When it comes to breaking into Hollywood, Black folks have historically had harder barriers to entry than their White counterparts and often find themselves either having to accept limiting roles or even change their look at the start of their career just so that they can get past the first hurdles they’ll face. Recently, “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” star Christina Milian explained what she had to do to enter the Hollywood world of glitz and glamour.
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Appearing as a guest on a recent episode of “Richer Lives by SoFi,” a podcast created by the finance app SoFi and hosted by businesswoman Vivian Tu, Milian was asked why she dropped the last name “Flores” from her acting resume and opted for the name “Milian” instead.
“It was absolutely a business decision,” Milian explained. “I am Afro-Latina, I am Afro-Cuban, which is not really translated all the time, especially in the early phases of my career.”
Having gotten her big break in the ’90s, Milian guest-starred in iconic shows such as “Sister, Sister,” “Charmed,” and “The Steve Harvey Show” before breaking out into leading roles in films like the 2000s classic “Love Don’t Cost a Thing.” She also found success in the music industry, even going on to be the voice of Disney’s iconic “Kim Possible” theme song.
However, Milian said she would not have seen such levels of success had she not changed her last name. She found it hard to get her foot in the door with her Afro-Cuban last name because of poor representation on screen.
“You didn’t see as many of our faces on TV, especially as a Black Latina, you know. A lot of auditions I would go in for, I would try to go in as a Latina, but my skin color didn’t really match the last name to what was appealing at that time. And then when I would go in for African American roles, they’re like ‘Flores, oh, she’s Hispanic she can’t even come to this audition.’ So, they didn’t even give me a chance to audition.”
Had it not been for the advice from a friend experiencing the same issue, Milian would not have been inspired to make the change to her name.
“A friend of ours [Milian and her mom], she had changed her last name, and it really worked for her… So, we sat. We came up with all these last names, and then one day, I don’t even know why we didn’t think of it, but my mom’s last name is Milian. Christina Milian. That kind of works!”
Milian added that the name change led to being called by casting directors immediately and resulted in an overnight success story.
“Same picture, same headshot, changed the last name to Milian and do you know, overnight, we sent it to the same casting directors, changed everything. I booked TV shows immediately. Just that one small little change, that pivot, actually changed the trajectory of my whole career.”
Even though Milian is proud of how far she has come in her career, she noted that she’s not “proud of that being the reason, but I’m happy we see more Black Latina faces on television now.”
Watch the full interview below:
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