As a child Leslie Garza Rivera dreamt of becoming an actress. Her parents wanted her to do something more realistic so while growing up in Leon, Guanajuato acting remained a distant dream. Leslie says her father was very conservative and encouraged her to focus on succeeding in school. “I always did well in school but I always felt like I had to do more than just go to school,” Leslie explains.

Her chance to do more came when she was 14 and her father passed away. She got a job at a fast-food restaurant and quickly noticed there was a lot more that life had to offer. “I was amazed by life,” Leslie says. “I had been in a bubble then, I went out into the world and discovered life and work.”

While her father was alive Leslie didn’t think about acting very much, but her loss pushed her to follow her dream. She began doing plays in school, but then realized her mother didn’t want her to be an actress either. Leslie’s mother felt acting would not take her anywhere in life and told her, her father would have wanted her to stay in school. Leslie kept studying but at age 17 she began entering beauty pageants and got modeling jobs. Leslie’s mom still did not approve but she trusted Leslie to do the things she wanted to do. “I didn’t smoke, drink or do drugs. I didn’t even say bad words,” Leslie said. “I was all about the dreams I had and I didn’t have time for all that.”

Leslie worked hard to make her mother happy and at 19 she earned a scholarship and began studying accounting at the Universidad de las Americas Puebla, a very prestigious university in Mexico. She studied at the university for about a year and a half then left for Mexico City. She lived with different friends and did some work on Spanish television shows for a short time. Leslie says she didn’t want to regret not completing her education so she returned to Leon and set her mind on finishing school while working on her acting career.

Soon after she went back to Leon doors began to open for Leslie. She was offered a job at the Walt Disney World Resort and moved to Orlando, Florida. She worked in a restaurant and started off cleaning tables but was soon promoted to waitress. “It was hard work and I didn’t make a lot of money, but the money I did make I saved. I worked on my days off and saved enough to travel to Europe all by myself,” she said. After some time in Orlando Leslie returned home to Mexico. In order to make money Leslie modeled in Loreal shows in Mexico City during the summer and then went back to school. She was hired as an intern at an accounting firm and went on to work as an accountant for Ernst & Young and a bank in Leon. Leslie was finally making money and life seemed good but she still wanted to pursue acting.

Leslie enrolled in an acting course and decided to give her dream another shot so she began performing, got more modeling scholarships and attended various film festivals to meet different people in the business. “It was my dream and it was kind of buried but when I finished school and worked I thought it was my turn to follow my dream,” Leslie said. In September 2005 Leslie was later accepted to The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Los Angeles so she packed her bags and moved. When she arrived in LA Leslie didn’t have anywhere to live. She stayed with friends in different cities for a few days and then rented an apartment with five roommates while she studied acting. “It hasn’t been easy. I left family, friends, and boyfriends from time to time. I wasn’t ever really attached to anything,” Leslie said. “But I had to do it to get what I wanted.” 

As of today Leslie has been in several short films, commercials, independent films, print campaigns, TV shows, music videos and much more. In addition to being an accountant, she also hosts events and concerts, is a casting director, producer and of course - an actress. After years of hard work Leslie says her mother is finally proud of her career and although she’d love for her father to have been there along the way, she says his absence is what allowed her to follow her own path.

Through education, hard work and a tenacity to accomplish her dreams, Leslie is an example of what determination can do.