Meet Gail Everett Smith | Professional Actor, Writer, Director, Certified Acting Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gail Everett Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gail, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
In Entertainment it can be extremely difficult to balance work life experiences. Partly because time is definitely money in this business where your arriving late to set or unprepared to deliver the work in an impactful way may cause time delays where you have cast and crew standing by which is definitely costing production money. It won’t be well received for sure.. I always tell new actors if you’re on time to set you are already late. Set life is busy life and delays create residual problems. Many times families are enjoying barbecues, celebrating holidays or special family events, while we may not be able to join in because we are away or on set. That level of commitment doesn’t always align very well with your life, but it’s about your passion and your commitment to building a working career as an actor. We make tough choices, but we also have commitments to family to consider. When we travel to work we must make arrangements for the children, for pets, for your household in general and quite often this happens with limited time to spare. I tackled this situation by staying prepared to travel and setting up emergency back up plans in advance of booking a job. After submitting my audition I begin planning as though it is already a booking. I learned to include my family in the planning and making my career a routine part of my life which normalized my erratic schedule. I spend a great deal of energy in being there for family when not working but they all understand when it’s time to go I have to go, but it has worked quite well for me and my family is very supportive. I’ve got a great kennel for my dog whenever I have to leave her so that I’m not worried while I’m on set, about how she’s doing.. You learn to budget your time, time management helps a lot in balancing the work life experience but one thing for sure you must take personal time for family friends, your spiritual life and just life in general.

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 have always had that can do attitude my entire life. It was instilled in me by my mother who always wanted to be a creative, although she was a nurse. Because she had the passion and it wasn’t fulfilled in her lifetime she lit that passion in my siblings and I by putting us in pageants, private lessons playing various instruments, singing lessons, piano lessons, all types of classes and pageants and competitions. She even established the Everett Gospel Singers and as children we travel the country singing with other professional singers. I guess I could say I’ve been an entertainer my entire life But in 1988 I worked in Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia and was injured on the job. It was a devastating injury and it meant I couldn’t return to the same career anymore. I realized it was my time to pursue another career path so I followed my heart and chose acting. I moved to Florida with my children And began training. I was very fortunate. I got auditions from the very first week. I started working right away.. I looked a lot like Nell Carter with huge curly hair the plus size figure and I had passion. I never once look back after choosing to become an actor It wasn’t easy but If it is your passion you persevere to the end. When I moved to Florida, I found professional training by visiting the drama department of the University of Central Florida and they led me to legitimate training in the area because back in 1988 very few people knew where to get training outside of Los Angeles or New York, but I was in Florida where the entertainment industry had just started to grow with the introduction of Disney Studios and Universal Studios. Suddenly it was a film hub and I began to work, but I quickly outgrew Florida. I moved to Georgia where I was auditioning quite a bit in person., I would drive to Georgia, audition, drive home to Florida and if I booked it, I would turn around and drive right back to Georgia. But I was so excited to be a functioning part of the Entertainment business it didn’t faze me at all. I didn’t mind doing that but I still had a son at home in the sixth grade and it became a little difficult traveling back-and-forth from Florida to Georgia so I moved to Georgia to be a part of the film industry. That’s where my career finally began to takeoff. I gained agents. I auditioned & booked a few jobs and things begin to blossom, although very slowly at first but I continued to train and just put myself out there to see where my career could go. It is now 2025 and I am still going forward with my career. I recently booked a Guest Star role “Top of Show”. The passion hasn’t left me at the age of 73. I don’t think it ever will so I’m just going to keep moving forward, moving upward and encouraging others to hang in there if this is truly what you want for your career.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would give them a tour of the major production studios in the area. To see the making of a film or tv show is an amazing experience. At first sight it resembles ants running in all directions, then you realize that everyone has a special role to play in creating the project. In 36 years in the business….I am still in awe of the process. I know friends and family would absolutely love to see it in the making.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My children deserve the shout out today. For always being proud and supportive of my career. For understanding the missed dinners, forgotten events and for ensuring the household continued to operate in my absence. That’s a lot to ask of children but because I became a single mom of three early on, I worked multiple jobs to provide a good life for them, and they were efficient at keeping things functioning. My father stayed with them in my absence helping tremendously, providing that steady adult counsel in my absence.

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