On Set With Loren Lott - Actress Shares Her Philosophies on Creating a Sustainable Career and More

We shared a remarkable conversation with Movie Star & Broadway Actress, Loren Lott. Loren shares personal details about her endearing bond with her mother, the importance of kindness, and the power of one's reputation in the entertainment business.

Loren you deserve all your flowers and the fruits they produce; you are an admirable person with a beautiful bubbling personality. And guess what? It serves you well. Let's dive right into our conversation. Outside of talent, How big of a factor is having a likeable personality backstage & on backlots? Does this help keep entertainers booked?

LOREN Oh my gosh, yes. Especially the higher that you get. From the executives to the PAs, It is important to be kind to all. How someone treats somebody who can't do anything for them says so much about who a person is. We must be gracious towards everyone. My goal is always to be like Christ. And when Christ interacted with anybody, there was pure love shown. That's exactly what I try to show, love; in its purest form. Film and Television sets are as hectic as they are exciting. And... of course... I'm human, Sometimes I have rough days. There are instances where people may get on my nerves or an assignment may not always go according to plan. When these situations arise, I strive even harder to be like Christ. With that said, I think my reputation as a professional, along with my talent, definitely helps me book acting jobs. It's real out here, I've even had producers call me and ask about other actors that they were considering working with. Wow, who wants to be put in a position to say well… honestly, the "actor's" personality sucks or they are rude... but talented. I'd rather speak on how great someone made me feel. You know, people definitely remember how someone makes them feel. I can think of my other friends who were in auditions and a casting director comes in and they ask, "So how was it working with this actor- we heard they were like this or like that." Whatever anyone does, it always gets around. People talk. Let a positive reputation precede you; by being a good person. If someone is an irritating person, the industry is so small, especially Black Hollywood, it's so…. so… small. So everybody will always know if you're nice. If you're this, if you're that, word always gets around. So it's so important to keep your reputation intact. Once again, be nice to everybody. Even the smallest person on a film set could become a decision maker the next day, you never know. We are all wonderfully made. Simply put, I refrain from underestimating people's value. I level the playing field by giving respect to everybody.

EDITOR I want to thank you for leading by example. Loren, Your compassion for others speaks volumes about who you are as an individual. Every point you made is extremely valid and I know this conversation will be eye opening to our readers. Alright, Let's talk about your fans. The effort you put into making your fans feel seen does not go unnoticed. You even decided to call your fans your cousins— and that makes us all feel incredibly special, how did that endearing title come about?

LOREN Thank you! Well, it came about because in everything we do, every television show, every film, every opportunity, people always gain fans. And naturally, they want to name their fans. And at first I settled on "Team Loren" when I was on American Idol. I later realized I didn't want to have a separation between putting myself on a pedestal and putting people who admire me on a level that could be perceived as "lower" than me- you know, a person down there. I felt like for me to keep succeeding and for me to have loyal supporters, we needed to all be in this together. And to me, that is what you call family. And what does every person on God's green earth have? Cousins! So... a cousin can be close or distant and still be considered family right? Hey cousins!

EDITOR We adore you Loren and we are honestly happy to be a part of the family. All right, let's segway into another topic, Many entertainers travel with entourages and full glam squads— then there is you. You do so much on your own including slaying your own hair and makeup. You even take your time to make super transparent tutorials on how you achieve your million dollar looks on a self imposed budget. Why are you so open and honest when it comes to your personal processes? Is there a bigger message you're trying to get to girls growing up that may look like you or possibly come from similar backgrounds.

LOREN I like to be transparent because I feel like growing up— many people were not transparent with me when it came to beauty or other matters like religion and spirituality. I had so many questions, I wanted to learn but nobody outside of my home provided clear answers. I felt like people didn't want to talk about important topics with me and for a young girl, that can become confusing. So many things people thought were so private back then- are being openly shared now- more than ever and I'm happy to be a part of the solution. We all live this life as a collective. We all have to eat. Let us all continue to share knowledge in hope's of creating a smoother path for others. I keep it extremely, extremely real. I'm like, you want to learn? Great! I will show you. For example, I share the full process when It comes to my beauty tutorials. I want others to feel good about themselves the way I feel good about myself with or without Makeup on. I know my younger fans are impressionable, I don't want these girls to grow up thinking that they have to "act" or look a certain way to receive love and friends. Be who you are. People are too quick to put themselves in a box; but not us.

You know what I realized, my level of comfortability sometimes makes other people uncomfortable because they may not be comfortable with themselves… Yet! and I say yet because I want to encourage these beautiful souls and let them know- Hey! You don't have to live like that. I am a firm believer that everyone deserves to be confident and comfortable with themselves. Fly free. We all want to feel beautiful. We all want to be loved. All the same, we're striving for the same thing. We might as well help each other out along the journey.

EDITOR In terms of confidence, How was little Lauren growing up? Were you always this confident burst of cosmic energy or was finding confidence ever challenging?

LOREN Confidence found me early on, I've always been the bubbly Loren you see now, just in a smaller form. In middle school, I started seeing that… like, oh, wait! Not everybody is like me. From then until now, I've held on to that youthful magic in my heart. You know... that warm feeling of bubbles and sunshine... I just never lost that feeling— and I continue to carry it with me. Honestly, at first, I didn't realize that other people were thinking I was weird or even looking at me like I was a crazy person. Some say, At a certain point you're supposed to transition out of that happy-go-lucky state, And… well... I just haven't— and I love that about me. I had the luxury of growing up with a mom who never stopped me from being myself. No parent should dim their child's light. We all know the stories where a child will be being their authentic selves and the parents will say, stop being silly or sit down somewhere when they are attempting to express their joy.

In a not so distant reality, that child could be a broadway entertainer or the next Olympic gymnast. Unfortunately many sweet souls have their confidence shattered and internal light decreased in their formative years and those misfortunes can turn innocent children into miserable adults.

That was never my story, I grew up in a house where my mother was so open to just help me soar and she loved helping me express myself in any way that she could, whether that was singing, dancing, acting, trying to figure out the piano, or anything artistic. Luckily, my mother loves the arts! Having a mother who's super, super artsy and just encouraging is a major blessing. I got to be a child growing up, I wasn't being judged, or made fun of or looked down on in my own house—ever. My mother made sure home was a fun safe space, always. So I just had the luxury of this, always being able to be happy, to be myself. Of course, that would kind of backfire in public and people would find the most random reasons to dislike me. It's only within the past few years, because they see Instagram, and interviews, these same people can really see now that, like— I'm just a happy person. So many people didn't see how genuine it was.

I discovered, when people don't run into people who are genuinely happy all the time, it can take a minute to digest. My favorite was when people would claim I smile too much… like I must be fake because I'm always walking around with a smile on my face. Here is the flip side, the minute that they would witness me not smiling, they jump to say, "I knew she was faking it.". So Yeah, having Instagram and having the opportunity to just show my fans who I really am behind closed doors, is sweet!

I understand that this world can be dark. And I just don't abide by that, I choose not to step into the dark side. I love being happy, living my truth and walking in light.