We recently connected with Nikki-Sara Mitchell and have shared our conversation below.
Nikki-Sara, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I had developed a full blown earring disorder by the time I was 11. Much much later diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. For 33 years I struggled with this but never associated that it was a problem. I wanted that control. As a child growing up in England I did have a few good friends but I was bullied being called Chinese eyes a lot and I didn’t understand why. In the meantime I developed a love for acting. I could be someone different. I have a great down to earth family that live in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham England. My parents divorced and my Dad now lives in Finland. It’s funny because his twin sister my Aunty lives in Spain. Her daughter, my cousin lives in New Zealand and I am here in Torrance California. My grandparents were great travelers around the world bringing me a doll dressed in the national dress from each country they went too. We all seem to have got that travel gene!
When I was 15 I was hit by a car. I don’t remember that accident still. I was in a coma for 5 days with a 50/50 chance of living and if I lived I had a 50/50 chance of brain damage. It was my exam year at school I had a lot of work to do. I couldn’t be by a strobe incase it triggered fits as I had suffered a head injury.
My dream was always to live in America especially California to pursue my acting. I was able to go to New York at the age of 19 to be a live in Nanny with EF Au Pair to the Manuella family. I had been a babysitter since I was 11 so really enjoyed looking after children especially babies hoping to be a Mom myself one day. I always wanted a home with kids and pets. I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts on the weekends of being a nanny for the Manuella family, performing on the same stage as Robert Redford, Grace Kelly and many others. Before my year was over as a nanny I auditioned for the full time course and transferred to the California campus. I went back to England and hit the resource section of Chelmsley Wood library, as we didn’t really have internet end emails then….i feel old now! I hand wrote letters to every company I could find the address for. Even companies on the British Isles. No one safe! Kingspark Developments got back to me. They were eventually brought out by Prologis, but they sponsored me £10,000 to come back to America and study acting! I knew after my car accident I almost never got the chance to pursue my dream so I was more determined than ever to make my dream happen.
It wasn’t until August of 2023 I finally got my permanent green card after spending a very long 6 months away from my hubby Mitch and our animal family. I was surrounded by all of my tiggers that started my eating disorder in the first place and with the length of time it took and just not knowing what was going on I felt at that time I had to limit what I would eat because I was so not in control of my life. I have a great therapist, Julie and with her and support of family and friends I can get my thoughts right again regarding how I look.
During this time I have been part of many acting groups and independent and short movies. I even got to be in a movie on Amazon called Sophia where I play Aphrodite in a long blonde wig and with the very talented Lillian Hurst from Puerto Rico! I have that poster up on my wall so I can remember I got to do something in this crazy Hollywood world. I met many people but they weren’t good situations and luckily I was able to never be part of the ‘casting couch’! I just never met the right person and along with my status I was struggling with. My hubby Mitch is English too. He’s not a citizen yet so the journey took a bit longer. Ted Lieu our congressman actually helped me. Ive never met him and I can’t thank him and his assistant Alma who was emailing me being assigned to my case. I hope they read this. Because his office is a federal entity they could get involved because it had taken too long. Within hours of them getting in touch with the American embassy in London my application finally started moving. The following week I was in London picking up my immigrant visa and the very next week I was back home. It was so great to see my family there, meet my new niece Olivia who I just absolutely adore. She might be the closest thing to having my own child I don’t know yet, but I so love being her Aunty. I’m so proud she’s part of us. Thank you Lee for giving me that precious gift of Auntyship! I got to have good quality time with my Mom and brother, step Dad and other family menebers that was so needed with how long I had been away, and get to meet with just a few of my real friends.
I also discovered art during this time here in the States. My Grandad, my Moms Dad was an amazing artist and people in the family used to say when I was younger that they wondered who would get his artistic genes. I always wanted it to be me but I didn’t have the confidence. I had started face painting in my 30’s and became the face painter for The Cottone pumpkin patch in Torrance. I kinda learnt on the job. I really feel I was so bad at the beginning. I loved the kids and with my nanny background was somehow able to pull off a good experience for them, using my British humor and making the parents laugh. I’ll ever be thankful to Bob and Joanne Cottone for giving me that chance. They later retired and Guy Taghavi with Taghavi Farms took over and they kept me as their face painter. When covid began I started to paint on canvas which was something I always wanted to do but thought I couldn’t. Somehow I ended up painting pet portraits. It’s amazing how God can just put you on a different path. I still can’t believe there are people that have MY work on their walls. It such an amazing feeling.
I recently just had my dna tested with ancestry and 23 and me. Wow! I found a very little Asian connection which now puts all these tears I had as a kid to one side. I’m now doing my best to learn Korean! How did these kids at school see something in my eyes that my immediate family had no idea about?
I also found something very comforting putting my family tree together. Now in my late 40’s I still don’t have the children I always dreamed about. However what I learnt gave me so much comfort. Most women in my direct bloodline….and my tree lines go back MANY MANY years, had children in their mid to late 40’s! Just learning that has given me so much Hope. I Still want to be a Mom. When I shut my front door I get to be Mommy to my furry babies and I take this job very seriously. I know God can do anything and I’m just not giving up yet.
I still love art and painting faces. I still love acting and would totally jump on any chance to be part of that world again. I have been on a stage since I was 5 years old, I navigated the safe paths in this world (because it can be very seedy) but never met the right person or walked through the right door. I got stuck so long waiting to do my status the right way I feel like I lost so much time. Since having my permanent green card I have passed my life license exam for life insurance. Now I’m working on other exams to give me more licenses. I really pray I can be successful in insurance so I can make the money to live here and to be able to retire my hubby….and even make enough money to pursue my dream of being a Mommy before it really is too late. I do know I love America. I always have. I tell people “I’m so happy I’m officially one of you guys now. I will die here” with a big smile on my face. I love where I live. I love my neighbors. The only thing that would make it better would to bring my ever decreasing family over here too. Then I’d have the best of both worlds. I love with my heart wide open. Even though it’s later in life now, thankfully people tell me they don’t believe my age, I still pray the best is yet to come……Security and human babies!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
So I obviously misunderstood and wrote my whole story on the previous page!
I had developed a full blown earring disorder by the time I was 11. Much much later diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. For 33 years I struggled with this but never associated that it was a problem. I wanted that control. As a child growing up in England I did have a few good friends but I was bullied being called Chinese eyes a lot and I didn’t understand why. In the meantime I developed a love for acting. I could be someone different. I have a great down to earth family that live in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham England. My parents divorced and my Dad now lives in Finland. It’s funny because his twin sister my Aunty lives in Spain. Her daughter, my cousin lives in New Zealand and I am here in Torrance California. My grandparents were great travelers around the world bringing me a doll dressed in the national dress from each country they went too. We all seem to have got that travel gene!
When I was 15 I was hit by a car. I don’t remember that accident still. I was in a coma for 5 days with a 50/50 chance of living and if I lived I had a 50/50 chance of brain damage. It was my exam year at school I had a lot of work to do. I couldn’t be by a strobe incase it triggered fits as I had suffered a head injury.
My dream was always to live in America especially California to pursue my acting. I was able to go to New York at the age of 19 to be a live in Nanny with EF Au Pair to the Manuella family. I had been a babysitter since I was 11 so really enjoyed looking after children especially babies hoping to be a Mom myself one day. I always wanted a home with kids and pets. I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts on the weekends of being a nanny for the Manuella family, performing on the same stage as Robert Redford, Grace Kelly and many others. Before my year was over as a nanny I auditioned for the full time course and transferred to the California campus. I went back to England and hit the resource section of Chelmsley Wood library, as we didn’t really have internet end emails then….i feel old now! I hand wrote letters to every company I could find the address for. Even companies on the British Isles. No one safe! Kingspark Developments got back to me. They were eventually brought out by Prologis, but they sponsored me £10,000 to come back to America and study acting! I knew after my car accident I almost never got the chance to pursue my dream so I was more determined than ever to make my dream happen.
It wasn’t until August of 2023 I finally got my permanent green card after spending a very long 6 months away from my hubby Mitch and our animal family. I was surrounded by all of my tiggers that started my eating disorder in the first place and with the length of time it took and just not knowing what was going on I felt at that time I had to limit what I would eat because I was so not in control of my life. I have a great therapist, Julie and with her and support of family and friends I can get my thoughts right again regarding how I look.
During this time I have been part of many acting groups and independent and short movies. I even got to be in a movie on Amazon called Sophia where I play Aphrodite in a long blonde wig and with the very talented Lillian Hurst from Puerto Rico! I have that poster up on my wall so I can remember I got to do something in this crazy Hollywood world. I met many people but they weren’t good situations and luckily I was able to never be part of the ‘casting couch’! I just never met the right person and along with my status I was struggling with. My hubby Mitch is English too. He’s not a citizen yet so the journey took a bit longer. Ted Lieu our congressman actually helped me. Ive never met him and I can’t thank him and his assistant Alma who was emailing me being assigned to my case. I hope they read this. Because his office is a federal entity they could get involved because it had taken too long. Within hours of them getting in touch with the American embassy in London my application finally started moving. The following week I was in London picking up my immigrant visa and the very next week I was back home. It was so great to see my family there, meet my new niece Olivia who I just absolutely adore. She might be the closest thing to having my own child I don’t know yet, but I so love being her Aunty. I’m so proud she’s part of us. Thank you Lee for giving me that precious gift of Auntyship! I got to have good quality time with my Mom and brother, step Dad and other family menebers that was so needed with how long I had been away, and get to meet with just a few of my real friends.
I also discovered art during this time here in the States. My Grandad, my Moms Dad was an amazing artist and people in the family used to say when I was younger that they wondered who would get his artistic genes. I always wanted it to be me but I didn’t have the confidence. I had started face painting in my 30’s and became the face painter for The Cottone pumpkin patch in Torrance. I kinda learnt on the job. I really feel I was so bad at the beginning. I loved the kids and with my nanny background was somehow able to pull off a good experience for them, using my British humor and making the parents laugh. I’ll ever be thankful to Bob and Joanne Cottone for giving me that chance. They later retired and Guy Taghavi with Taghavi Farms took over and they kept me as their face painter. When covid began I started to paint on canvas which was something I always wanted to do but thought I couldn’t. Somehow I ended up painting pet portraits. It’s amazing how God can just put you on a different path. I still can’t believe there are people that have MY work on their walls. It such an amazing feeling.
I recently just had my dna tested with ancestry and 23 and me. Wow! I found a very little Asian connection which now puts all these tears I had as a kid to one side. I’m now doing my best to learn Korean! How did these kids at school see something in my eyes that my immediate family had no idea about?
I also found something very comforting putting my family tree together. Now in my late 40’s I still don’t have the children I always dreamed about. However what I learnt gave me so much comfort. Most women in my direct bloodline….and my tree lines go back MANY MANY years, had children in their mid to late 40’s! Just learning that has given me so much Hope. I Still want to be a Mom. When I shut my front door I get to be Mommy to my furry babies and I take this job very seriously. I know God can do anything and I’m just not giving up yet.
I still love art and painting faces. I still love acting and would totally jump on any chance to be part of that world again. I have been on a stage since I was 5 years old, I navigated the safe paths in this world (because it can be very seedy) but never met the right person or walked through the right door. I got stuck so long waiting to do my status the right way I feel like I lost so much time. Since having my permanent green card I have passed my life license exam for life insurance. Now I’m working on other exams to give me more licenses. I really pray I can be successful in insurance so I can make the money to live here and to be able to retire my hubby….and even make enough money to pursue my dream of being a Mommy before it really is too late. I do know I love America. I always have. I tell people “I’m so happy I’m officially one of you guys now. I will die here” with a big smile on my face. I love where I live. I love my neighbors. The only thing that would make it better would to bring my ever decreasing family over here too. Then I’d have the best of both worlds. I love with my heart wide open. Even though it’s later in life now, thankfully people tell me they don’t believe my age, I still pray the best is yet to come……Security and human babies!
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?
Never give up. Finally I got my green card after all these years….and I won’t give up on being a Mommy yet….take new challenges…going from art and acting to insurance is so not like me but I enjoy it and looking forward to opening up more opportunities and doors for myself.
Always be helpful and a good friend and neighbor. My friends know I’ll do anything for them. Maybe my life didn’t go exactly how I pictured all these years…,but I’ve learnt it’s definitely more about the journey than the destination
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
The fact I’m now a permanent resident. In 2 years I will get my citizenship. It’s hard to be here and be limited. Now I feel like I can finally start my life. I’ve realized there’s more I can do than what I thought I could do. Learning to accept myself the way I am with my eating disorder past, and learning new things I never thought I would later in life. I’ve really tried to focus on the fact that my glass is half full not half empty. I like that new outlook a lot.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @creationsbynikkisara
- Facebook: Facial Creations by Nikki-Sara
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