Elise Neal Official Website -
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Published on: 8/1/2004
Last Visited: 10/3/2008
Elise Neal believes that you can do whatever you want in life if you want it bad enough."Aspiring entertainers cannot fear rejection," she says "If you do, it may not be the right career for you.You also have to believe in yourself 100 percent because a lack of confidence will show the minute you walk in the door."
Neal's confidence and love of performing onstage led her to organize a cabaret show called Godiva: Assorted Flavors with a group of other entertainers--dancer Tammy Townsend, radio host Big Lez, and former Miss Universe Chelsy Smith.The group performed last year at the African American Film Festival in Miami and plan to do a special show in Los Angeles this fall.
"My road has been a challenging one and a different one, but I have enjoyed ups and downs, " says Neal.
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While in her senior year of high school, Elise decided that she wanted to attend the College of Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Based on her academic standing and years of dance training, Neal was accepted and immediately enrolled for the next semester."Once in Philadelphia, I met so many other young women, who, like myself, wanted to be professional dancers or performers.We would all like to take the train to New York to audition for gigs and one day I was offered the opportunity to dance in a show in Atlantic City.
At just 19 years old, Elise, a country girl from Memphis, decided to take a leap of faith and dropped out of college after her first semester to accept the Atlantic City job.Although her mother was leery of her daughter's decision, Neal followed her dream and moved to New York City, where she lived with other aspiring dancers and finally got a taste of what it means to be a starving artist."I auditioned day after day and barely had any money," she says, "but I was living my dream."
While in New York, Neal got the opportunity to work with Maurice Hines (Gregory Hines brother), which she considers her biggest accomplishment in the Big Apple.She was also able to travel to France and Germany, and other countries, as well as to many parts of the United States performing in front of all kinds of people."My agent eventually started booking me for commercial jobs in New York and then I decided to move3 to L.A., where I could pursue acting, since that seemed to be the direction my career was going."
Unlike many women who move to Los Angeles in search of fame and fortune, Neal was able to land the role on the soap opera Loving in her first few months and was forced back to New York to tape the show for the next seven months.After her role on Loving ended, she journeyed back to Los Angeles and continued auditioning and soon landed her first major role on the TV show Law & Order.Next, she enrolled in acting classes at the Gene Franco Academy of the Arts in Los Angeles, where she hoped to develop her acting skills.
For Elise, more work followed later, the actress landing roles in the movies Rosewood, Scream 2, Money Talks, Mission to Mars, Restaurant, and television shows The Hughleys and All of Us, among others.
In her spare time, Elise enjoys playing with her dog, Rusty (a King Charles), having movie nights with her friends, bowling, and spending time with her boyfriend of one and a half years.She plans to continue fine tuning her skills as an actress and, eventually, wants to produce films and open a dance academy in Memphis, where she is currently on the Advisory Board of St. Jude Hospital.
"I feel that there is a lack of great schools for the arts, so I am dedicated to providing a facility for young, aspired dancers," says Neal.
Next up for Elise is a role in an upcoming John Singleton movie, which will be shot in Memphis, this July.
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