HOUSTON — Houston-based actress Amelia Rico sat down with KHOU 11's Len Cannon to talk about her struggles to find work and what ultimately helped her succeed in Hollywood.
Rico landed roles in Yellowstone and Grey's Anatomy, but it wasn't an easy journey.
Rico has wanted to act since she was a child.
"Since I was five years old, crying in a mirror, my mom asking why. I am practicing crying in the mirror obviously," she said.
While looking at photographs on set with some of Hollywood's biggest names like Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren and Taylor Sheridan, Rico was reminded of her early years -- filled with frustration and rejection.
"I just started to feel like I wasn't getting any traction and I realized it wasn't that I didn't have the talent to get there, it was i was going into the wrong rooms," she said.
Rico quit theatre in 2012 and started pursuing roles in film and television. While doing that, she embraced her heritage -- echoing the words of Actress America Ferrera, who famously said "My identity is my superpower.
"I had to really look into myself really find authentically who I was, find what stories I wanted to tell," Rico said.
She learned her family roots date back to Indigenous tribes in northern Mexico and south Texas... she identifies as Indigenous Tejana.
Her first big break came in Yellowstone and right now she appears in the highly-rated Netflix series Dark Winds -- playing an Indigenous woman with mystic powers.
Rico's story is one of grit and determination. But one question revealed a deeper wound. Rico was asked to describe herself younger self who had just gotten out of the University of Houston -- 20 years ago.
"She was hard-working, she was persistent, driven, without her, I wouldn't be here. The young Amelia? Yes. She had a lot of people telling her no, making fun of her hair, her eye shape and skin color and she still went for it," Rico said.
And she went for it. That little girl, originally from San Antonio, not only acts but is a director, producer and acting coach.