Meet Cle’era Hollingsworth | Act0r & Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cle’era Hollingsworth and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cle’era, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
As a little girl I remember I always enjoyed performing, whether it was coming up with a choreography and showing it to my family or dressing up as a character and reenacting a scene from a film or tv show. My mom put me in dance classes when I was 5 and I was in and out of dance classes through out my childhood but the passion for storytelling with my body never went away. I knew performance was a way for me to express myself creatively, and I always dreamed of being on a stage performing. In high school is when I discovered musical theater and fell in love with the combination of acting and dance. Film was always another love of mine besides dogs. I loved how films, a musical, plays, and dance told stories. It was the way films and performers could make me feel an emotion and I thought to myself one day, “I could do that, I can be on TV and act out a scene and make people feel my experience.” And here I am years later pursuing what I love!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Getting to this point in my life has definitely not been an easy journey. I’ve had to overcome mostly a mental warfare, meaning overcoming lots of doubt, worry, second guessing myself, insecurity, financial challenges, rejection, learning myslef, and so much more but I’d say the most important thing I’ve learned and have had to really understand is, going into any profession, no matter how difficult that profession is, you have to know yourself, your worth, and your value. I’d say, that is one thing I think can be difficult for a lot people to grasp who didn’t have high self esteem or words of encouragement growing up to keep going, or for someone who never had anyone to believe in them. It’s important know matter what you go through or have gone through in life, to really learn yourself and know who are. That is one of the keys to success because when you know who you are, you know what you have to offer and what you’re worth, and when you that, a no/rejection is just a redirection for you, nothing will stop you from achieving what you want and deserve. I’m faith driven, so I believe really leaning on God, believing in myself, rebuilding myself up when I was down, and surrounding myself around great people, good friends, who inspire me, is what allowed me to overcome a lot of my challenges so that I could be where I am today. I want the world to know that you dont have to have it all figured out right now, just start somewhere. If you want it bad enough, you will have it. There was so many times I wanted to give up because of how behind I felt by not having it all figured it out but what I failed to realize is that’s just part of the journey and that’s what you should be enjoying because again if you want it, you will have it. So just relax and trust you will be where you’re supposed at the right time, always.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m honestly a simple girl lol. I love the beach and hiking so those two will always be on the top of the list! Going to malibu beach is still on my bucket list so that’ll be my next stop for when family or friends are in town. Comedy shows are super fun to go to, I’ve taken my mom to the Laugh Factory and she loved it! Silverlake and Culver City are also such cute areas to walk around in and grab a small bite or coffee! I think a good home cooked meal is honestly the best place to eat regardless! Cant go wrong with that unless you cant cook.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I never really had a mentor throughout my process unfortunately, however I show so much gratitude to my family and close friends for their love and support, my acting teachers at Elizabeth Mestinik acting studio. Elizabeth, Ken, and Jordana are all such great teachers and coaches! That’s where my journey really started into moving out here to LA and really beginning my career in acting. Also super grateful for my manager who actually scouted me at a restaurant I was working at 3 months into moving to LA. Super grateful my agents as well, my team works so hard and I’m super appreciative for the jobs I’ve booked thanks to my management and agents. They’ve been the reason I’ve been able to get work!. I truly have so much to be grateful for and to have the people I have met in my life.

Instagram: cleeraneshay

Image Credits
Tyler Werges-Commercial Headshot in white and brown Michael Shelton-headshot in orange shirt