Kourtnee Monroe of NYC and Edinburgh, UK on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Kourtnee Monroe and have shared our conversation below.

Kourtnee , so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I’m being called to speak, not just as a model or a performer, but as a writer and a storyteller. For so long, I thought I had to stay in one lane. I was comfortable behind beautiful visuals, but hesitant to share my voice, my truth, or the softer, more thoughtful parts of myself. Now, I feel called to create from that place: to write poetry, essays, and stories that reflect who I really am.
I’m also being called to build a new kind of life, one rooted in freedom, creativity, and emotional alignment. After years of hustle mode, I’m transitioning out of the U.S. and toward a quieter, more intentional chapter in the UK. Transitioning there and building a new life, a new era there is where I am on my journey. It feels like home.

I’m not chasing the spotlight anymore. I’m building something more intentional and more soulful and I’m finally allowing myself to be seen in all of it.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Kourtnee Monroe — a writer, content creator, and actress. I began my creative career in the modeling industry, but over time I realized what I really cared about was storytelling through words, video, and visuals that actually mean something.

I’ve published two poetry books and built a deeply personal YouTube channel where I share soft lifestyle content, honest reflections, and cinematic vlogs.

I’m also returning to my acting roots with new energy, focusing on UK-based opportunities as I prepare to relocate from the U.S. back to Scotland, the place that healed me after a lifetime of hustle culture.

My work is rooted in truth-telling, romantic realism, and reclaiming my voice. For too long, I let other people define my story but not anymore. This is the Monroe Renaissance — a return to softness, substance, and the art of becoming. I want to leave behind a body of work that reflects beauty, resonance, and proof that it’s never too late to reimagine your life softly, intentionally, and most importantly, on your own terms.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
I was a naturally expressive, intuitive, and poetic child who loved to live through stories, feelings, and imagination. I was always drawn to beauty, art, and meaning. But along my journey, I learned to stifle my depth and natural gifts in order to be palatable.
Modeling gave me visibility, but it also taught me how easy it is to be seen for your exterior. You can be seen by many and still be completely unseen for who you really are. I spent years quieting my writing, shrinking my voice, and suppressing my truth because that’s what people expected of me.

That version of me, the one who tolerated less than she deserved out of compliance or obligation has served her time. I’m no longer interested in being palatable. I’m reclaiming the softness, strength, and voice I used to hide. And I’m building a life around the parts of me that were always real: the writer, the actress, the creator.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
For a long time, I felt like I had to keep it all together especially in front of others. I wore resilience like armor and used aesthetics as a distraction. Modeling became a way to survive and make a living but I wasn’t fulfilled. I was going along to get along, trying to take care of myself.
I think I stopped hiding my pain when I realized that silence and compliance weren’t protecting me, it was suffocating me. I had so much to say, and it wasn’t until I began writing and creating again that I understood how powerful that voice could be. Every poem, every video, every honest moment has helped me turn pain into purpose and I’ve received a lot of support and great feedback.. It’s not always pretty. But it’s mine and that’s what makes it powerful.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m committed to building a body of work that reflects truth, creatively, emotionally and unapologetically. I want to keep showing up as my full self and tell stories that resonate. Not stories that sell, necessarily. No matter how long it takes, I’ll keep writing, keep filming, and becoming the woman I know I’m meant to be. I’ll accomplish this through my poems, my YouTube videos, a book, or the acting work I do.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
For a long time, I did what I thought I had to do. I said yes to roles, projects, and images that looked good on the outside but felt hollow on the inside. Modeling gave me a platform, but it also boxed me in. I became what people expected: palatable, quiet, beautiful, and marketable.

But that was never the full story.

I was born to create, not conform. I was born to feel deeply and make others feel something too. Through writing, acting, and visual storytelling, I’m finally doing what I was meant to do, not what I was told would be safe or acceptable.

There’s no roadmap for the life I’m building now. It’s slower, softer, and deeply intentional. But it’s mine. And it’s aligned. That’s the legacy I want to leave behind: not just the work I’ve done, but the woman I became doing it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/themonroerenaissance
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekourtneemonroe
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KourtneeMonroe
• Other: https://medium.com/@kourtnee.monroe.moreinfo