Meet Mia Rio: Actress and Singer

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

Hi Mia, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
I don’t believe I’m in this world to make it all about me but I do believe all our interactions with people leave a mark, and I sure want to leave a mark of hope and encouragement and transformational love. If one song, one movie or TV character I play, or one story I write can help transform somebody’s life, that’s the legacy I want to leave behind. 

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.
As a singer and actress whose English isn’t her native tongue, adapting was a key part of being able to progress within the Entertainment industry. If I wanted to play an American, then I needed to master the accent. If I wanted to play a Hispanic character, then I needed to master Spanish without a foreign accent. Not so easy since my native language is Brazilian Portuguese. I have to master mannerisms of sub-cultures within America, cry on cue, write music and stories that are relatable to a culture that I only started experiencing as an adult. Being a chameleon is a great quality to have when applied properly but it takes a lot of immersion first. You have to be determined without a shadow of doubt. There’s no room for fear, else you’ve already failed.

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?
The perfect time for me with a friend visiting town would definitely be doing a restaurant tour through Atlanta because food around here is just too good to stick to one place. From there, we’d go on a road trip around the whole state of Georgia, starting with a scenic drive through Blue Ridge area. We’d then stop at our islands and charming Hallmark style towns on the way like Dahlonega. But if we’re feeling wild, we’d hop on a plane to the independent micronation of Molossia, located within Nevada, and exchange my dollars for cookie dough, which is literally their currency there.   

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have a long list of people who have believed in me, pushed me, did favors for me without expecting anything in return, and celebrated my victories with me, but some of them were vital in my journey. One of them was Douglas Rogers, the very first music producer I’ve worked with, who taught me how to record in a studio when I was clueless and helped me create my first professionally produced song, which led me to be signed to two record labels, win songwriting awards and have my music on Television. A big shoutout to all music producers who have “starved” with me, collaborating when we had no funds. On the acting front, a shout out to producer Clement Virgo, who graciously invited me to audition for my first role on network television, the Oprah Winfrey show Greenleaf, after seeing me work behind the scenes on the show as a stand-in actress for 6 months. A special thank you to my agent, Barbara Garvey, constantly working hard to get me bigger and better acting projects. Thank you to actor Keith David for the encouraging words on and off set and most importantly, thank you to my family for always giving me room for my craft and seeing value in it. Ultimately, thank you to God for opening and closing doors of opportunity in this journey I’m in.

Website: www.miarioonline.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/miarioonline
Twitter: www.twitter.com/miarioonline
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rioonlinepage

Image Credits
Main Photo – Mike Marra Photo 1 – Dean Anthony Photography Photo 2 – Stan Chambers Photo 3 – Sarah Jessica Dunn Photo 4 – Jason Prisk