We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Allie Markova. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Allie below.
Allie , so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.
I learned pretty young that if I wanted a bigger life than the one I was born into, I would have to make it myself. Nobody was going to hand it to me. I’m a first-generation American, so that idea was basically the wallpaper of my childhood. It was watching my family work hard, start over, and figure things out from scratch. It made the whole “keep going” mindset feel normal, not heroic.
I was a really shy kid who wanted huge things but felt tiny. I was curious about everything — people, stories, a life worth mythologizing — but I didn’t have the confidence to match what I wanted. So persistence became this quiet survival skill. If I didn’t push through the fear or the self-doubt, nothing in my life would move.
It had to be me, no matter what anyone said.
And trust me, they’ve had plenty to say.
I’ve been through some tremendously difficult things in my life, but I’ve never let any of it make me cruel. If anything, it’s made me pay closer attention to people, and how they may be feeling. And the truth is, people who try to cut others down are almost always dealing with their own sense of smallness. You can sense it — it’s like they’re speaking from the basement of their self-worth. So when someone underestimates me, I don’t take it personally. I just recognize where they’re operating from and keep going. And honestly, they’re always welcome to come up from the basement and enjoy the party.
Persistence for me isn’t dramatic. It’s not some triumphant movie montage. It’s just the daily choice to keep going so I don’t let down the younger version of me who wanted a life she couldn’t even picture yet. It’s remembering what my family survived so I could even have options. It’s knowing that stopping would mean handing my story over to someone else… and I refuse to ever do that. No critic can outdo your own authorship of your story, no matter how loud they are.
I persist because it’s the only way I get to keep building the life I’ve always imagined. Boldly. Intentionally. And on my own terms.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’ve been a lion tamer (really), fashion model, mental health specialist, and was a funeral director on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. But currently? I’m an actress with upcoming streaming credits on Cineverse/Screambox (home of Terrifier) and Netflix, represented by Baron Entertainment and Golden Artists Entertainment.
It still feels surreal when I look at my career through the eyes of the shy little girl I used to be; she’d be shocked and thrilled by the experiences I’ve had and the people I’ve been lucky enough to share them with, in both big moments and those as small as a speck on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
This year brought some exciting visibility — a national mobile carrier commercial, a OneRepublic music video, a collaboration with the Playboy Shop, and a red carpet appearance as a special guest for the Maxim Hot 100. But the most meaningful part of my year was finding my voice as a writer. My feature Somebody’s Baby won a Special Jury Award at LAFA, became a finalist at Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival and LA Crime & Horror, and was also recognized by Synergy and HorrOrigins, earning it a spot on HorrorFam News’ radar.
That momentum opened the door to developing a new episodic project that feels like the clearest expression of my creative instincts so far.
And in a full-circle way, it brought me back to the very first recognition I ever received: a scholarship AIDS-awareness essay I wrote as a kid — an award that still feels as meaningful to me as anything I’ve accomplished since, because it was the first time I realized my words had weight.
Somebody’s Baby logline:
A closeted teen beauty queen and her punk best friend are pursued across 1987 New England by a traumatized trucker who believes they’ve kidnapped a baby. They haven’t.
Outside my screen work, I’m a longtime volunteer with the Polly Klaas Foundation, a cause that keeps my feet on the ground heart in the right place. On and off screen, I want to use this one life to live an million others — and hopefully inspire at least one.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Courage (and the willingness to be a little “cringe”)
The courage to believe in yourself is really just the courage to give yourself permission to be “cringe.” There is no elegant elevator to the top. It is a long, embarrassing, occasionally humiliating climb. You will slip. People will make comments. Some will actively root against you. Keep climbing anyway. The good people,
— the ones who get it and lift others up— are not at the bottom. Trust me.
They are much higher on the mountain, and they will find you once you get there. The faster you accept that discomfort is part of the deal, the faster you grow and stop feeling so comfortable on the ground.
2. Curiosity
Curiosity is the thing that has carried me through every version of my life. It is literally what led humans to create fire. It lights up the darkness in our world. When you stay curious, things stop shrinking and start expanding. You stop chasing perfection and start chasing discovery. And honestly, if we were all a little more curious about each other, we would be a lot kinder and the world would make more sense. My advice is to follow every spark, even the small ones. Curiosity will take you places ambition alone never could.
3. Adaptability (with a sense of humor)
Adaptability has been my secret superpower. Nothing about my life or career has been linear, and being able to pivot with a little grace and a little humor has saved me every time. You do not need a flawless plan. You only need to be flexible, to move when things move, and to keep your heart open while everything shifts around you. My advice is to treat the plot twists as part of the story, not as evidence that you are off-track. The more adaptable you are, the more you can bend with the twists in the road— and there will always be plenty.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
I love this one! The book that has shaped me the most is Stephen King’s “On Writing”. Perhaps one would assume it’s a simple, droning English lesson — but it is not. You’ll learn to write, yes. But it is also a memoir about surviving your own life and still showing up to make something honest out of it.
The part that struck me most is King’s insistence that writing ability is not an esoteric, mystic gift that you have or don’t. It is not a bolt of lightning you capture or miss. It is a toolbox you build over time. If you want better work, you sharpen your tools. You read constantly. You observe relentlessly. You practice until your instincts become muscle memory. That idea changed the way I approached every creative part of my life.
His thoughts on fear were even more important. King is blunt: fear destroys good writing. It makes your world smaller, your sentences safer, your truth thinner. That hit me hard because it applies far beyond writing. Fear is the one thing that will keep you from becoming the person you know you could be. Once I understood that, my work — and honestly, my life — opened up.
On Writing didn’t just teach me how to tell a story. It taught me how to recognize my own voice, trust it, and keep showing up for it even on the days when I feel like an imposter. It made me braver, sharper, and strangely enough, kinder to myself.
Life is weird. While we’re always the main character, there are times you have to surrender authorship to life. Your story can be inspirational, or painful, or thrilling, or tragic. But, many times you’ll be given the chance to choose your own adventure.
I suggest you always take it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alliemarkova.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/alliemarkova
- Other: https://www.playboy.com/app/alliemarkova, https://www.goldenartistsentertainment.com/management-talent.html, https://baronentertainment.com/
Image Credits
Bridal photo by Intentional Creatives Co
