“It terrifies me still to this day,” the actress admitted. “That could ever be a reality for us as artists.”
Once Upon a Time alum Lana Parilla is getting candid about struggles she faced at the start of her career.
While appearing on Tuesday’s episode of iHeartRadio’s I’ve Never Said This Before podcast, the 46-year-old actress revealed she was homeless early on in her career, living out of her car, and shared how the experience has ultimately influenced her choices.
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“There’s always a little part of me, in the back of my head, that’s like, ‘Oh my god, don’t ever stop working so hard,'” Parrilla said. “I was homeless for two months living in a car. I just don’t ever want to end up there again.”
“It forces me to be more creative and find new ways to make money and find all these different ways to, like, develop projects and do you own thing and take on all these new talents,” she added.
Parrilla — who was promoting her new Netflix film, Atlas, on the podcast — went on to recall how she was forced to support herself when she was still just a teen.
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“There was a time, early on on my career — and it was very early on — I was living on my own, like 19 years old. It was a really hard time,” she explained. “My family and I were in different places, and I was kind of left on my own.”
“It was really hard to support yourself and, you know, chase after a dream, and also try to get an education all at the same time. I couldn’t do it all,” she said. “I had to drop out of college, which broke my heart. I had to figure how to make more money to support myself.”
Parrilla admitted that she still carries the fear of becoming homeless again with her.
“It terrifies me still to this day,” she shared. “That, like, that could ever be a reality for us as artists.”
“At 19 years old, it’s different, but, at 46, it’s a lot scarier,” she added.
