
When Nina Dobrev left her star-making role as Elena on The Vampire Diaries in 2015, fans were shook. How could the lead on a popular show walk away from the series during the height of its fame? Now, in a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Dobrev is opening up about why she left.
“That was the plan from the get-go,” she told Harper’s Bazaar of leaving the show at the end of her original, six-year contract. “If anything, the fact that [leaving] terrified me drove me even more. I needed to feel that fear of ‘Oh, my God, what if I never get a job again?’ That just made me want to work five times as hard to make sure that didn’t happen.”
The Degrassi: The Next Generation actress has limited her film roles since leaving her CW show, but she has a very good reason for it. “The things I want to do aren’t necessarily the things that are expected of me,” she explained. “I don’t want to play a teenager anymore. I want to play adult roles and be challenged and work with great filmmakers and tell incredible stories, and that has meant being really picky.”
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In the future, Dobrev hopes to flex her producer and director muscles too. She’s been writing and producing and even taking time to work on her improvisational skills thanks to The Upright Citizen’s Brigade, the improv theater that Amy Poehler cofounded. “It’s scary,” Dobrev said of her acting study and newfound artistic outlets. “I might crash and burn, but that’s how I’m going to get better at it.”
As for life after the heartbreaking death of her lifelong companion, her cat Lynx, Dobrev has found love again in the form of her puppy, Maverick (named, of course, after Tom Cruise’s Top Gun character). “She rescued me as much as I rescued her,” Dobrev admitted. “I was so lost after Lynx passed, but Maverick brought me back to life.”
Have you ever taken a bold career leap? Tell us @BritandCo.
(Photo via Pascal Le Segretain/Getty)
It can be intimidating to step out on your own and build a business from the ground up. As part of our collaboration with Office Depot, we're talking with Selfmade alum and solopreneur Colette Lawrence, the faith-based motivator and relationship builder behind The M.E.E. Movement, about ways in which women in business can find success.
B + C: How did you know M.E.E. Movement was your business to start?
The M.E.E Movement represents motivation, empowerment, and encouragement for women. It is what represents me. I did not know at first that it was my business to start, but then the thought of monetizing what I loved came to me. It scared me, however. I registered the business in July 2020 and have been slowly building my wings since.
B + C: What's one strategy that's helped you start your business?
Thinking through and researching what the requirements are to start my business, and then asking questions of people who are in the business. Not all advice worked; however, it helped me to figure out what I needed to do and not to do.
B + C: Did you always know life coaching would be your entrepreneurial path?
(Smiles) No, I did not. I 'stumbled" on it. I knew that people were always coming to me for advice and I found that I loved having conversations with them, especially with women, young and old.
B + C: What was your most valuable takeaway from Selfmade?
My most valuable takeaway was the first day of training: Get out of your own way. There were a lot of great moments and important takeaways from every presenter. However, getting out of my own way, pushing past doubts, was for me my most valuable takeaway. Doing something that I had never done before took courage. If I do not focus on what is happening with me mentally then I cannot deliver to my clients successfully.
B + C: What's one piece of advice you would give to female entrepreneurs on the brink of starting?
Get out of your head. You have something to offer. You have what you need to succeed so go ahead and do it.
B + C: How do you stay motivated?
I stay motivated by listening to music and listening to motivational speakers, and sometimes someone will just reach out and talk about the impact that I made in their life. That adds the extra juice or sauce I need to pummel through the day.
B + C: What's your best organizational tip?
Keep a diary and journal. It's the best way for me to keep organized and it also provides a source motivation as I record not only my "losses" but my wins as well.
B + C: Who inspires you in the entrepreneurial space?
Shirley Toliver – She motivates and empowers and makes me always want to show up.
B + C: What has receiving the Office Depot scholarship to Selfmade done to help you start or grow your business?
The scholarship was a blessing in that all the areas that were covered offered valuable information that I needed, from social media to HR. As a new business owner, I needed to know this to increase my own personal awareness in what it takes to run a successful business. The candidness of the presenters made it easy to see myself in their shoes and helped me to realize that I can also get there.
Thanks Colette! You can follow The M.E.E. Movement on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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