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 group of actresses who viewers should keep their eyes on:

Alison Luff

Alison Luff is a talented singer, songwriter and stage actress who was born in Texas. She has an extensive theatre resume, making her Broadway debut in 2011 in the ensemble of Mamma Mia, understudying the roles of Ali and Sophie. The following year she went on to star in the Broadway production of Ghost as an understudy for the role of Molly.

She made her debut in Wicked in 2013 with the 1st National Tour, starring as Elphaba. She followed that up, in 2014, with the role of Miss Honey in the Broadway production of Matilda.

In 2015, Alison founded The Bones, a singer/songwriter duo, with her husband Matt Magnusson before starring as Fantine in the second Broadway revival of Les Miserables in 2016.

Alison then starred in the pre-Broadway tour of Escape to Margaritaville before reprising her role in the Broadway production in 2018. The following year she starred as Jenna in the Broadway production of Waitress.

Check out Alison performing the Waitress song “She Used to Be Mine” below:

In 2019, she made the transition to the small screen by appearing in an episode of the CBS drama FBI and then in 2020 she appeared in the recurring role of Alice Healy (the single mom who briefly dated Dr. Max Goodwin) on New Amsterdam.

Her next project is the new Starz drama Heels that is set in a close-knit Georgia community, following a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals war over their late father’s legacy. Alison will play Staci Spade, the wife of Jack Spade – one of the two brothers – who will be played by Arrow star Stephen Amell.

Alison can be followed on Instagram @alisonluff.

Heels will debut on Starz on Sunday, August 15 at 9 PM.

Nesta Cooper

Nesta was born in Ontario, Canada where she caught the acting bug at an early age. That came from her not only watching shows like Hannah Montana and One Tree Hill but also to suffering from middle child syndrome. By the time she was 13, Nesta knew she wanted to be an actor and after graduating from high school, she moved to Vancouver to chase her dream full-time.

She got her first break in TV in the 2013 short-lived series Cult and over the next five years she had guest starring roles in R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, Supernatural, The Returned, UnREAL, Ties That Bind, Heroes Reborn, The Magicians, Motive, The 100, S.W.A.T. and Supergirl.

During those years, she also had small roles in the Hallmark Channel movie So You Said Yes, which starred Kellie Martin; the western flick Diablo, which starred Scott Eastwood and Walton Goggins; the Hallmark Channel movie All Things Valentine that starred Suits alum Sarah Rafferty and The Bold Type alum Sam Page and the box office movie The Edge of Seventeen, which starred Hailee Steinfeld.

It was in 2016 that she landed a series regular role in the Canadian sci-fi series Travelers, starring alongside Will & Grace alum Eric McCormack, which ran for two seasons; and then she appeared in the box office film The Miracle Season, which starred Helen Hunt and William Hurt.

In 2019, she landed her biggest role yet: Haniwa, one of two miraculously-sighted twins of Baba Voss, played by Jason Momoa in the Apple TV+ fantasy series See. She also appeared in this year’s box office movie Bliss, starring alongside Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek.

Nesta can be followed on Instagram @nmarlee.

Season 2 of See will premiere online on AppleTV+ on Friday, August 27.

Check out our Salute to Rising Stars from last month here.