At 17 years old, Valeria Jauregui is taking the entertainment industry by storm. She got her start performing in local productions in her hometown of San Antonio, Texas. When she was in 7th grade, Valeria traveled to Orlando to compete in the singing competition show La Voz Kids USA, where she earned a spot in the finals. She has also made her mark in the world of film in Kindred Spirits alongside Thora Birch and Caitlin Stasey, as well as the lead role of Valerie in Teenage Girl: Valerie’s Holiday.
Valeria’s big break on the small screen came when she landed the role of Maggie Hollister on the FOX cop drama Deputy. Maggie is the daughter of Bill Hollister (played by Stephen Dorff). When the elected sheriff dies, Bill, a lawman who is only interested in justice, gets thrown into the job as acting sheriff. The show is streaming now on Fox.com.
Valeria is also the face of the new Holy Mother of Makeup line, which was created to embrace the uniqueness of Latinas. In her spare time, she enjoys watching old movies, playing instruments, singing, writing songs, and reading.
Here’s 5 fast facts about Valeria!
Her favorite showbiz moment is_______
This is hard to choose because it’s all very memorable when you love what you’re doing. I’ve had the wildest ride when it comes to showbiz because it’s all I’ve ever known. From bad auditions to a very awkward first kiss for a movie I did, to learning how to ride horseback, it’s all stuck in my brain now.
My first day on the set of Deputy is one of my favorites: seeing the set, meeting the cast and crew, wardrobe fittings, getting my cozy little trailer, and then, of course, my favorite part, shooting my first ever scene with Yara Martinez and Stephen Dorff.
She’s messed up a couple of times, but recovered nicely!
I once forgot to bring my headshot to an audition, and I was so disappointed in myself because that never happens. I was so prepared for the actual role that I got all mad and ended up stuttering my way through my lines and making a fool of myself! Although it is part of the experience to have bad auditions, it helps you grow.
Oh, and my first day on Deputy after I shook David Ayer’s hand after meeting him, he said to me, “Okay, this should be pretty simple. Just don’t mess up your lines,” and guess what I did after he said that? Yup, you guessed right, I messed up the line! Luckily it was practice, so I got my nerves out of the way and we all had a laugh.
She’s got great advice for dealing with self-doubt and the pressures of social media.
Social media. I see so many girls putting themselves down and comparing themselves to others who appear to have it all together when, in reality, a post can be very contrived and manipulated. I myself even sometimes fall down this hole of self-denigration after scrolling for too long.
It’s hard not to as a teen trying to battle against beauty stipulations that were not decided by her. Our world loves to tell teen girls that their value will be found in how tan their skin is, or how small their waist is and I see so much dysmorphia in young girls because of these trends that are all about getting your “beach body.” I’ll see a video of a girl who has the ideal Sports Illustrated figure and scroll to the comments and all I see is young girls commenting “well, guess I’m not eating today” or “why do I even exist” and it breaks my heart. We stereotype and judge more than we love and accept ourselves and others.
I think it’s a matter of disbanding the stipulations which have led us down this path. The way I deal with fighting social media negativity is by staying low on my screen time and rebranding what I view. I also make an effort to be kind to myself, and at the end of the day, I think doing things I love is the biggest distraction from anyone or anything which tries to bring me down. If you feel happy in your skin, then none of it will matter. Find what you love and defend it.
There is a YouTube channel called StyleLikeU, they talk to fascinating and unique people about defeating negative stereotypes. I would recommend their videos to anyone struggling with finding self-love. Don’t live to please others, live to please yourself. As a community, we need to empower each other more because, as sad as it is, greed, fear, and hate are far more mobilizing than any other emotion. While love, compassion, and forgiveness are also very powerful, they are also quite passive. So, love twice as hard, forgive twice as much, and sympathize more.
She’ll “tumble for ya” (Culture Club reference, look it up!)
I was a competitive gymnast for about six years growing up and then I quit to be a dancer, but I can still tumble!
One of her favorite foods is THIS interesting combination:
Nutella on Ritz crackers!
Selfie time!
