Thea Mowry opens up about the pressures of being a child star.
The Sister, Sister actress, 46, opened up about the anxiety she felt as a working teenager.
“I think the first time I got nervous was when I was in front of an audience at Sister, Sister Days,” she recalls.
'Being on set when you have an audience in front of you. Talk about shaking in your bones. What if the line written for you isn't funny?' he told People in a recent interview.
The comedy ran for six seasons from 1994 to 1999 and starred Thea's sister Tamera Mowry-Housley Win, Jackie Harry and Tim Reid.
Thea Mowry opens up about the pressures of being a child star. The Sister, Sister actress, 46, opened up about the anxiety she felt as a young actress. Viewed on October 11, 2024
“You're performing live in front of an audience and you know you're a kid…if you're going to get a good grade on this test, you care about kids,” he continued.
You care about maintaining your brand. You care about how you look. You know, there's a lot going on.
She says she eventually got used to it and got over it.
“You get used to, acting, feeling nervous,” she said, but what really helped her was “learning why.”
'Why do I feel this way? “Sometimes you don't have that answer, but being intentional and aware of why you have this anxiety has also helped me,” she shared.
'What helps me is visualization. Then I will visualize what I am doing now and this will help my brain connect with my behavior and I will feel better about the situation.
Another unpleasant part of being an actor and child actor is the rejection that comes with the industry.
“I don't think it's ever been easy or easy,” he admitted. But I was very young. I remember trying out for The Fresh Prince. I think the character is Ashley, but I don't understand it and I'm depressed.
But time also taught him a valuable lesson.
'I realized that if they hadn't rejected me, sister, I couldn't have done it. You have to trust the process, trust the journey, trust that what is for you is for you and what is for you will never fail you.'
Sister Sister ran for six seasons from 1994 to 1999 and starred Tia's sister Tamera Mowry-Housley, Jackie Harry and Tim Reid.
Thea's new reality show, My Next Act, follows her through her divorce from Corey Hardikt and where she is in her life now that she's not close with her twin sister, Tamera.
In a promo for the show, an emotional Thea leaves her children Cree, 13, and Cairo with their father, and then collapses.
'Being alone was the hardest part of my divorce. “My sister and I are still close, and there are times like this that I think about and wish I could pick up the phone and call her,” he shared in a confessional interview, “but that's not where we are right now.”
The star, who rose to fame alongside Tamera in her comedy Sister Sister in the late '90s, has not explained what caused the rift between her and her only brother.
Her new show premieres October 4 on We TV and follows a mother of two as she returns to the dating pool after a divorce.
“I think the first time I got nervous was when I was in front of an audience at Sister, Sister Days,” she remembers. Viewed on October 11, 2024
'Being on set when you have an audience in front of you. Talk about shaking in your bones'
“What if the line written for you isn't funny?” he told PEOPLE in a recent interview.
In the first episode of the show, cameras follow Thea as she goes on her first date.
“The date went very well,” he said in the confessional. “I mean, listen, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, didn't they go on a blind date? Who knows? I can find my Prince Harry!'
Whether she gets that kind of fairy tale ending or not, Thea is glad she took the first step.
'I would say that if he doesn't ask me out on a second date, I'm ready. “I pride myself on being open enough to at least go on a blind date,” she said.
