Life Lessons Unscripted Podcast
“Life Lessons Unscripted” features interviews with prominent Hollywood artists—writers, singers, actors, models, etc.—about the takeaways and experiences they’ve gained from their craft. It is one of the ways I strive to inspire widespread creativity in society! Listen now on Spotify and YouTube Podcasts!
My Podcast Episodes
Sydney Scotia on Becoming and Being an Award-Winning Actress
Joey Award-winning actress, director, and entrepreneur Sydney Scotia speaks on growing up as a child actor, filming her debut Netflix sitcom, and her road to becoming the artist she is today.
Sydney Scotia is an actress, director, producer, and entrepreneur who is well-known for her role as Geneva Hayes in the Netflix TV show Some Assembly Required. She received a boost to stardom from this role, for which she also won two Joey Awards and a Leo Award nomination for Best Actress, Young Ensemble, and Best Performance, respectively.
Since playing Geneva, she has taken on a successful and diverse career. She has since played many notable roles, such as “Enigma” and “Tamra” in Reboot: The Guardian Code (2018), “Lydia” in Pillow Talk (2022-2023), “Kristen” in the TV-show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2018), “Coral” in Lionsgate’s A Mermaid’s Tale (2017), and more. Most recently, she starred as “Joanna” in Hallmark’s Our Holiday Story (2024), “Brittany” in Return to Sender (2024), and appeared as “Angie Hansley” in Trackers (2025).
She won numerous awards and nominations for her acting, including Best Performance at the Canadian Screen Awards and Leo Awards for her role in Pillow Talk, Best Actress for her role in I Dare You (2016), and more.
An accomplished filmmaker, Sydney directed This Hits Home (2024), a film that dives deep into the traumatic brain injuries of domestic abuse survivors. The film won the Audience Choice Award at the Boston Film Festival in 2020. In October 2024, she wrapped her thriller/horror film Sawtooth Mountain, for which she is making her directorial debut in the genre. It is set to come out in 2025, so if horror is your bread and butter, be sure to keep an eye out for that.
Finally, Sydney is an entrepreneur who is releasing a nutraceutical brand with Life Extension in 2025 for migraine prevention and brain health. We are so lucky to be speaking with the one and only Sydney Scotia today on Life Lessons Unscripted. Here is Sydney Scotia!
Katherine Ho on “Crazy Rich Asians” and API Identity
Katherine Ho is a SAG-AFTRA actress and singer whose dreams of being a star came to fruition early on in her childhood. She voiced several characters on Special Agent Oso (2008), sang in the movie Valentine’s Day (2010), and as a high schooler, placed in the Top 32 in season 10 of The Voice on Adam Levine’s team.
And as a 19-year-old student at the University of Southern California and under the direction of Jon Chu, Katherine sang the Mandarin version of Coldplay’s “Yellow” from the blockbuster rom-com Crazy Rich Asians (2018); her song hit No.1 on the Spotify Viral 50 Global chart and has accumulated over 20 million streams.
Since Crazy Rich Asians, she released her debut single “Bellyaches” and has since continued to release new music. She sang yet another song for the movie Wish Dragon (2021) called “Endless Love” and for the short Let’s Eat (2020) called “Come Back Home.” And she made a guest appearance on Netflix’s Reality TV show Bling Empire (2021-2022) to sing the Mandarin version of “Yellow” again.
She also graduated from USC in 2021 with a degree in Human Biology and is now pursuing a career in healthcare product development and public health in addition to her entertainment career. Speaking with me today, here is Katherine Ho!
Beck Billman on Growing Up and Living as a Model
Beck Billman was scouted at only twelve years old and launched into what became a dynamic and successful modeling career. Encouraged by narrative photographer Angela Strasheim, she pursued modeling and has since worked across the globe, including South Korea, Australia, Chile, Paris, Milan, and throughout the United States.
Her work has been featured in numerous high-profile publications, including Japanese Vogue, Elle Bulgaria, Cosmopolitan Mexico, InStyle Magazine Australia, Diva e Donna Italia, Desnudo Italia, Cake, Hampton’s, Kaltblut, Solstice, and Revista Paola. She has also walked for major fashion brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Rachel Zoe, Ralph and Russo, Celia Kritharioti, Ziad Nakad, and Marchesa as well as shot for a wide range of clients such as Prada, Missoni, RMS beauty, Guess, Forever 21, Target, Kohl’s, and more.
Beyond print and runway, she has appeared on television, with featured roles in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Now, while continuing her modeling career, she has returned to school, pursuing a psychology major with a minor in environmental science, bringing a new dimension to her journey. Here’s Beck Billman!
Susan L. Lipson on Connections through Writing and Music
Speaking with me today is Author, Singer-Songwriter, Cantorial Soloist, and Writing Coach Susan L. Lipson. Mrs. Lipson has published multiple books, including Knock on Wood (paperback), also known as A Secret in the Wood (ebook), a contemporary fantasy for middle-grade readers, Writing Success Through Poetry, a textbook featuring ready-to-use lessons for writers at multiple levels, “Connections,” a short memoir featured on “Life, Death, and the Space Between” with Dr. Amy Robbins and published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Dreams and Premonitions. Listen to her album Songs for Divine Conversations, featuring 12 songs for spiritual uplifting, on all streaming platforms.