Jennifer Michele is best known for her lead role as Ella in the Lionsgate family film Joey and Ella and her guest starring role on Fox’s hit show 9-1-1 and recurring roles on Just my Luck with Sophia and Maya and Manny’s Garage Sale: A Hitchcock Knott. An award-winning writer, director, and producer, Jennifer has been nominated for 4 Young Artist Awards including Best Actress, Outstanding Producer, Outstanding Director and a win for Outstanding Writer for the short film Riley for which she also won Best Actress at the Los Angeles Cinematography Awards. As a model, she has appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam and had a national print campaign for Claire’s. This multi-hyphenate young Influencer knows the power of giving back to her community, devoting time to Food Forward, feeding the needy of LA. When not working on her craft, Jennifer plays polo with the California Polo Club as well as enjoying painting, sculpting, dancing, and playing the piano.
HI! THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US! CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, WHO IS JENNIFER MICHELE IN YOUR OWN WORDS?
Wow, that’s a great question! I am fun and adventurous. I love experiencing life and doing different things, I enjoy being around people. I do so many different things and I enjoy them all. Sculpting, Polo, Horse riding, Martial Arts, Singing, Acting, Writing and Directing.
Most of all, I’m a girl who likes to dream and likes to spend time with family and friends, especially fun trips with fun activities. For my 17th Birthday we’re going to do watersports for the weekend, I can’t wait!
HOW DID YOU GET INTO ACTING AND WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO PURSUE IT AS A CAREER?
My parents were both actors and when I was a little girl I helped them study their lines. As I was helping them we discovered I knew my lines very quickly without even trying and I always fully embodied the character and loved it very much. Then one thing led to the next and I’ve loved every minute of it!
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING ON THE FILM JOEY AND ELLA?
It was a great experience. It was filmed in Oklahoma, which was part of the adventure. The people on set were really nice and a pleasure to work with. I had a wonderful time and enjoyed seeing new places. It was really cool working with so much CG, It really challenged me as an actress to be working with something that wasn’t there. It was great fun!
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR GUEST STARRING ROLE ON FOX’S HIT SHOW 9-1-1 AND YOUR RECURRING ROLES ON JUST MY LUCK WITH SOPHIA AND MAYA AND MANNY’S GARAGE SALE: A HITCHCOCK KNOTT?
I enjoyed these roles very much. 9-1-1 was a bunch of fun, and the actors that are on the show regularly were all very nice and open and I felt very welcome in the team right from the start. It was a great experience! Just My Luck was great as well. My co-stars were around my age, so we worked together very naturally. The scenes were very funny and there was a lot of laughing involved.
YOU HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR 4 YOUNG ARTIST AWARDS, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THAT AND YOUR WIN FOR OUTSTANDING WRITER FOR THE SHORT FILM RILEY?
This was first of all a real fun project to create and to work on, and I was happy with the result. The fact that it was recognized in such a way is a very nice reward. I won best director for the same movie as well at the Young Entertainer Awards. It’s nice to win the prize in different categories, this is a great confirmation since I enjoy doing it all.
YOU HAVE ALSO WORKED AS A MODEL; CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY?
I’ve always enjoyed fashion since I was very young. Modeling is always fun to me. Modeling is a great way to express yourself and fashion is a great way to show your personality. I go through phases where sometimes I like more dresses and heels and other times jeans and boots. I love expressing myself through modeling!
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH FOOD FORWARD, AND WHY YOU FEEL IT’S IMPORTANT TO GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY?
Food forward is a great organization. They take fruits and vegetables from trees and plants, food that is already there. This food would normally be wasted, but Food Forward picks it from the trees and plants and they make sure it goes to the people who need it the most. I’ve always enjoyed making a difference, my parents have taught me the importance of helping others since as long as I can remember. I look forward to continuing to help a lot of people for many years to come. I am very grateful for my life and what I get to do. I think as an artist you’re in a great position to help others, so why not?
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR HOBBIES AND INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF ACTING AND PRODUCTION?
So many of them! Polo, Sculpting, Horse Riding, Martial Arts, Fashion. I love traveling the world and doing fun adventurous things, I like going out on the water on the weekends as well. I also just like to sit down and chat and have a fun time. There is beauty in everything!
HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR VARIOUS ROLES AS AN ACTRESS, WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, MODEL, AND INFLUENCER?
Balance? Ha-ha. I love it all, it’s sort of like a dance, doing all these different things, and you kind of feel when it’s the right time for which activity. I always like to express myself artistically. All these different forms of art bring something else and even in my free time different things give me what I need at different times. Sculpting relaxes me, and polo fires me up!
ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS/ROLES YOU CAN TALK ABOUT?
Several projects, but I can’t talk about them. I would if I could. I am very excited, and I will share it as soon as I can. I can give a hint, there are things in the works in acting, singing and directing, right now as we speak.
WHAT IS ONE MESSAGE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE TO YOUR FANS?
Enjoy life, you’re worth it. Life is not always easy, I know that, but life can always be beautiful. Life is a gift! Enjoy it all, do what you love and if you don’t give up everything will always work out!
WHERE CAN OUR READERS FIND YOU ONLINE?
I’m on Instagram @thejennifermichele and on TikTok @thejennifermichele.
