Masiela Lusha Biography / Pictures

Masiela Lusha (born October 23, 1985) is an American author, actress and humanitarian.

Biography

Born in Tirana, Albania, Masiela spent her childhood chiefly in Albania, Hungary and Austria. Masiela Lusha studied ballet in Vienna, and then moved to Michigan in 1993, where she continued to train in various forms of dance. After starring in local productions and television commercials in her childhood, Masiela and her family moved to Los Angeles at the suggestion of a Hollywood talent agent. Masiela rose to fame when she portrayed the passionate and rebellious character, Carmen Lopez, on the globally syndicated Warner Brothers series, George Lopez. Throughout its five season run on the ABC network, Masiela filmed a total of 101 episodes. This established her a TV veteran by the age of 20. Masiela subsequently ventured into feature films, with many movies to her credit which include Muertas, Katie Malone, Ballad of Broken Angels, Summoning, A Father's Love, Time of the Comet, and Sony Pictures Entertainment live adaptation, Blood: The Last Vampire. In recognition of her work, Masiela has been awarded two consecutive Young Artist Awards for Leading Young Actress in a Comedy and Drama. In 2007, Masiela founded her production company, Illuminary Pictures, and has since produced two films with the company. Throughout her career, Masiela has been placed on numerous 'best dressed' lists.

As an award winning poet, Masiela is also considered to be the youngest author in the world to publish a book in two languages. Masiela Lusha is also recognized as one of the Top Ten Talented Poets of North America for her published work and received the recognition of former US President Bill Clinton, who encouraged her to stand as an example for future generations. Masiela has since written a total of seven books, including four books of poetry, Inner Thoughts, Drinking the Moon, Amore Celeste, The Call, a novel The Besa, and two children's books, Boopity Boop! Goes To Hawaii, and Boopity Boop! Writes Her First Poem, which was released in 2010. Masiela wrote Boopity Boop! Writes Her First Poem in Albanian, German, and English, which also gave her the recognition of being the youngest author to write a book in three languages. Masiela has also translated into English several poems and prayers by Mother Theresa.

Lusha's personal experiences in various countries inspires her passion for humanitarian work. Masiela spends her weekends at a local soup kitchen and serves meals to the homeless. As the spokesperson for Scholastic's Read For Life, Masiela visits schools across America and reads to children for the purpose of promoting an appreciation for books. As the national spokesperson for ABC's hunger-relief program, The Great American Bake Sale, Masiela visits local towns throughout the United States and supports food drives in over 15 states to help battle childhood hunger. For her role as a spokesperson, Masiela also actively promotes the importance of raising funds to help local communities. As a goodwill ambassador, Masiela devotes her time and resources to causes that promote children's wellbeing and education around the world. In 2008, Masiela founded the nonprofit, Children of the World Foundation, which shelters, educates and the promotes healthy communication between family members. Masiela Lusha donated 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land so the charity could build its first community center in Southern California.