quite. It was hard to relate sometimes, I’m not sure why, but I felt self conscious because of that, and unfortunately struggled with bullying for many years. It wasn’t until high school when I found theatre that I finally felt at home with my new friends. At play rehearsals or drama class, everyone was weird, but no one was afraid to express it.

After a while, theatre became less of a hobby and more of a dream I took seriously. My parents were supportive but also instilled a strong sense of work ethic and responsibility in my sister and me, so if I wanted to focus on drama it would have to be between hours of homework, daily piano practice, and weekend babysitting. I was very involved. Probably too involved in hindsight. But I didn’t care. It was worth it.

When I finished high school, it was time to set my sights beyond suburbia. Higher education was nonnegotiable, so I applied for universities outside Illinois, and, per my parents request, in the UK. I knew I wanted to study Drama and become an actor, so I auditioned at several American universities until I stumbled upon Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, a Cardiff based drama school. I knew nothing about British Drama schools, I hadn’t even heard of Royal Welsh, but they were holding auditions in Chicago, so I went and auditioned and two weeks later found out I got in. It was a total fluke, but I was so happy. I was on my journey to doing what I wanted to do since I was a kid.

Royal Welsh was a wild ride with three years of intensive training leading up to shows for the public and industry professionals. So when I signed with my agent before graduating, and a year later booked my first series regular tv role, it felt like my hard work had paid off and everything was fitting into place. I knew from the get go that being an actor was going to be hard and that I would need to have a lot of patience, determination, but I was ready. 

I’ve met so many wonderful and influential people and travelled to some beautiful places because of my job; and while some ‘No’s’ have definitely stung more than others, I’ve grown a lot from rejection. Managing expectations and relinquishing control over things I cannot change is a daily ritual that I’ve applied not only acting, but to many other aspects of my life; however, learning to honour my feelings and stay true to who I am despite what others may think has become the greatest gift I could have ever given myself. I’m stepping into myself more and more everyday.

My word is ‘Horizon’ because I hope to continually expand mine over the course of my  life. I’ve taken a lot of big risks to get to where I am, and while it’s been scary, it’s definitely been worth it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still scared all the time, but I also believe that the exact moment when you’re at your most scared, is the perfect time to jump, otherwise you never will. There’s a whole world out there filled with endless possibilities and opportunities, and I want to fearlessly explore it.

A portion of the proceeds from this portrait will go to a female-led nonprofit called Code Your Chances (CYC). The organization teaches young girls the importance of computer science and to consider a future in STEM.

CYC generates enthusiasm for computer science through workshops that focus on the many creative uses of code. It aims to help  communities that have limited access to computer education in order to provide exposure to the many opportunities in tech fields. Seminars are held in across the globe where girls learn firsthand how computer science is used in movies, video games, virtual reality, augmented reality and more.

Technology is advancing everyday and if women are not part of the conversation, then tech is developed based on biased algorithms and data sets that can affect the future.

~ Georgie~

I am expanding my Horizon

More information can be found about Georgie charity at https://www.codeyourchances.com