Issa Rae on the Power of Diversity in Storytelling
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Issa Rae is the cover star of Marie Claire’s “The Power Issue”—a fitting title for the actress, whose portfolio is ever-expanding into new creative business ventures.
The Insecure star recently launched Viarae Prosecco and runs a textured haircare line, Sienna Naturals, with her sister-in-law, Hannah Diop. The 38-year-old, who spent her childhood and teenage years between Los Angeles, Senegal and Maryland, opened up about the SAG-AFTRA strike, entering the corporate world and building community in an accompanying cover story.
At her core, Rae is a storyteller, a notion she expounded upon with the publication.
“If there is a story bursting out of me, somebody’s going to hear it. I’m fortunate enough to be able to have a platform where they mostly can. And I like the challenge of getting an audience invested in a story,” she said, and added that she focuses on diverse voices and desperately needs to see more people of color on screen. “I felt underserved for a period of my life coming up. When you’re a little girl thinking about performing for an audience, all you think about is, ‘Oh, my family,’ and ‘Oh, my friends.’ I don’t think I’ve ever escaped that. They are, I guess, the hypothetical people that I think about. That is my core audience and theirs are the stories that I’m mostly interested in.”
The Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee first rose to fame with her 2011 YouTube web series, Awkward Black Girl, and has since starred in films like The Lovebirds and The Photograph. Rae also took on the role of President Barbie in this summer’s Greta Gerwig hit film, Barbie. She is the creator of sitcom Rap Sh!t, which recently premiered its second season on Max.
Read the full Marie Claire article here.
