INTERVIEWS
Born in the Dominican Republic, the daughter of a Venezuelan mother and a Dominican father, at the age of seven she tarted in the entertainment business and at 12 she settled in Miami with her mother to become a successful artist. And she is doing it! She is fiming the fifth season of Mayans MC. She is the female lead of the hit Freeform reboot series “Party of Five” from the original show’s co-creator Amy Lippman and Christopher Keyser.
Is Hollywood still a macho industry? The statistics are not very encouraging, especially for Latinas. Are they? “Yes, it is still dominated by men; but there is a group of them who value powerful women, those who climb and inspire others. It is also true that as you mention, the statistics are still very low. Only 33% of the films had women as protagonists, 80% of the films had more male characters than female characters and the percentage of film with Latin actresses as protagonists is only 7%, very low, and 17% behind the scenes for women directors and writers. Therefore, we are fighting for equality, we are women, creating opportunities to change the history of Hollywood.”
“It is key to choose the roles to carry important messages. I proudly say that I am part of a series that is on Hulu, Party Of Five, it deals with issues of migration, family, equality and love. We must choose what we want to be and represent. We can have a fruitful career and at the same time use our talents and platforms to deliver valuable messages.”
Emily works in the pre-production of her first film “Semicolon” and is a philanthropist. She supports causes for the empowerment of Latina women. “Especially, so that women see spaces for growth beyond success, beauty, fame and money.”
She tanks women who have opened opportunities: America Ferrera, Salma Hayek, Eva Longoria, Gloria Calderon Kellet. She supports organizations like NALIP and NHMC because they fight for change and diversity in our industry.
She was cast in her first feature film, landing the female lead opposite Oscar winner Nicolas Cage in the thriller genre, Wally’s Wonderland (2021).
PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS. Support causes for the Latino community. She recentrly participated in the “CELEBRATE IMMIGRANTS” campaign, being the official image of “I am an Immigrant”. She has her own charity, together with her sister KARLA and her mother EMILIA, called Karttos International, which helps the needy in Venezuela and cooperates with “Los Ñiños de Cristo” organization that provides clothing and shoes to children in the Dominican Republic, with whom they are filming a documentary. She supports PETA and is an ambassador for the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, among others.
This year she launched her Vegan Leather collection of handbags together with her sister Gaby @gaiaroom and they are available at www.gaiaroom.com and in her new physical store in Santo Domingo. Emily resides in Los Ángeles.
Redacción TVMAS