actor

April 8, 2016  by

Body Positivity, Aging Gracefully, and Making Changes

Getting Naked, Going Gray, and How To Get Out of a Rut

I recently did an fun interview with comedian Jason Hadley. I was super pleased with the interview because it was a spur of the moment thing so Jason didn’t have time to do research on me. Inevitably, when I have some sort of an interview, the interviewer does research, discovers that I did nudity 20 years ago and that’s all we talk about for the entire interview. And it gets really boring for me. I’ve been having the same conversation for two decades. Yes, I am comfortable with my body. I am so comfortable with my body, so accepting of what is, flaws and all – that I am willing to appear nude on film while performing as an actor. But I like to think that’s not the most interesting thing about me. I like to think I offer the world a whole lot more than just the fact that I’m comfortable with my body. We all have bodies. It’s our minds and hearts that make us interesting.




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March 21, 2016  by

Actor’s Tricks of the Trade – Wigs!

ilmasita pelitActor’s Tricks of the Trade – Wigs! I’ve worn wigs, extensions and hairpieces in many of my movies. I was a dark brunette  – almost black (bad color for me, too extreme for everyday) in 1994 and the director of Sunset After Dark wanted me to be a platinum blonde. There was no way I could do that and keep hair on my head so we wigged me up. We bleached the section of hair that went over the wig to camouflage the edge and the bangs took care of the rest. (Wigs with bangs always “sell” the look the best. But simply combing over the seam with some natural hair can really help sell it.) I was shooting The Perfect Gift simultaneously and sporting an odd look of black hair with a bleached out stripe that I would just do so much better now and it haunts me to this day. Now you know why.

Here are a few of my favorite wigs:

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March 18, 2016  by

My First Day as a Model for Keranique Hair

-My First Day as a Model for Keranique Hair. I’ve worked as an actress for 25 years but I’ve never really worked as a model. Oh sure, I have gotten together with friends and cameras and played dress-up for years, it’s one of my favorite ways to keep creative in between gigs. I didn’t start booking professional modeling jobs until after I turned 50 and allowed my hair to go gray!

Yesterday, I got to work as a hair model for Keranique Hair. Specifically, the senior model… Gulp. Still getting used to that. I was lucky enough to get someone to shoot behind-the-scenes footage on my cell phone (The autofocus went too little crazy, sorry about that).  You can definitely tell I’m a little uncomfortable right at the beginning of the shoot but eventually I found my rhythm! I’m accustomed, as an actor, to having a script in advance to memorize, rehearse, create – when I walk onto a movie set, I usually know what I am doing that day! Models are not hired for their brains and are told what they need to do on a “need to know” basis 😉
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September 28, 2015  by

I’m back in LA at last!

It’s good to be home! In the ten days since I moved into my Studio City apartment, I’ve had one audition (Yay! I got my first NO!), I managed to work on a film (Vigilante Diaries) and a TV show (non-airing pitch/pilot), attended a friend’s hilarious premiere (Helen Keller vs. Nightwolves)  and landed a gig as a spokesperson for Soyracha Hot Chili Sauce. I was invited to be a guest on a fun radio show called The Milf Code – here is the link… http://tradiov.com/la/videos/9-24-2015-milf-code/ and even snuck a few dates in there.

Bonita 2

It’s good to be back! Wonder what the next ten days will bring?

Monique

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