Got a Girl Crush x Dynamic Girls: Vivian Nweze
Dynamic Girls is a non profit youth development program, focused on connecting girls from socioeconomically underserved communities with brands and leaders in the creative industries. Dynamic Girls offers opportunities through mentorship, classroom learning, job placement and college admissions services.
Learn more about Dynamic Girls’ programs, opportunities for mentorship and partnership, and other ways to get involved at www.dynamicgirls.org
In Spring 2020 Got a Girl Crush partnered with Dynamic Girls and New Village Girls Academy on a student-driven publishing class led by Got a Girl Crush’s Editor-in-Chief and Dynamic Girls’ Program Director, Meg Wachter. Below we present an interview conducted by a participating New Village Girls Academy student.
Interview by Brennyn Palmer
February 5, 2020
I wanted to interview Vivian Nweze [Actress & On-Camera Personality at Buzzfeed] because she’s really cool and she’s actually my mentor. We met last year when she came to talk at my school about her job and why it’s important to pursue your passions in life. I liked how passionate she is about the different careers she’s pursued so far. I asked her if she was open to being my mentor and she agreed. She inspires me because she's so young and has accomplished so much and never once has she compromised what she wanted to do. And I just wanted to get to know her a little bit better.
Brennyn Palmer: Hello, Vivian.
Vivian Nweze: Hi, BB
Brennyn: How are you; how have you been?
Vivian: Good you know, I’m here. The last 24 hours have been a mission but I’m present.
Brennyn: How was your event last night?
Vivian: So, I was at the Marriage Boot Camp Hip Hop Edition… They had a premiere party, and I’m an influencer for WE TV which is the channel that it airs on, so I was invited to the party. I was told to hang out and post about it, it was fun. It was really fun, “Hip Hop Edition” generally sounds a little bit more “hood” and “ratchet” but it wasn’t hood and ratchet except for the fact that Joycoline … was there. It was a good time, I got to see a lot of my friends,who are also entertainment journalists, publicists, like they are in the industry so it looked like we were all having fun on social media but technically we were all working. But it was a really good time, I had fun.
Brennyn: How has the new year been treating you?
Vivian: The new year has been surprising, it's been surprising. I think that 2020 is going to be an amazing year for me and I just have to prepare for what happens. Things are happening very quickly, and it’s exciting, but excitement makes me nervous. So I’m saying that it’s interesting.
Brennyn: That’s good! That’s a very good look on things. I can go ask somebody right now and they’ll say that it's been terrible. But not because of things that’s happened to them, just things that are happening in the media.
Vivian: Yeah.
Brennyn: Or they’ll say it's been great! For whatever reason, without a decent explanation you know? So with that, I wanted to ask if you ever set New Year's resolutions or have any traditions that start off your new year?
Vivian: Yeah so, I feel like, New Year’s Eve is actually my favorite holiday because my favorite word is “new.” I think New Year’s Eve is one of the only holidays in the world where everybody in the world is celebrating. It’s a holiday that’s not about religion, it's not about race, it's not about culture, it's about the world starting anew. And that’s why I love it so much. I always make sure that I’m out with my friends or out with my family. I have to do something New Year’s Eve, to welcome in the year. I don't have resolutions because I feel like resolutions get broken very easily, which with the word “resolutions' they shouldn’t be, but New Year's resolutions don't seem to last. What I do is set my goals for the year. So I think about it that way. I make a checklist of things that I want to cross off before the end of the year. I also look back at lists from the last two years. I have lists going back to the last five years. There are some things that were on my list from five years ago that I haven’t checked off yet, so I move that on to my current list if it’s still important to me. I check my list every couple months to make sure that I’m on track or if any goals have changed but I’d rather do goals than resolutions.
Brennyn: Right, that makes sense. When I talk about New Year's resolutions people tell me, “I don't believe in resolutions'. To me it's the same thing as a goal or a baby step in a different direction and they would disagree, so I could see why you would prefer goals.
Vivian: I mean if you want to call them resolutions they are your resolutions and you are actually going to make them happen. A lot of people give up and make it a thing.
Brennyn: So, I know you work with all kinds of people: celebrities, other journalists, just a whole bunch of different people and I wanted to know one good thing, and one bad thing from when it comes to working with people all the time? I know you graduated from Howard with a degree in Radio/TV and Film, so obviously this is what you wanted to do, but everyone has pros and cons to their work.
Vivian: I’ll say the bad part first.
Brennyn: Okay.
Vivian: I am a social introvert. I’m outgoing, I’m friendly but I like alone time so I have a lot of energy to give but eventually my energy starts to die. So, for me, all my interactions have to be genuine because I can't fake enthusiasm; I can’t fake certain reactions. One: it doesn’t make people, my interactions with people, or my interviews with people really engaging because it's fake. Also the fake-ness makes me deplete sooner. If I’m genuinely happy, genuinely engaged, that keeps my battery running longer but it's still going to die. I think another thing too is that sometimes when you are in the industry or you’re in entertainment or on camera, you feel like you always have to perform. You always have to be online and you always have to be social [media], which is tiring and draining and unhealthy so I’ve been learning to make myself take breaks. So I might be off instagram or off the Internet for like a whole week as far as engaging people; I don't need to perform everything that I do. I don't need to perform pouring a bowl of cereal. It’s a bowl of cereal, milk goes in it, cereal goes in it what is there to show? I try to reserve certain private moments for myself. One of the amazing things about interacting with a lot of people is that I get to learn a lot from other people. Talking to people is how I learn best, so what's better [than] talking to someone about their movie or talking to someone that has broken a record, or how they learned how they did an incredible thing. I get to learn how they did that. I'm a lifetime learner so I love talking to people, new people because I learn new things from it.
Brennyn: Right. That’s- that’s a good answer.
Vivian: Because it's a genuine answer, you know?
Brennyn: Yeah. Like I just mentioned, you went to Howard University, you graduated, you actually had a full ride scholarship.
Vivian: Yes.
Brennyn: I peeped that and I thought, “Wow, that's crazy [fortunate].”
Vivian: Yeah.
Brennyn: Why did you choose Howard?
Vivian: I would say the initial thing was that Howard offered me the most money, they offered me the full ride scholarship, I was like, “D.C. for free? Hell yeah!” Yes, for the education as well. I think the biggest reason why I needed to be at Howard was for me, as an African woman, a Nigerian-born American woman, I needed to understand more of the black experience. I was raised in a household that was African in America. It wasn’t the same. There were a lot of things I didn’t know about and I needed to know about [them] to be a creator and a person of color in this world. I’m so happy I did it and went to Howard. The friendships I made there have been so invaluable to me, personally [and] professionally, and also Howard is hard!
Brennyn: Mmmhmm! It’s like the Harvard of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).
Vivian: Academically, it’s challenging to a certain degree but socially it's like if you look “bad”, if you don’t dress for class, if you don’t do your hair, your makeup, if you don't come done, you get trolled by your classmates!
Brennyn: That’s what my friend told me. He goes there; his whole thing is fashion, so he dresses up all the time but he told me, “It's real out here!”
Vivian: I was up and down hills giving student tours in heels! Who thought that was a good idea? But that was the Howard way. If anything, it groomed me to be able to look the part in every situation afterwards, in its own bubble but it was really supportive, so I’m glad I went.
Brennyn: When it came time to graduate how did you figure out what you wanted to do?
Vivian: So, I’d been doing internships while I was in school because you have to have experience to get a job and interning is the best way, but also it’s a great way to figure out what you like and what you don't like. I had a lot of experience in local news but I realized I didn’t actually want to do that. My last internship for The Olympics, I realized that I didn’t want to do sports but it was close enough to entertainment and I saw some people there in entertainment and I was like, “Oh, I really like that. I can be really good at that. I wanna see if that’s a possibility.” And luckily I did such a good job, and I kept in touch with everyone, just like how you’ve been keeping in touch with me. Then, when Iwas looking for opportunities in Los Angeles, people were willing to help me. That’s how I got a job so quickly out here.
Brennyn: So, you live in LA [and] you were in Washington D.C. for school, there has been a lot of gentrification going on in both of those cities and I wanted to know what your take on gentrification is and how it might affect locations that are rich with black history or locations like Howard.
Vivian: So, I think gentrification is something I think we should all be concerned about. Because you want to preserve culture. It’s okay to allow other people to occupy spaces;; we don't have to have every black space stay as a ‘black-only space’ but spaces of significance, like buildings and monuments, shouldn’t be tampered with. As far as whole neighborhoods, my biggest concern is where are these people going that are getting pushed out? As long as there’s somewhere they can go or there’s ways to make sure that they can buy property or own something where they won't be priced out there just needs to be more options. A scary thing is people can live somewhere their whole lives and then all of a sudden [the price of living] goes up [so much] that everyone has to evacuate. Where do they go; what’s going to happen to their legacy and culture from being there? Their family history of having that same one house? I feel like they should have a shot, “You want to buy it from us? Cool. Let’s put you on a [payment] plan because of your family’s longevity here.” Like there should be something. I don’t know how that’s going to happen, I don't know if there are things in the works for that but I feel like that would be cool.
Brennyn: Yeah, I live in LA you know, in South Central, and it's just so awkward in the street when you see these people you’ve never seen before. Luckily, for me and my family, they haven’t moved on our block yet. My block is full of people that have been there my whole life and my mom’s whole life, possibly even my grandma's whole life. And so if any of us were to move or were forced to move because we couldn’t afford to be there anymore, that would be really unfortunate. Every time I see a newcomer walking their dog or something I get a little tense like, “Where did they move to now?” You know? I’m not trying to--
Vivian: -- Relocate my whole history.
Brennyn: Exactly. Even though I haven’t lived there my whole life, that’s my great grandad’s house. I’ve been there my whole life so I’m not trying to pack up my bags yet again to move and start all over with the ‘new friends, new home, new area’ mess. So you know I just wanted to see what your take was because we all have our opinion on this issue.
Vivian: I wish I had a solution, like an easy solution but,
Brennyn: I think there are solutions but people don't want to do them. There are typically solutions for everything that has a problem but people just don't want to take action.
Vivian: For sure
Brennyn: Last time I saw you in person, you were going off to a movie called--
Vivian: Etana. And it's funny because I’m back in that mode. We went to shoot another movie on Friday.
Brennyn: On Friday? It’s not the same one?
Vivian: No, a different one.
Brennyn: Did you guys finish the first one?
Vivian: Yeah, we finished the first one. We were shooting October-November. So that one is wrapped and is in post production/editing process with it, so that has been so crazy. They sent me pictures but I can't see them until April. And the next one, it's a shorter film so I’m only shooting on weekends and it's a boxing film and I’m so excited because I get to box like a real fighter. It’s also really heavy. These two films were really heavy and most of the stuff that I do is comedy, so it’s cool to expand. I know that I’m capable of drama, especially because I’ve always been scared of drama. It was intimidating to me, so to do these two films and look and go, “I’ve grown,” is great!
Brennyn: That’s so cool. I look forward to seeing the movies so you’ve got to hit me up like, “Girl, this movie is about to come out,” so I can get all my plans together.
Vivian: I’ll let you know.
Brennyn: But the set was fun? You enjoyed being on set and stuff?
Vivian: Oh yeah. It’s very weird, this LA experience as an actor. You can go from being number one on the call sheet to number 200, the top or bottom just depending on where you're at. And basically, every film I’ve done so far, I’ve been the lead, which I’m really grateful for because that doesn’t always happen, but you can feel a little pressure. Etana was the first time I’ve felt a lot of pressure, in a good way but it was definitely pressure because it was a big crew, we were on location, and I was the lead; everything was kind of dependent on me. Everything was fine for the most part but I got injured a lot and when I was injured, everything would have to stop. If everything is centered around me and my hand is split open because of a rifle, which is what happened. I fell so many times, I cut myself up, I cut my hand on the rifle, I almost drowned at one point… it was a lot. And everything would always have to stop because I’m the lead. That’s just the physical stuff. On the emotional side, on the last day, [the scene] was so heavy and my body didn't want to go there and so it took me at least two hours and that was footage they couldn’t use because I was resisting me going to that level of sadness. I felt so guilty because I had to get better. I couldn’t waste time, I couldn’t waste peoples’ time. After a conversation with the director, I finally got in the right headspace for the scene and we knocked it out of the park. It was amazing but at the same time, I felt it was a lesson because I can't let that happen again. If you're number one and everyone is dependent on you, if you can't get into the [right] headspace for two hours, you're wasting everyone’s time for two hours. So, yeah.
Brennyn: Well, you know, I can't wait to see this movie. If there’s one thing anyone will notice about me is that I love movies. I especially love going to the movies. Sometimes I go and see critically bad ones just for the experience of being at the movies. I love the big screen. I have a feeling that your movie is going to be good. I won’t matter what the haters say because there are always haters. But I’m excited; I’ll be the first ticket bought.
Vivian: Nice. Thanks.
Brennyn: So, I was reading an interview, I couldn’t find the date, so hopefully you remember this. They were more rapid fire-type questions and one of the questions was what your favorite restaurant was. At the time you said it was The Grille at the Highlight Room.
Vivian: Yeah!
Brennyn: And that it “changes every so often”, and so I just wanted to know if it still was your favorite [restaurant] and if not, what was?
Vivian: Wow! That’s so funny! I do love that place. And you're right, it does change! Um, I just went to Catch LA last night and I really like that but going back to the Highlight Room/Dream building I think I have shifted down into the corner and currently [my favorite] is Tao. It’s Tao because I developed a gluten allergy less than a year ago, so there’s a lot of stuff I can't eat. Which sucks because I love food and I can't eat everything now, but they were able to turn some of my favorite dishes gluten free and it still tastes good. A lot of times they make things gluten free and it tastes like cardboard. Basically [a] gluten allergy sucks. I can't eat a lot now but Tao is good. Also, good on you for finding that! I don't remember that interview but that was my answer. I remembered my answer!
Brennyn: There's this place my mom and I went to in old Pasadena but there are two other locations, it's called Sage Bistro and I've been there because my mom's friends are vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, all of that. It was actually really good and that’s coming from someone who eats everything except for that type of stuff based off of what I’ve heard about the lack of taste at different restaurants. But this was really good. Hopefully you will try it and find something you like and if you don't my bad. But as a person who is constantly consuming gluten, meat and dairy daily, I will say that place wasn’t half bad.
Vivian: Thank you.
Brennyn: Is your favorite drink still dirty chai lattes?
Vivian: Oh my god, yes! When I leave I’m gonna get one now. Well, I’m only supposed to be drinking water, so I guess not but yeah. You know, I don’t know what it is but I love coffee even though I’m naturally energetic and I don’t need that much caffeine; a dirty chai has just enough flavor and just enough caffeine that I’m just synced. It makes me so happy!
Brennyn: One of my last questions is being so young and so well-off so far, what would you say was the moment you realized, “I did it!”?
Vivian: Goodness, I feel like I should have had more of those moments but I’ve been really bad at stopping and smelling the roses.
Brennyn: That’s literally what you just told me to do.
Vivian: I know but I've been telling you because I’ve been learning from experience that, just like we saw with Kobe Bryant, you don't know how long you’ll be on earth. Kobe got to 41 which is still so young but [his daughter] Gianna only got to 13 so like we have to celebrate everything because you don't know if it's your last [moment]. It’s something I’ve been really guilty of: achieving a lot and not relishing in the success because I’m so worried about the next thing and the next thing when there’s so many little things. Last year, being on The Steve Harvey Show was something I’ve been wanting for a while. I interviewed him a couple of times but I wanted to be on his show in some form or fashion. When it happened, it happened better than I even wanted it to, I got to do a panel on his show. I got to be in the ring with him by myself, in the boxing ring- I love boxing, one-on-one with Steve. Then they brought out some guys because they were trying to make it a dating thing but that was so cool, and I didn’t even celebrate that. There were some things about it that I wanted to go different but in that moment, I didn’t celebrate it and that’s something I’ve wanted for years. So I should've celebrated that. I shot for Buzzfeed for a video that came out in the fall, that was a huge deal because I’ve wanted to work with Buzzfeed for years! I celebrated it but I immediately moved on to the next thing. I need to do better about celebrating it. I would say though, one of the big ones, I guess interviewing my idols! Like, Leonardo DiCaprio was a huge one for me! He’s like a quintessential, A-list, actor; he’s one of those old Hollywood types, respected, like you don’t get access to him. He is not a person people have access to, so that was a big deal for me. Tyra Banks as well, who is my role model. I’ve interviewed her a few times and each time I remember coming home from school and watching her show like, “That’s my girl! That’s my “big sister!”” - and she went from her talk show to America’s Next Top Model and she would compliment me, “Oh my gosh you look so cute! I love your outfit.” Or “You’re so fun!” In my mind I’d go, “OH MY GOD, I'M SO FUN! TYRA BANKS THINKS I'M FUN!” so stuff like that…
Brennyn: Did you watch [Tyra’s movie] Life-Size 2?
Vivian: Of course. It was cheesy as all hell but of course I watched it four times!
Brennyn: It was that good? Wow. But speaking of people who inspired others, you’ve inspired me a lot. You’re slowly helping me realize this might be something that I want to do (in the future). What is some advice that you would give to a young black girl who wants to explore her passions?
Vivian: I would say, “Think of yourself as a person first.” So anything a white person would consider as an opportunity or a passion, anything that a man would consider as an opportunity or a passion, you can too. Don’t limit yourself because of what we also are: women of color, black women. Dream just as big as them. Why not? No one can tell you no, especially not in this day and age. Then I would say, “Be okay with having multiple passions or having your passions change.” We don’t know how long or short our life will be but that shouldn’t stop you from trying different things because you never know what’s going to be that one thing that gives you the world. It can be the most random of passions. There’s a girl who has this huge YouTube channel because she talks about PopSockets. I mean she’s really passionate about that for some reason and she makes a living talking about PopSockets on YouTube! Her family goes on vacation in Europe--
Brennyn: Because of PopSockets!
Vivian: Because she is passionate about PopSockets and found a community who’s passionate about them too, so you just never know.
Brennyn: Great answer to the last question. Thank you for taking this time out to sit with me.
Brennyn Palmer is a Junior at New Village Girls Academy, she enjoys reading, writing and all aspects of food (cooking, eating or otherwise), cheese, and absolutely loves storytelling. She just wants to graduate and “get the hell on with life”. When she grows up she just wants to be successful and leave behind a legacy, dreaming of opening a school or even founding a town. These both would be built and run on common sense and courtesy. She’s always wanted to work for a magazine; she’s amazed and beyond grateful for the fact that she’s published at 16.