Influencer Neela Jolene On Getting Into The Industry And Non-Profit Organizations

Is there anything she can’t do!

With over 1 Million likes on Social Media, Neela Jolene is quickly making waves as a person to follow online. She’s known for being multi-talented, shown by her extensive dancing career, pageant wins, acting fame, and more!

We had the absolute honor of talking with Neela about Dharmann, biggest inspirations, and more!

You are an actress, dancer, and singer; what made you want to start doing that & being in this industry?  

N: “My parents put me in a dance class when I was 2 years old and I never stopped taking dance classes after that.  As I got older, they could see I loved being on stage every chance I could get.  I started taking musical theater classes in 3^rd grade and by the time I entered middle school I had done about 10 shows.  My parents then decided to put me in a performing arts middle school because of my love for the stage.  In middle school I started doing competition dance, competition show choir, and more musical theater shows.  The pandemic started just about the time I was starting high school and I was not able to perform on stage anymore which was very hard on me.  I started telling my parents that I want to make acting my priority, and so we used the down time due to the pandemic to start a professional acting career.  Since then, I’ve been blessed with lots of opportunities, and I’m working hard every day doing what I love.”

You have played multiple roles in the DharMann series. What is it like to be part of that and work along with so many people?

N: “It is hard to express how much DharMann means to me.  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.  And I’m so proud to be a part of releasing good content that actually helps to make this world a better place.  The Dharmann mission is to change lives for the better by giving us important issues to think about.  So much of how we think and behave is ingrained in us, so we need to feed our minds with healthy thoughts to be able to always make positive choices.  Anyways, I’m getting off point, but bottom line is DharMann rocks my world.”

You have won 4 pageants including Miss California, Miss Photogenic Teen, and Miss Cover Girl. Did you ever expect to win some of the biggest pageants?

N: “To be honest, I enter pageants thinking I have as good a chance of winning as anybody else.  Not that I think I’m great, but I do think I have a chance of winning.  It definitely is very intimidating at pageants because frankly all the contestants are very capable of winning.  In the end, there is only one title holder so chances are great that it won’t be you.  So, it’s best to look at the experience as something fun to do, and not make winning the only reason you are there.  I’m a competitive person so I fight hard, but I can move on fairly easily if I’m not the winner.”

You are an ambassador of a charitable ministry at your church and you are a spokesperson for another nonprofit organization, both of which try to help our homeless problem. Why do you think those efforts are so important?

N: “I live in California and spend lots of time in LA, and it is more than heartbreaking to see how many homeless people there are.  I know this world has lots of problems to deal with, but homelessness is the biggest problem I witness almost every day.   I’ve done some researching on the issue, and it appears to me that drugs and alcohol are the biggest cause.  And it seems to me that tackling our drug and alcohol problem would be the best way to help homelessness.  And it seems to me that getting the children of today to not try drugs/alcohol in the first place, is the best way to make a huge impact.  SO, I’ve teamed up a local nonprofit organization called Natural High.  Please check out the FREE way that YOU can help any child that you know to understand that if they can find what makes them “naturally high,” they will never have a desire to find synthetic highs.  Go to https://www.naturalhigh.org please and commit to helping a child that you know.”

Do you have anyone that you look up to as an Actress/Dancer/Singer in the Entertainment industry?

N: “I look up to lots of people in my industry because I dream to be a very successful actress someday.  Jennifer Aniston, JLo, and Scarlett Johansson are my queens.  I’d love to have Jennifer’s comedic skills with JLo’s communication skills and Scarlett’s badass skills, stir them up and put them inside me LOL.” 

Since quarantine started back in 2020 how much do you think has changed in terms of the Entertainment industry since the pandemic started?

N: “The most obvious change to me is being able to do self-tapes for first round auditions, rather than in-person.  This has been a dramatically wonderful change because it saves us actors a lot of time and money.  There is so much competition for the jobs that many people who audition do not get the job.  Traveling expenses to and from auditions are very costly, so being able to tape at home or do a zoom call is a real blessing.”

The final question for the interview is what is some advice for younger generations that would like to be in the entertainment industry one day?

N: “One advice I have is to practice practice practice.  Do anything to get experiences because there is a lot to learn.  Don’t think you cannot do it or you cannot afford it.  Just take baby steps each day, and believe that you have as good a chance as anybody else.”

Photo credit: Shandon Photography

Kylie Montigney-Music/Entertainment Editor– Kylie has been a Host/Producer for over a year with her Podcast Talk of Fame at only 14 years old. Kylie enjoys talking to all her guests that are in the Entertainment industry and learn more about their journey to where there are today and to inspire young girls & woman to feel represented in the media.