Salute to Rising Stars

It’s that time again to salute those actresses who are on the move, actresses who deserve a little extra attention for their latest work, those actresses who are rising stars. Landing that crucial role in a TV movie or guest appearance in a successful show or film makes all the difference for aspiring actors.

Let’s take a look at the next two actresses who viewers should keep their eye on:

Victoria Cartagena

Victoria was born in Philadelphia, earning a degree in education from Penn State University. She later was accepted into the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She has starred in theatre productions and various plays and workshops for New York’s Lark Theater.

She got her first big break in the short-lived series The Bedford Diaries, and later appeared in episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Army Wives, The Good Wife, the short-lived series Unforgettable and A Gifted Man as well as episodes of Blue Bloods and Elementary.

It was her turn as Renee Montoya in Gotham that turned heads and lead to roles in The Path, Jessica Jones and the short-lived drama Deception. She also had a small part in the box office film Salt.

Most recently she has appeared as Lourdes in the NBC drama Manifest; as Claudia in the Lifetime now Netflix series You as well as Amanda in the FOX drama Almost Family. She also appeared in the box office film 21 Bridges with Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.

Victoria considers herself to be a goofball and a wallfower, and can be followed on Twitter @VickiCartagena.

Rose Williams

Rose hails from West London, who was encouraged to draw and paint from an early age. She studied fashion (her mother was in the costume department of the BBC), but when she became disillusioned with a career in fashion, led her to assist her mother on shoots, causing her to have a revelation. Rose watched an artist play a “snarky, cool teenage girl,” and she thought, “I want to play a character like that.”

It was then she joined some online casting sites, made a show reel, and began taking jobs as an extra. At the age of 20, she was chosen to play a role, a three-episode guest stint, on The CW period drama Reign. Three episodes turned into three years, playing Claude de Valois in the series, her first big break in acting. In 2016, she had a small part in the Emily Dickinson based box office film A Quiet Passion that starred Cynthia Dixon as the legendary poet.

But it’s this year that she has been busy starring in two Sean Bean-led dramas Medici and Curfew as well as her turn as Charlotte Heywood, the heroine in the upcoming PBS mini-series Sanditon – based on the unfinished novel by the one and only Jane Austen – that will get people talking about her. Ironically, she was first asked to audition for a supporting role, but turned down that chance due to prior commitments. Then her chance came to play the lead. She made an audition tape over one weekend and by the evening of the following Monday she was told the lead role was hers, and she started filming Sanditon on her 25th birthday.

Rose can be followed on Twitter @rose_williams_.

Here is to Victoria and Rose as rising stars here.

Make sure to check our previous salute to rising stars here.

Please be on the look-out for more salutes to rising stars in the future.