Meet Daphne Juliet Ellis | Model, Actress, Writer, Sales Professional & Real Estate Investor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daphne Juliet Ellis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daphne Juliet, what do you attribute your success to?
When I was 13, I failed to complete a homework assignment in light of my uncomfortable thirteen-ness. My History teacher gave me what was (and continues to be) a crucial and defining piece of advice: “this is just a game, and you just have to play it.” The game I’m playing has taken laser focus, clear priorities and a big mushy heart.

I have always known that I needed to be a professional artist. I have also always understood my unique obligation to a family that will ultimately need my financial support. Though a controversial pressure, I have been inspired to evolve in multiple directions from the start. I knew that if I wanted to work to live, I would have to work extra hard.

When I entered university, I balanced five jobs (amounting to 40 hour work weeks), theater performances, and a full-time course load. I was on the board of our Model United Nations team and travelled internationally to debate on the college’s dime. I graduated Summa Cum Laude, made wonderful friends and took care of my debts in real time. It was hard. I would prefer a system that requires less resilience, but that was the game and I played it. Well.

Now, I have a diverse collection of humans in my heart. I am made of a thousand other voices, and my success is the facade of our oneness. Professors. Traffic cops. Clients. I owe every toddler that screamed in my face while I was teaching swimming lessons at the YWCA for my patience. I owe every theater student I’ve had the pleasure of directing for giving me deep and true empathy. I even owe the people that have failed me in extreme ways. Necessity is the mother of invention, and where love is lacking, there is always potential to cultivate more.

This is an unfair game, but there are lightworkers playing it, too. Find them. Be them.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I grew up on a flower farm in the country. My literary voice and performative nature was enriched by the freedom to explore our big garden on a daily basis. The house was built in 1815, furnished with antiques, filled with books and perfect for putting an old head onto my young shoulders.

I am proud of the way I pay attention. I am proud of my connection to the Earth and her people. The means were limited, but the love and passion for learning was present and encouraged. The family situation was non-traditional, and for a fairytale setting the plot was dysfunctional. I’m not ashamed of it, but it was all very hard. Professionally and personally, I have overcome all challenges by grace through faith. I am also capable of compartmentalizing my professional pursuits and investments as a game. The art, healing, journaling and music-making is a little separate. I love myself through my art. In loving myself, I have been better able to help others do the same. At times, I’ve isolated myself by diving deep into work. That has been the worst thing, but even that taught me to be comfortably still.

The writing is a map of my head. The acting is a map of my heart. The music is everything in between.

I’m proud of my courage to move around the world for new lessons and opportunities. I’m 24, and I’ve worked in Maine, Pennsylvania, Alaska, California and New York City. I have worked many difficult jobs on the road to my dream job.

I want the world to know that I’m motivated by forces of love that extend beyond my own body. For everything that I create, I vow to hold space for future creators. My work is always informed by community promotion, radical acceptance and love (for the self and others).

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A weekend in New York? I’d take you to a free comedy show at Pete’s Candy in Brooklyn. Then, we’d go dancing at The Beauty Bar in East Village. The next morning, we would go out for breakfast at Abracadabra Magic Cafe in Bushwick before walking all the way over the Williamsburg Bridge, through town and along the Highline.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
God and his cohorts. Granny, Grandpa & Dad. Camp Mechuwana in Maine. Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. University College at Oxford. Ram Dass. Eckhart Tolle. My best friends, Maura & Liz.

Website: daphnejulietellis.com

Instagram: daphnejulietellis

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daphne-ellis-583810101/

Image Credits
Lev Gorn, Jessie Farrell, Jenica Heintzelman, Raney Charlevoix