Meet Megan Ford-Miller

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Megan Ford-Miller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Megan, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

I was a theater kid long before I understood why creativity felt like home. I attended a performing arts school, modeled, and booked my first network acting job in the sixth grade. But while performing came naturally, school did not. I struggled in academia for reasons no one could name at the time. Only decades later did I learn I had ADHD — a diagnosis that suddenly reframed my entire childhood.

Back then, I internalized the struggle as a lack of ability, not realizing my brain simply worked differently. Because of that, creativity became more than an outlet — it was the one place where my mind wasn’t “wrong.” It was the space where I could shine.
As life unfolded, creativity kept finding me even when circumstances changed. After I married, when my children were young, we were living in Texas, and I chose to homeschool. The environment felt too harsh for sensitive kids like mine, and my instinct was to protect them. Yet in the midst of this, I realized I needed something for myself — something expressive, something grounding.

That’s when I discovered mneme therapy, an art-based therapeutic practice that blended creativity with healing. I loved helping others reconnect to their artistic selves, especially because I knew what it felt like to lose connection to your own. I trained with the founder of this practice. Once I was certified, I found work in a private school for children with disabilities, and also with the foster care system. Being around and learning from these kids changed my life for the better.

Then my son found acting. His passion was unmistakable, and with my creative background, supporting him felt natural. We committed fully. One year, we drove between Texas and Los Angeles twenty-four times so he could train and work. Eventually, the round trips faded away, and Los Angeles became home.

But in the process of championing his dreams, I realized I was slipping into the background of my own story. It was my passion supporting him, yet I needed a creative life of my own. So I began producing indie projects both film and theater, doing production design, and immersing myself in the acting world right alongside him. I sat in classes on commercial acting, micro-expressionism, and on-camera technique — absorbing everything, almost like my ADHD finally had the right kind of fuel.

When the pandemic hit and the industry froze, the stillness was shocking. But out of it came an unexpected opportunity. I had built a long-standing relationship with Deborah Lemen, my son’s longtime acting coach. During COVID, she invited me to begin helping teach at her studio. Teaching rekindled something in me — a reminder that creativity doesn’t disappear, it just waits for a doorway.

Still, teaching alone wasn’t enough to survive in Los Angeles during a shutdown. After taking on a few COVID compliance jobs, I eventually entered behavioral health and trained as a Registered Behavior Therapist. The field was highly technical — almost the opposite of everything that came naturally to me — but I adapted. My ADHD brain learned new structures, and my creative instincts helped me connect authentically with kids on the spectrum. Four years later, I’m still doing that work, balancing it with teaching acting.

And through all of it, I kept creating.
I wrote a book.
I wrote a play and produced it in the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2023 for a month-long run.
I painted.
I made jewelry.
I rediscovered over and over that creativity is less a choice and more a truth of who I am.

I’ve learned that when life is overwhelming, creativity becomes a lifeline — a way to return to myself when my mind feels scattered or overstimulated. Even making something small, like a quick painting or a handmade gift, can shift my entire emotional landscape. And when that doesn’t work, I know it’s time to rest, because sometimes the most creative act is honoring what my body needs.

Creativity has been the way I’ve made sense of the world long before I understood my own wiring.

Creativity has been the throughline of every chapter of my life — a steady pulse beneath the chaos, the joy, the reinvention. It has carried me through moves, motherhood, career shifts, pandemics, and the countless times life has demanded I start over.

Wherever I go next, I know creativity will meet me there.
It always has.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Today, I am a blend of every chapter I’ve lived — an acting teacher, a Therapist, an artist, a mother, and a lifelong creative who has learned to thrive against the odds. I move through the world with a deep belief in resilience, reinvention, and the healing power of art. What I want people to know about me is that my creativity isn’t a hobby or a side note — it’s the compass that guides me. I approach every role in my life with curiosity, empathy, and a genuine desire to help others discover their own creative voice. I am still evolving, still learning, and still driven by the same spark that lit up in me as a child. I am starting a new acting class at Deborah Lemen Acting Studio for new and emerging readers called Little Readers, Big Roles, starting in early 2026.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Resilience carried me through every chapter — from navigating the unpredictable world of acting, to uprooting my life for my son’s career, to finding entirely new paths when the pandemic shut everything down. Resilience taught me that creativity isn’t always glamorous; sometimes it’s simply the act of trying again, or making something small when the big things feel out of reach.

Reinvention became my survival skill. Life asked me many times to shift — to move states, to change roles, to adapt to new careers, to create in new ways. Reinvention taught me that creativity is not one identity; it’s a living, breathing part of who I am. It can show up as teaching acting, or writing a play, or helping a child communicate, or making something beautiful on a quiet afternoon.

My advice for people early in their journey:
Nurture your resilience by allowing yourself to fail forward. Not every project will unfold the way you imagine, but each one teaches you something essential.

Feed your curiosity relentlessly. Explore new things and don’t be afraid to be a beginner — beginners have the most room to discover.

And don’t cling too tightly to a single version of yourself. They may not all be amazing, but they are you.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did for me was nurture the creative spark they saw in me. My mom is a painter, so she deeply understood how essential creativity is to a child’s sense of self. Even though my parents didn’t have the resources to support a full acting career the way I later did for my son, they gave me everything they could. They enrolled me in performing arts programs and encouraged my modeling and early acting opportunities. Some of my happiest memories come from the moments my parents made possible, and their belief in my creativity became the foundation for everything I’ve created since.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganfordmiller/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-ford-miller-73257349