Actor Roselyn Sanchez has overcome the odds to succeed in Hollywood. She shares some of her secrets for success and how to stay positive even when life throws you a curve ball.
By Bonnie Siegler
Photography: Kimberly Metz
Roselyn Sanchez moves around a lot. From her home in Los Angeles, California, to her native Puerto Rico (where her family still lives) to Atlanta, Georgia where her comedy Devious Maids films, and the occasional sojourn to Vancouver, British Columbia where her husband Eric Winter films Witches of East End. Wherever she goes, the busy mom of three-year-old Sebella is a pro at keeping it together.
Sanchez has been busy fulfilling her dreams and passions since the age of four when she dutifully attended weekly ballet classes with her mother. At five, she started taking piano and singing classes. She soon joined the San Juan Ballet, and by 15 she was acting in commercials and music videos. In 1993, the five-foot-five beauty became Miss Puerto Rico Petite and, a year later, she won the title of Miss America Petite.
From there, a move to New York seemed like the best decision for her career. Sanchez’s mom was reluctant for her daughter to leave Puerto Rico for the Big Apple. She has, however, overcome the odds. “I had a big dream,” she says. “I’ve always been a big dreamer.
Maybe it’s her upbringing that contributes to Sanchez’s ongoing success, or her ability to bounce back even stronger when rejection interferes. Maybe it’s her happy marriage or her passion for motherhood. Or it could be her mom’s words that have always echoed in her brain and added to her strong, independent idealism. “My mother said never to let anyone cut my wings,” says the 41-year-old. “I was married briefly before and everyone told me he wasn’t right for me. I consider myself a smart woman, but when love hits you, you become dumb. Fortunately I was able to wake up really fast and thought about what my mother had said about not allowing anyone to cut my wings. You really, truly have to believe in yourself. At this point in life, nothing really affects me – I’m used to the yes’s and no’s in my work. ”
In Good Health
Being a former dancer, Roselyn is accustomed to her body moving regularly whether it be daily stretches, 30 minutes of cardio on her home treadmill or some type of dance. “Ballet, jazz, modern –with lots of stretching involved. Stretching is good for any injuries in terms of healing your body.”
Good health also calls for a positive body image. While Sanchez says she’s proud of her abs, even after having a baby, it’s her lower body that causes her anxiety. “I’m thin, but I’m curvy because I’m Puerto Rican. I have to be mindful of my thighs and backside,” says Sanchez.
The day Sanchez was told she was pregnant she weighed 114 pounds. “I’ve never been able to get back to that weight,” she says. “I’m 118, which is my sweet spot; 114 pounds is just not going to happen again.” You have to be happy with what’s healthy and attainable for you at that point in your life.
In order to stay healthy, Sanchez sticks to an organic eating plan for her family. She also tries to educate Sebella on healthy eating. “When we go to Puerto Rico, the food is mostly fried so we have to control it a little. I don’t cook –– don’t like to and I’m not good at it,” she unabashedly admits. “So it’s not always easy to control, but I do my best.”
Wisdom and Strength
Admittedly very content and happy in life, Sanchez is aware there is always room for improvement – especially when it comes to her hot temper. “I have matured and improved when it comes to not losing perspective on things. I still have a big issue with people who raise their voice to me,” she says. Over the last few years, Sanchez has learned how to properly breathe to counter her temper. “That was a difficult learning curve for me. Now I know to breathe and communicate instead of having my temper flare.”
Her life is not without the usual daily stresses most working moms experience. “So when I feel something is really intense, I just go for some quiet time to gain some wisdom and strength. That’s my mantra: wisdom and strength.” In fact, the self described “ambitious and perseverant ” woman keeps a gold ring with her at all times as a constant reminder of this refrain. “Inside the ring, it says wisdom and strength.”
MAKEUP By NANCY JAMBAZIAN
HAIR by PAUL ANTHONY
Styling by ZOE BATTLES
Shot on location at FLAUHAUS
Divina dress and Sheila Fajl earrings
