Meet Lauren Kong | Screen/Stage/Voice Actor, Singer, Artist, & Student

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Kong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?

I grew up an only kid with busy parents who initially wanted to pursue creative careers until life and a need for financial stability got in the way, so in a way their creativity passed down to me and all the time spent on my own really encouraged me to cultivate it. I always wanted to make things and use my imagination, whether it was recreating my favorite scenes from movies when I was playing pretend or drawing up new creatures and characters. For me, it was all about doing what I love and finding ways to connect with the rest of the world from my little bubble, and as I grew older that creativity and passion grew with me. I wanted to use my imagination to tell new stories like the ones that inspired me and continue to inspire me all of the time, even as I’m doing this interview.

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 work as a freelance screen/stage/voice actor and singer most of the time, but I also take on digital art commissions from time to time as my hectic schedule allows. Most often though, since it worked best with not only my location and high school student schedule, I work as a voice actress and singer for a variety of indie video games, animations, audio dramas, and some advertisements here and there. If I’m honest, my journey was definitely filled with a lot of passion, work, and luck both professionally and in my home life. I started pursuing acting as a whole when I was in high school and signed with my first talent agent in LA (while I was about a 4-5 hour drive away) towards the end of my freshman year of high school, but right as I did, the pandemic-that-needs-no-name hit. As a result, my agent sent me a couple voice acting auditions here and there, but nothing I was super into until I hit my junior year of high school. From there, navigating student life, post pandemic times, and pursuing voice acting was definitely a struggle but I looked up resources and took classes, all while having an extremely supportive family that wanted to at least give me a chance to see if this was a potential career path for me (and surprise! so far it has been!). Through all that, I learned that the most important things for success was just trying it out and sticking with it if you love it. Having a supportive community of friends, family, mentors, or whatever absolute is a key factor too, but what really got me through was loving what I do. Regardless of what’s said to you or about you, so long as you are willing to take advice, good and bad, and grow from it all, you will eventually find your way.

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 parents, Sherman and Maria, who not only inspired my creativity, but supported me and my endeavors every step of the way (without letting me get too big of a head). Also my lola, Vicenta, who introduced me to all the cartoons that was the basis for what I do now!

Website: https://laurenkong.carrd.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenkong_/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-kong-b83130262/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaurenKong_

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPulszlU-x7BEuS8sG0EO4w

Image Credits
Derksen Photography
Ryan Hemman
Mary H Photography