Born and raised in Texas by a Swiss father and Norwegian mother, her childhood epitomized American small-town living, where the bright lights of Hollywood were a world away. She decided early on that her dream was to be a writer, perhaps even a journalist, telling The Guardian earlier this year, “When the Easter bunny was coming, I would always wish for the same thing – I loved a tablet of ruled paper and sharp pencils. There’s nothing better – stories, poetry, the possibilities were endless.”
While that’s not exactly the career she ended up doing, her love of storytelling and the scope for imagination therein are an ever-present driving force in her life today.
In her junior year at the University of Texas, where she majored in English, Renée took an acting class and found herself scoring a role in a student film. “From that point, I didn’t care where it was going. I just knew I wanted to do that.”
Instead of continuing on to do journalism, she wrapped up her literature degree and headed to LA, without so much as a plan in place. Brushing off the impulsive move, she says, “I figured I could always go back and get a masters, and finally submit to the Daily Texan!” While reminiscent of the ‘small town girl heads to Hollywood’ cliché, in this case a star was born.
HER ACTING JOURNEY
This story is from the January 2020 edition of NEXT.
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This story is from the January 2020 edition of NEXT.
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