Siegel and
America Ferreira.
Oh, my goodness.
So great to see
all of you. America,
amazing to be
here with you.
Thank you. Can we
give her another
round of applause?
Oh, thank you.
Thank you so much.
This is a really
special moment. We
were looking at a
photo of her backstage
from 2018. So you're
back here with
us for Dreamforce.
Glad to be back.
Well, I want to start
with a little bit
about your journey.
So many of us have
grown up with you
from the Sisterhood of
Traveling Pants and
from Ugly Betty,
which just really
defined our adolescence.
But something
that struck me
about your story
is that it's
so anchored in
manifestation.
You, at five years
old, knew you wanted
to be an actress
and a human rights
lawyer. So I'd
love to just hear a
little bit about
that story from you.
Yeah. Well, thank
you. Thank you for
having me. It's a
pleasure to be here.
Yeah, I mean,
I'm the daughter
and raised by a
single mother who
raised me and my
five siblings,
so a single mother
of six kids.
and I, by the time I
was five years old,
kind of identified
my own passion for
storytelling and,
as you said, also
for a deeply held
sense of justice.
At five, I told my
mom I wanted to be an
actress and a human
rights lawyer, although
how could I have even
known about that?
but I my oldest sister
was in her fifth grade
play that she was in
begrudgingly and I
was dragged along to
watch her it was the first
time I saw a live
show a live play and I
just felt in that moment
like lightning through
my whole body like
that's where I'm supposed
to be I want to be
on that stage why
didn't anyone ask me to
play flying monkey number
three and that you
know So I had that
lightning moment super
early in my life, and
it was a dream that
seemed quite ridiculous
to most people, pretty
unlikely. As I said, I
was a daughter of
Honduran immigrants and a
mother who worked day
and night to keep the
lights on and the water
running hot and the
food on the table and
didn't know anyone or
any way of achieving
that dream. other than
I had been fed for
breakfast, lunch, and
dinner and for snack
time the American dream.
You know, my parents
left everything behind
to give me and my
siblings safety, to give
us education, to give
us possibilities so
that we could dream
any insane dream. Of
course, my mom was like,
maybe not that dream.
I had bought in to the
idea of, why not me?
You know, I'm an American
born and raised in
America where we love
and favor the underdog
and where if I work
hard enough, that
opportunity is meant to
be there for me. And so
I somehow, and that
being a really big part
of it, felt like I
had the right to dream
that dream, even when my
own family or teachers
or friends and kind
of culture at large um
mirrored back to me
that that was a very
unlikely possibility
for me um and somehow uh
i i was able to kind
of keep going and keep
believing in in the
possibility of my crazy
dream um and so i
did it everywhere and
anywhere anyone would
let me and i would take
the three buses for
three hours downtown to
do a, you know, a small,
insignificant part
in a California youth
theater production of
something, if that was
the only place that
anyone would let me do
it. And I just kept on
going. But mainly it's
because I genuinely,
deeply believed
what I had been
told, which was
that anyone can do
anything, and why
not me? I think
that's so beautiful
and powerful.
this idea that
you have the right
to dream that
dream, and I think
you living your
truth and in your
power has inspired
so many others.
I think fast
forward, you were the
first Latina to
win the primetime
Emmy for a comedy
series, which is
such an incredible
legacy and moment.
What does that mean
to you? What does it
mean to you, too?
Yeah, and thank you for
that. And however
many years later it is
now, almost 20, I think
it's almost like 17
or 18 years later,
I'm still the only
Latina to have ever won
an Emmy for a leading
role. And I don't
believe that that's
because there are not
Latina actresses out
there who merit
it, but because the
opportunities to do that
are rare and slim. And
so, of course, I feel
incredibly grateful
and I'm in constant awe
of the opportunities
that I've been
presented with to live
out my dream, to work
as hard as possible,
to be able to achieve
things that had not
been achieved. And
that, you know, was
really the crux of my
journey was trying to
become something I
had never seen before.
Trying to have a career
that had never been
had, that had never
been modeled to get
to do what I love to
do in the world as
myself was an impossible
dream. before I did
it, and I think, of
course, I feel a lot of
sense of gratitude and
pride in myself that
I've been able to
do that, but it has
also made me stop and
think a lot about why.
Why am I the first?
Why am I the only? What
isn't changing? What
needs to change? and
so it it brings along
with it all of all of
the complications of
it as well well what
really strikes me is
that in every aspect
of the work that you
do from of course your
role as an award
winning actress but also
as a director and a
producer you are very
intentional about
making sure that you're
using storytelling to
uplift and elevate other
voices and to inspire
collective action.
I know you have a
non-profit as well,
Harness, that focuses
on this. Can you tell us
a little bit about how
Harness came to be?
Yeah, you know, as has
already been mentioned,
I was very young when
I also, you know,
felt this sense of
wanting to be a part of
justice in the world,
you know, and now that
I have two young kids,
I see that that's
pretty common for
young kids. They have a
really strong sense of
fairness and justice
and wanting to know they
live in a world where
their sense of justice
is reflected back
at them and where they
can kind of make sense
of what's the world
I live in, you know?
And that has
always been a part
of my personality,
always been
a part of what
I've cared about.
And I think that
there's a lot of
things I experienced
growing up with
a single mother,
immigrant family.
I remember being quite
young, nine years old
when I believe it was
Prop 187 in California
was one of these sort
of anti-immigrant
propositions that
was on the ballot.
And I remember my
mom having to pull me
aside at nine years
old and say to me,
you know, you might
get pulled out of
class. Someone might
ask you questions
about where you're
from, where your
family's from. You've
done nothing wrong.
You were born
in this country.
You belong here.
Don't be afraid.
And of course,
I was terrified.
Why? Why me and not
Kara? Why me and
not Ashley? Why am
I? And of course,
I knew that it was
what I looked like.
It was the color
of my skin. It was
the language my
family spoke at home.
And so at nine years
old, I had a very
visceral experience
of the fact that
politics is personal.
I didn't get to choose
whether or not I wanted
to be engaged with
politics. Politics
was engaged with me.
And so, you know, I
wasn't sheltered from it,
from understanding
that my possibilities,
my sense of safety, my
sense of identity was
deeply impacted by
what was happening in
the world around me.
And so when I started
acting and I went to
university, I went to
USC to study international
relations, I remember
having like a quarter
-life crisis of
thinking, oh no, am I
picking the wrong lane?
Like, what good can
being an actress do in
this world when there
are so many problems?
I should go do something
that matters. I
should go do something
that helps people, that
changes lives, that
makes things better.
And I remember
talking to one of
my teachers in his
office hours and
sort of blubbering
and crying and
telling him how
much I wanted to,
why I thought the
only solution was
to quit acting and
go do something
quote unquote
important. and he shared
with me the story
of a young local
high school girl
who he mentored who
came to him one day
and he was this older
white man who'd spent
his whole life in sort
of the corporate world
who sort of later
in life decided to go
become a teacher she
said she's he's like he
said to me this white
man if you ever if
you actually want to
understand my life and
what I'm up against.
Come watch this movie
with me. It's called
Real Women Have Curves.
And Real Women Have
Curves is the first
film that I ever starred
in. And I played a 17
-year-old daughter of
Mexican immigrants
with a dream to go to
college and everything
that she was up against
to achieve that. And
he talked about what
that movie meant to
this young woman and
how he then took her
and her friends to go
watch the movie. And
they cried and talked
about how it resembled
their life. And then he
went and took the DVD
to her parents and
said, can you watch
this movie? And can we
talk about you supporting
your daughter's dream
to go to college? And
then they did. And
that girl ended up going
to college and being
supported by her parents
because she could
have a conversation
with them that a piece
of storytelling in
the world allowed her
to believe that something
was possible for
her, that she didn't
believe prior to that.
And so that was a
moment for me where I
realized, A, the power
of storytelling, and also
these kind of false
lanes that we create
for ourselves and put
ourselves in that, oh,
you're an actor, stick
to being an actor.
You do what you're
doing. You're a practical
person, not an artistic
person, or whatever
the lanes are that we
put ourselves in and
realizing that there
was no rule that said
that I didn't get to
be a performer and love
what I do and also be
an engaged citizen in
the world who cares
about what happens in
my world. And so that
gave me the strength
to use my voice, use
whatever influence
platform I had, whether
that was in school or at
home in my community
or as an actress to
talk about the things
that mattered to me.
There was no lane for
that either. And I was
sort of trying to
figure out, like, how do
I be an actress and
then also use my voice
for these things I care
about? And I did it
over the course of many
years. It took me a
long time to kind of
build that confidence.
along with my husband
and a friend who's
also an actor, we
started an organization
called Harness, which
is about creating
community at the
intersection of storytelling,
culture-making,
and social justice,
and bringing those
communities together,
building real, deep,
meaningful relationship
that allows for
collaboration and
storytelling towards more
justice in the world. I
mean, there's so much
of your story, yes.
There's so much of
your story that is just
incredibly inspiring.
I feel like you've
spent your whole
career and life defying
boundaries, which I
think is really inspiring
for others. And as I
listen to your story,
it really kind of
makes sense that this
culminated in this
beautiful monologue in the
Barbie movie, who
loves the Barbie movie.
That really encapsulates
a lot of what you're
saying, and that
monologue spoke to so many
of us, me included,
because it was shining
this light on this
impossible feeling that
many women have and
many women of color have
of never being good
enough and having to
constantly be, I think
they said, twisted in
knots to try to be what
society wants you to
be but also be yourself.
So tell me a little
bit about what that
monologue means to you.
Yeah, I mean, that
monologue speaks directly
to my heart and to
my experiences in the
world, not only as a
woman and a mother, but
I think it spoke to
so many people beyond
just women. I've been
approached by all kinds
of people, different
ages, different
backgrounds, genders,
ethnicities, who see
themselves in the
monologue, and I've thought
about it a lot, and I
do feel like the crux
of what we're saying,
this somehow we have
to be extraordinary,
and somehow we're always
doing it wrong. And
I think the crux of
that is that we've been
sort of conditioned
to become
extraordinary based
on standards that
are not meant
for us to ever
be able to meet.
we bend ourselves
and fix ourselves and
twist ourselves to reach
kind of unreachable
expectations. All of
us, men, women, you
name it. And so I think
that's why so many
people saw themselves
in that speech and in
that monologue and the
feeling of I'm doing
everything right,
but I can't seem to
hit the mark. And that
reason is that we're
never meant to hit
the mark. It's an
unhittable mark. And so
I think that it's a call
and a challenge and an
invitation to change
our definition of
extraordinary, to meet
our own definitions
of extraordinary, our
own goals for ourselves
that aren't set
by incredibly biased and
unreachable standards.
I love that. I love
that. In your TED
Talk, you talked about
your identity being
your superpower, which
I think is threaded
through everything
you've talked to today.
And then you're
being honored at the
Critics' Choice Celebration
of Latina Cinema
in television.
Congratulations. Thank you.
And as we mentioned,
you have this
incredible legacy, not
just as an actress,
but also a director
and a producer.
We have many people
in this audience who
are looking for teams
and spaces where they
feel included, where
they feel seen. We also
have many leaders
in the audience, and
you know a lot about
leadership. What advice
do you have to those
leaders on how to
really create spaces where
people feel empowered
and seen? Yeah,
yeah. I know that you
and many people in this
room are very committed
to diversity and
inclusion. And, you
know, I think it has
to be said that, like,
DEI is not like skinny
jeans. Like, they
shouldn't come in and
out of fad based on
who wins an election
and the changing wins.
diversity and inclusion
is a commitment
to creating spaces
where a workforce is
emboldened to bring
the best of themselves
to to make great
things to solve big
problems and in order
for people to do that
they need to know
that they have
leadership who has their
back that has leadership
that protects their
whole identity.
You can't be a dream
force if you're not
a brave force, if
you're not a courageous
force, if you're not
an emboldened force.
I believe that the
role of leaders
is to use their own
bravery and their
own courage to create
the possibility
of bravery and
courage in others.
And it's trickle
-down. If our leaders
are able to stand
up for their values
and to stand up
against bullying,
intimidation,
tyranny, then
we're emboldened
to stand up.
And conversely, if our
leaders begin to grow
timid and cowardly in
the face of intimidation,
then that also goes
downstream. And
so I think we're in
a time where we need
courage more than ever
to bring our full selves
into our workspaces,
into our communities,
sometimes into our own
family dinner table.
We need courage in
this time. And so we
need our leaders to
model that for us so
that we can continue
to live in a society
where we're not
flying in planes that
engineers are afraid
to point out problems
with. I don't want
to fly on that plane.
movie that
somebody's making
to appease a board.
I want to watch
movies made by artists
who have something
to say and feel like
they can say it.
You know, I want to
live in a house where
the foreman can say,
something's not quite
right, you know? We
don't want to live
in a society where
voices grow softer, where
dreams grow dimmer.
And that requires
good leadership and
courageous leadership.
And so I don't want
us to leave without
us talking about
your exciting new
film that's coming
out. And we had the
beloved Matthew
McConaughey here yesterday.
Did anyone see
Matthew yesterday?
So you're starring
alongside him,
and I'd love
for you to just
share what you're
excited about.
Well, very relevant
to Californians. We
told the story, it's
in a movie called The
Lost Bus, about the
deadliest California
wildfire in Paradise,
California in 2018.
And it's an incredibly
inspiring and heroic
story about everyday
people, Kevin McKay,
who was a school bus
driver, and Mary Ludwig,
who I play, who's a
second grade teacher
at Paradise Elementary
School. And on this
day of the deadliest
California wildfire,
they had to get a school
bus full of 22 children
out of the fire.
And they were on an
eight-hour journey
through really the **** to
not only save their
own lives, but to save
the lives of the children
that were in their
care. And it's directed
by Paul Greengrass,
who did the Born Identity
films and Captain
Phillips. And so,
you know, if you are,
you know, if you
don't want an elevated
heart rate, maybe
sit this one out.
But if you like thrills,
this is the edge of
your seat, like, oof,
you know, you're going
to need a moment or
a cocktail when it's
done. But what the
story does is it reminds
us of humans at our best
when we show up with
our resilience, with
our courage, and also
with our ability to
care for one another.
I think the most moving
thing about what Kevin
and Mary did that day
was that they chose
to love other people's
children, even when
their own children were
out in the fire and
they couldn't communicate
and rescue them.
They rescued the children
in front of them.
And I think the power
of storytelling, the
power of art, is
that we get to have
conversations about things
in a way that transcends
our kind of fixed
ways of rationalizing
our beliefs, right?
This is a story about
wildfire. It's also a
story about our changing
climate. It's also
a story about how
communities need each
other. And those are
hard conversations to
have in this day and
age. But this is a real
-life story based in
real-life everyday
people choosing to be
heroes because we haven't
forgotten how to do
that. We haven't
forgotten how to care for
each other. I can
guarantee you, if the
next wildfire is in
your house, you're not
going to care who your
neighbor voted for.
You're going to hope
that they rescue your
dog, give your grandma
a ride down the hill.
You know, it brings
us back. Storytelling
takes us out of
our arguments
and our minds, and
it brings us back
to what we know,
when we can feel
and experience each
other's journeys.
And so it's a
thrilling story.
It's a hopeful story. And
it's a story
that reminds us
Thanks so much of
this conversation
we've had today
has centered on
themes like courage
and care and
humanity and legacy
and dreaming.
And what I find
really inspiring and
amazing about your
story is that you had
a dream, you had a
vision, but then you
also worked so hard
to make that happen
while thinking about
humanity and others
around you. What
advice would you have
to the folks in this
audience who are
trying to manifest
their own dream and
also want to do good
for the world? Oh,
I mean, I think, I
think that ultimately
those are not two
separate things.
And we need you to
be exactly who you
are. you are at your
intersection. No one
else exists at the
intersection of life
and imagination and
arts and experience
the way you do. And
so knowing yourself,
constantly wondering
about yourself, who
am I today? What
matters to me today?
What do I want today?
And what's working
and what's not?
Having the courage,
the bravery to ask
yourself and truly
listen to the real
answer and then find
through your community,
through yourself,
through others, the
courage to go down
that self-directed
path of this may
have mattered to
me. I may be on a
course that I picked
17 years ago, 25
years ago, in my
case, 35 years ago.
Is this the right
path for me today and
now? And am I honoring
my whole self? Am
I honoring the entirety
of what I have to
give and have to offer?
Because manifesting
that part of that
wholeness of your
dream can only be good
for us because nobody
can do that in this
world except you.
Well, thank you,
America. thank you
for your courage
thank you for your
leadership let's
give her a round
of applause thank
you very much thank
you thank you
thank you very much
