Successful Filipina-American actress and singer Ashley Argota grew up in the Inland Empire, near Los Angeles, but has strong ties to the Philippines and its culture. “I’m the only person in my family born in America,” Argota says. “Everyone in my family speaks Tagalog, I speak some. The reason English is the first language in my house is because my brother is deaf and the school he attended asked us to speak English so he could learn one language clearly. But it’s all Filipino all the time at my house with lots of people and lots of food.” Although shy, she began acting at just 5-years-old. “My mom is the one who got me started. I began speaking in silly accents and she said, ‘I think you should be in acting classes.’ It was so fun. I just never stopped. I love it.” By the age of 11, Argota was a young rising star, touring in Disney’s hit Broadway musical The Lion King as Young Nala. Since then, she has been seen on countless hit TV shows, including “iCarly”, “Lab Rats”, “Girl Meets World”, “Liberty Crossing” and “The Fosters”, as well as in such films as Sony Pictures’ The Cover Versions. As ‘Lou’ on “The Fosters”, she portrayed the lead singer of the band ‘Someone’s Little Sister’. Fans so loved her performances, that the producers released a “Someone’s Little Sister” EP, which shot up to #18 on the iTunes alternative chart and broke the Top 100 on iTunes overall. Argota continues to star and sing in live theater productions, but her most-recent project is the heartwarming, holiday RomCom, I Hate New Year’s, streaming everywhere Dec. 4 (Tello Films), where both her singing talent and acting prowess are once again on display. The film costars Dia...... Read more on Full Issue!