Neela Jolene Always Looking for the Rainbow in the Rain

Neela Jolene is best known for her series regular role on BratTV’s Junior Show as well as multiple roles on the hit Dhar Mann series and numerous print modeling jobs and commercials. Neela has been dancing, singing, and acting her whole life with over 100 performances in all aspects of the business including dance competitions, show choir, and musical theater productions. Since entering high school. Neela will also be in Astrall Story, a collaborative film with over 25 creators as well as a dancer in the short film Take it Easy. Talented, smart, and beautiful, she has won 4 pageants including Miss California, Miss Photogenic Teen, and Miss Cover Girl. This busy teen also finds time to work with the non-profit organization Natural High which works toward stopping drug and alcohol addiction in teens by educating adolescents and helping them find their natural high passions. Loving a good adventure, Neela can be seen in her off-time, surfing, wakeboarding, cliff jumping, snow skiing, or skateboarding.

HI, WELCOME TO ABOUT INSIDER! THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US! CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, WHO IS NEELA JOLENE IN YOUR OWN WORDS? 
Neela Jolene is a 16-year-old girl from San Diego that has a huge passion for acting and performing.  In elementary and middle school, she performed very often in musicals, dance competitions, and show choir competitions.  At the start of high school, she turned her focus to becoming a professional actress and model.  Neela works hard every day towards her goal of having a very successful career.  She is best known as Grace on BratTV’s Juniors show, and for the episodes she has done on the hit DharMann series.

AT WHAT AGE DID YOU REALIZE THAT YOU WANT TO JOIN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY? 
At age 2 my mom took me to my first dance class.  My parents say they knew back then that I was born to entertain because of how excited I would get whenever I had the chance to perform.  My earliest memory was in first grade when I was in a musical theater program that did short versions of Disney shows.  I remember how much I lived for performance day when I could be in front of an audience.  I still love on-stage performances, but there is something about being in front of the filming camera that really makes me happy.  I just love walking onto a set and getting all pumped up to be a character.  I love how everyone works together on set.  There is always a lot of interacting, laughing, and creating going on.  To me, it’s the best way to spend any day.

ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS/ROLES YOU CAN TALK ABOUT?  TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR BRATTV’S JUNIOR SHOW.
My character’s name is Grace.  Grace works at “Juniors” coffee shop with many of her teenaged friends.  The show is a “soap opera” for us generation Z (Gen Z) people, so it is a highly dramatic show dealing with daily happenings in the lives of all the characters.  Of course, I don’t want to tell you any spoilers but Grace has her fair share of the emotional roller coaster that teens can relate to, as she manages the ups and downs of her life.  The show is planned to premiere in about a week.

Photo Credits: Maria Lafranque

YOU ARE KNOWN FOR PORTRAYING MULTIPLE ROLES ON THE HIT DHAR MANN SERIES CHARACTERS; HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU HEAR PEOPLE APPRECIATING YOUR WORK? WHAT HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE WORKING WITH DHAR MANN? 
If you are not familiar with the Dhar Mann series, each episode that is created has a unique message whose goal is to inspire people to see the difference between good and bad behavior.  I am super honored to be a part of the Dhar Mann mission because it is attempting to help change our world for the better.  The topics are complex and controversial, so there is a lot of discussion that can happen with each and every episode.  And that is exactly what we need to make this world a better place. Whenever I get a request from DharMann to film another video, I jump for joy.  Every time we film it is tons of fun with great actors and lots of laughter.  To be part of such inspirational videos that work to make our world a better place is one of my proudest accomplishments!

YOU HAVE WON 4 PAGEANTS, INCLUDING MISS CALIFORNIA, MISS PHOTOGENIC TEEN, AND MISS COVER GIRL. GROWING UP, DID YOU HARBOUR A DREAM OF PARTICIPATING IN BEAUTY PAGEANTS? BEAUTY PAGEANTS ARE OFTEN ACCUSED OF PROMOTING A SUPERFICIAL IDEA OF BEAUTY. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO THAT?
I call them “talent” pageants rather than “beauty” pageants to take the focus off judging physical attributes.  Beauty may have been the focus in the past, but it is not what I experienced in the pageants today.  Those who compete in pageants know it takes talent, intelligence, confidence, great communication skills, the ability to use a platform for good, etc.  I became interested in pageants because I am a competitive person and I want to work at being the “total package” needed to win. 

YOU’RE A MULTI-TALENTED ARTIST WITH A KNACK FOR ACTING, SINGING AND DANCING. WHAT BRINGS YOU MORE JOY, ACTING, SINGING OR DANCING?
By far my answer is acting.  I love all types of performing but there is something about being on set that makes me extra happy.  I always get so pumped up on set that my energy level is at my maximum.  The challenge to perform greatly is super exciting to me.  I not only enjoy the more glamorous parts of being an actress like getting dressed up and seeing the finished film, but I also enjoy the tougher things like auditioning, booking a job, memorizing lines, working in continuously changing conditions, etc. I love it all.  There are definitely lots of disappointments in this business, and you need tough skin to take negative criticism, but that comes with the job.  The joys outweigh the bad for me.

DO YOU LIKE TO PLAY SPORTS? 
I am in the middle of 5 children in my family.  My parents are very athletic and adventurous so I grew up trying many different sports.  My whole family loves surfing in the summer, skiing and off-road riding in the winter.  I am somewhat of a dare devil and like to try everything.  When I’m not doing school work or pursuing my career, you will probably find me traveling and doing something adventurous.  My best memories involve being active outdoors.

WHAT’S SOMETHING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU THAT MIGHT SURPRISE US?
This year has brought big changes in my life since I started driving and going to college.  It may be a surprise for you to know I graduated from high school two years early.   I feel a little overwhelmed with it all since it really wasn’t a planned-out decision.  What happened was I tried to test out of high school in order to be eligible for more acting auditions.  Since I passed the test, I figured I’d start online college to keep my schedule flexible enough to continue pursuing my acting career.  So now I am a young college student which is keeping me extremely busy between all my jobs and auditions.

WHAT IS ONE MESSAGE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE TO YOUR FANS?
I’m not sure why this popped in my head, but “think positive” is my message today. Thinking positive is a skill we can work on just like any skill.  We cannot expect ourselves to always ignore ugly, sad, and messed up situations; but we can choose to always look for the rainbow in the rain.  It’s not realistic to think we can be happy every moment of every day, but we can choose to minimize our negative thoughts when we catch ourselves feeling bad.  If we think positive, then positive things will happen.  And being optimistic helps us be happier, healthier and more successful.  So those are great reasons to make time to work on this skill.  Personally, I can be really hard on myself and that’s when I need to be reminded of this message.

WHERE CAN OUR READERS FIND YOU ONLINE?
Instagram @neelajolene
TikTok @theneelajolenee
YouTube – Neela Jolene
Facebook @neelajolenefans
IMDB imdb.com/name/nm12227636
Portfolio www.NeelaJolene.com
All Links www.beacons.ai/NeelaJolene