Francia Raisa‘s Two Year Roller Coaster - Portrait Magazine, January 2010 Issue
Francia Raisa‘s Two Year Roller Coaster By Amanda (Age 22, USA)
Since Francia Raisa last spoke to Portrait Magazine in 2007, she’s been one busy Hollywood actress. In just two years, she finished filming one movie, made a cameo appearance in another, added a short film to her resume, guest starred on a dramatic series, added another movie to her schedule, and now has two seasons of a successful television series under her belt. And those are just the acting credits. She’s been keeping herself busy in other areas as well, like being nominated for a 2009 ALMA Award, attending dance classes, and making appearances at charity events. She calls her life over the last couple of years “a good, amazing roller coaster.” Thanks to her exclusive interview with Portrait, we’ve got the inside scoop.
The Cutting Edge Poster
First up on her busy schedule over the last two years was wrapping the filming of The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream in which Francia portrayed Alex Deglado, a hockey player who ends up as one half of a figure skating pair. The film debuted to ABC Family’s audience in March of 2008, and it was a hit with viewers, much more so than its predecessor starring Christy Carlson Romano.
Francia also just told us that she recently finished filming for yet another Cutting Edge movie, which should be out in March of this year, so mark your calendars. Fansites have rumored the title of the fourth installment to be The Cutting Edge 4: Fire and Ice, but that isn’t yet confirmed.
In 2008 ABC Family viewers also saw the premier of the new original television series The Secret Life of the American Teenager in which Francia plays Adrian Lee. As soon as she got her hands on the script, Francia knew she wanted to play Adrian. During press for the first season of the show, she explained that
Francia with the Secret Life Girls
Adrian was the kind of girl who, on the surface, everyone wanted to be in high school. She’s smart, she’s got the cutest guy in school on her arm, and she gets to do whatever she wants because her parents don’t play a huge part in setting boundaries for her. When the series began in July of that year, Adrian was essentially the school flirt. She was shown as intelligent, and knowing how to use her looks and her charm to get what she wanted out of the guys around her. As the show progressed, the audience was given more insight into the character, and Francia says that will continue with the second half of season two when it returns to television this month, “she is starting to show her soft side and even though she is very vindictive, she has a good heart.” All of these complexities are just what Francia loves about her. She loves that Adrian is a real character, like a real person.
Francia at the Teen Choice Awards '08
Since so much has happened with her character in the series already, we asked her where she would like to see her character go on the show. She first jokes that she would like Adrian to have a “new man” in her life, but she adds that she trusts the show runner Brenda Hampton, who was also responsible for the WB hit series Seventh Heaven. Francia told us, “Anything I come up with would never even come close to Brenda's creativity, so I just won't touch that subject.” When trying to get her to divulge what she does know about upcoming episodes, all she would reveal is that a new hook up in Adrian’s future will bring even more drama to the show, and that her
Francia's 21st birthday in Vegas
relationship with Grace (Megan Park) will continue to develop. Some viewers have found the friendship between the two characters strange, but others love it. Francia has also embraced it, revealing, “You see their friendship go in a rollercoaster just like any friendships in real life. You love each other no matter what, but [you don’t] always agree with what they’re doing. But I do love the new friendship Adrian and Grace are developing.” Since that was all we could get her to reveal about the second half of the season, I guess we’ll all have to tune in to find out more.
Francia at the TV Guide Party in 2009
The Secret Life has really blown up over the last couple of years, and it has a very dedicated legion of fans, even winning the 2008 Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Television Series. So, how has the show changed Francia’s life? For one thing, she gets recognized on the street a whole lot more than she used to, but some people are a little scared to approach her, expecting her to be just like her character. “It cracks me up because it’s not like I’m going to be mean or anything. I’m very outgoing and not out to get you,” Francia says about those encounters. Luckily, she’s also got a built in group of friends from the series. The entire cast has become extremely close, even going out to attend different events in Hollywood together. Francia is particularly close with Allen Evangelista who plays Henry on the series. She told us she even puts him down as her emergency contact!
Francia at the 2009 Alma Awards
Francia isn’t only making new friends and getting recognized on the street, she’s also getting recognition by Award committees. While The Secret Life won an award at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards, Francia was nominated solo for her work on the show in 2009 at a very special awards ceremony. She received a nomination for “Actress in a Drama Series” at the 2009 ALMA Awards, a high achievement for any Latina actress. The ALMA Awards are held every year to recognize the achievements of Latinos in America’s entertainment industry. It recognizes those who are working, not only in entertainment, but also to share their culture with the world around them. The nomination was fitting as Francia is extremely proud of heritage. She shared with Portrait that she is thrilled to be a Latina actress in Hollywood, and “I can't believe I get to say that and I plan on representing for a long time. I love it and I love that I don't have to hide that I am Latin, I love to speak Spanish and [am] proud of it.”
Francia in 'Plain Sight'
Remember now, The Secret Life isn’t the only project Francia has been working on. She also had a small role in another cheerleading film Fired Up! and a guest starring role on USA Network’s original series In Plain Sight in 2009. In Plain Sight was markedly different that the work she’s used to doing as regular high school girls. The series centers on America’s Witness Protection Program, a government program that provides new lives for people who have witnessed high profile crimes, so that they can remain safe and in hiding until they testify. She’s also been keeping up with her dance practice. Francia, who used to be cheerleader in school, has experience in figure skating, and loves to dance, has made the commitment to keep attending classes around her busy acting schedule. She’s admitted before that she’ll even get up early to squeeze in some time at the dance studio before heading to set. Videos from some of her recent dance classes can even be found on her MySpace page.
Francia with Secret Life cast members at the 2009vRonald Mcdonald Halloween Carnival
Francia also took on another project that she didn’t even get a pay check for, BOO, a short film that went up on Youtube, directed by David Henrie, and featuring a lot of young Hollywood talent like Samantha Droke, Tiffany Thornton, and Francia’s best friend, Allen Evangelista. The short film is part thriller, part comedy, and just like the rest of the world, we were curious as to how she became involved in the project. As it turns out, everyone who participated in the project already knew one another, having been friends for a while, and they actually got the idea for recording the film when they all went to see the recently released Paranormal Activity. (Fun fact, if you watch the credits at the end, you will notice that one of Francia’s sisters is listed as the Make-up artist as well.) If you haven’t seen the short film yet, and want to, you can check it out here. If you’re afraid it might be too scary for you, ClevverTV actually posted a recap of the video to their Youtube account.
Francia at Read Across America 2009
When Francia talked to Portrait in 2007, she admitted that growing up, she was always involved in a ton of extracurricular activities, and was always running out of time to do them all. As an adult, and now a television star, Francia doesn’t seem to have changed all that much. She still likes to keep busy and frequently takes on new projects. Not only is she filming as a regular on The Secret Life, keeping up with potential film roles, and attending dance classes, but she’s also lent her help to Improv
Francia at 'Fame' Premier
workshops with kids, assisting in teaching how to act out a scene with just a simple prompt and no other preparation. This plate full of projects could be the reason that she hasn’t committed her involvement for one charity in particular, even though giving back is close to her heart. While she has participated in several PSAs with other Secret Life cast members and has attended several events for worthy causes over the last few years, she has yet to put her stamp on one charitable group. That is, however, one of her goals for this year, as she told Portrait, “There are a lot of charities I've been wanting to get involved in and I always say I will and I just haven’t, so my goal for 2010 is for me to stop saying I want to and to start saying I am.” Sounds like a good goal to us.
The Secret Life Cast for Season 2
Here’s hoping 2010 is just as much of a thrill ride for her as the last two years have been.
Want more Francia? Follow her on Twitter @therealfrancia. She recently revealed in an interview with HollywoodTeenZine that is her official Twitter account. The rest are all fake.
Note: All Pictures used in this article can be found on one of Francia‘s fansites, Francia Raisa Online.
