Ashley D. Merritt

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Birthday:

20 April 1990, Dallas, Texas, USA

Height:

163 cm

Ashley was born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Starting from when she was six years old, Ashley has always enjoyed performance-related activities including dancing, figure skating, participating in beauty pageants, and playing the violin. With a strong passion for performing, as a child Ashley always found joy in choreographing dances and putting on reenactments of Mad TV sketches at sleepovers. She started acting professionally when she was ten years old in local television commercials and industrials in Oklahoma City.Ashley played violin in the school orchestra from elementary school through high school from ages 8 to 17. Academically, she was a strong student with her favorite subject being history. She loved learning about the origins of humanity and about ancient civilizations. She retired her Olympic-bound figure skating career pursuit just before entering high school, as the schedule was much too rigorous to allow for her other interests. Most of her focus was on the orchestra at school and she received superior ratings at state orchestra competitions. She also danced and participated in pageants outside of school. Ashley was the Junior Representative for the National Honor Society chapter of her high school. She was also in French Club and still speaks some French.Ashley attended her first three years of college at Oklahoma University and completed her last two years at the University of Texas at Dallas. She initially went to OU to study Petroleum Geology on scholarship, but eventually moved back to Texas and changed her major to Art and Performance with a focus in dance, communication and film, graduating with a Bachelor's in Art and Performance in 2014. Ashley was a featured dancer and Public Relations chair for UT-Dallas dance ensemble and was also selected to attend the prestigious American College Dance Festival both years.Ashley moved to Los Angeles in the spring of 2015. Shortly thereafter, she booked a lead role - a pilot sizzle reel for Blake's World. She considers working on the set of Dirty Grandpa with Zac Efron and Robert De Niro a career highlight, and found working with director Dan Mazer incredibly inspiring. Ashley was nominated for "Best Promising Actress in a Film" by the Nollywood and African Film Critics' Awards at the African Oscars in 2014. She continues to book exciting projects to build her career as an actor in Hollywood. Show less «

I struggled with depression and anxiety in my adolescence and earlier 20s and I dream of finding a way that I can help crush the social stig...Show more »

I struggled with depression and anxiety in my adolescence and earlier 20s and I dream of finding a way that I can help crush the social stigma and taboos of mental health. Show less «

I don't remember wanting to have a career other than acting. Even when I wanted to be an archaeologist like Indiana Jones, I always said I w...Show more »

I don't remember wanting to have a career other than acting. Even when I wanted to be an archaeologist like Indiana Jones, I always said I wanted to be an archaeologist/actress. Show less «

The best day of my teenage life was in 2005 when I earned my SAG eligibility while being featured in a scene with Orlando Bloom in "Elizabet...Show more »

The best day of my teenage life was in 2005 when I earned my SAG eligibility while being featured in a scene with Orlando Bloom in "Elizabethtown." At that point, I began my campaign for the family to move to California. Show less «

In high school, I felt outcast being brown (not exactly "black", definitely not white) in a very predominately white community. I generally ...Show more »

In high school, I felt outcast being brown (not exactly "black", definitely not white) in a very predominately white community. I generally felt accepted, but not always included in some circles. Most of my closest friends were different shades of brown; Middle Eastern, Hispanic, Indian, which made for a very diverse experience and I loved it. My personality and my creative spirit didn't fit in sometimes with the traditional type community either. Show less «

My definition of happiness is being comfortable in one's own skin. Everything else seems to follow suit once you conquer that voice in your ...Show more »

My definition of happiness is being comfortable in one's own skin. Everything else seems to follow suit once you conquer that voice in your head constantly reminding you of your downfalls. Show less «

I like learning on my own terms. Independent study is my forte. I spent a lot of summer days at Borders bookstore reading through my summer ...Show more »

I like learning on my own terms. Independent study is my forte. I spent a lot of summer days at Borders bookstore reading through my summer book list in school. Show less «

I've never known a stronger image of sacrifice and loyalty than my mother.

There's no such thing as perfect in regards to growing up. My family and I had struggles and ups and downs but in the end, mom, dad and I al...Show more »

There's no such thing as perfect in regards to growing up. My family and I had struggles and ups and downs but in the end, mom, dad and I always made it work and stuck together to chase the dream. Show less «

I feel so lucky to live in an age where it's becoming more generally acceptable to wear what you want, talk how you feel, have any career an...Show more »

I feel so lucky to live in an age where it's becoming more generally acceptable to wear what you want, talk how you feel, have any career and adopt any masculine or feminine trait you want. There's still a long way to go, but American freedom and liberty is expanding in an exciting new direction. Show less «

I always like entertaining people and making them laugh. I love watching people laugh and have a good time.