Meet Meghan Gratzer

We were lucky to catch up with Meghan Gratzer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Meghan, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Although I’ve been lucky enough to have a wonderful upbringing, a lot of my life shifted in my 20’s and I’ve been through quite a lot for a 31 year old. Growing up loving musical theater, performing has always been my greatest passion. When I decided I wanted to pursue it professionally, I had no idea how difficult it would be to constantly experience the rejection and “almost” opportunities. You’re in this constant balancing act of working so hard to book the job and not wanting to get your hopes up. Those magical times you get the “yes” is a feeling I can’t describe. This career has given me the opportunity to travel the world, to get paid to do what I love, to meet the most incredible people (including my husband!), and perform in incredible shows, but a lot of people don’t see the resilience it actually takes to pursue a career like this. It can be really challenging to pick yourself up and when things aren’t going the way you had hoped. I’d like to think this career was what prepared me for the experience that required more resilience than I could have ever imagined – my breast cancer battle.

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?

I am a professional singer and actress in the musical theater industry. I’ve spent the last 9 years working professionally in shows such as Jersey Boys, Big Fish, Hairspray, Grease and The Wizard of Oz. I’m currently on the Norwegian Bliss performing as Mary Delgado in Jersey Boys (come cruise in Alaska!). I absolutely love what I do for a living. It can be really challenging but it has brought me to the most incredible places and has led me to the most incredible people. I met my husband 8 years ago while performing in the musical Grease and after years of long distance, he’s moved from the UK and is now living in NY! I also have a huge passion for social media and content creation, so I have spent that last few years working with a few businesses running their socials and have absolutely loved getting to explore another passion that I can do virtually while I’m away on contracts. Since my breast cancer battle in 2021, I have made it my mission to raise awareness for Breast Cancer in young women and have publicly shared my entire journey on my social media platforms. It has connected me with so many incredible women the last four years. It has been such a rewarding experience reading people’s messages, especially the ones that have said that my journey made them go get checked, has led to their own diagnosis, or has given them comfort throughout their own battle to see what a wonderful place I am in now. I still can’t believe my own sharing has led to saved lives. It’s unbelievable!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

No one prepares you for cancer, especially at 26. I was home for an extended period of time because of the covid lockdown. My industry was shut down, along with many others, so I decided to get all of my important doctor’s appointments scheduled. I never felt a lump. I didn’t see any signs. Going from one day feeling completely healthy and “normal” to the next being told I had breast cancer, it was a huge shock to the system. I think when you’re in it, you naturally just push ahead to get through it, but that’s only because there’s really no other option. You either do it or what? There’s a lot to come to terms with, though, and I think the resilience and positivity I’ve acquired over the years from working in this industry helped me a lot throughout my battle. There were so many emotional, ugly moments that no 26 year old should have to experience. I didn’t recognize myself physically and there were so many things I had to come to terms with so quickly. While all of those things were extremely intense, I never let myself sit in it for too long. I really couldn’t in an experience like that. I had to pick myself up and keep pushing ahead just to get to the next thing. My biggest piece of advice to anyone going through something similar is to advocate for yourself. Let your family and friends be there for you. Accept the help and support! It can feel really lonely going through this, especially in your 20’s and sometimes, no matter the amount of support you get, you can feel like no one truly understands exactly what you’re going through. It’s okay to feel mixed emotions but never let yourself go through it by yourself. This community is so amazing, too. I’ve had such incredible support from other women and I take such pride in being that for others. I am just a message away and always try to respond to my fellow cancer girls because I’ve been there. No one should have to go through this alone!

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am so incredibly passionate about sharing products and brands that have helped me in my “post-cancer” era to feel beautiful, healthy and strong. I love trying new products that aim to make women feel their absolute best. Any brands that share a similar goal, whether it’s specific to breast cancer survivors or just women in general, I am always open for collaborations. If ever interested, you can message me on Instagram @meghangratzer.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @meghangratzer
• Other: TikTok: @meghangratzer

Image Credits

Yellow Belly Photo
Lindsey T Photography