HOLLY CINNAMON

Hey there, 

I’m Holly. I’m an actor, singer-songwriter, writer, movement coach and Alexander Technique & yoga teacher. Notable TV credits include a 5-episode arc as a guest star on Marvel’s Daredevil in 2018 (Netflix/Disney), a co-star role in Succession Living+ (episode 406) directed by Lorene Scafaria, and upcoming guest star in Alert: Missing Person’s Unit and a co-star role in AppleTV’s The Savant. I have appeared in countless indie films, including the title character Velma Major in the upcoming short of the same name, about an indie queer musician. I also create and produce and perform my own live music around NYC, with an upcoming show at the iconic Stonewall Inn, and recent performances at venues like Sleepwalk and Gold Sounds Bar and the iconic Hot Rabbit parties during Pride 2024. You can check out my music through www.thefemalegayze.com or on any streaming platform or at instagram: @holly.cinnamon !

I identify as a cis queer femme genderfluid lesbian and use both she and they pronouns, typically presenting femme. My queerness strongly influences the queer femme gayze of my music, but only occasionally influences my work as an actor. Identity is becoming central to our work as actors and artists today, gratefully replacing type. So being visible in my queerness and also conscious of my whiteness and cisness, instead of normalizing those identities by ignoring them, is important to me. In my work as an actor, I enjoy embodying all different kinds of cis white women, from different backgrounds, beliefs and sexualities. I am happy to be out and visible, and welcome any conversations about my identity, my range, and what stories I am passionate about telling right now. Femme lesbian visibility is important to me, as I didn’t grow up seeing stories that I identified with, so accurate and nuanced queer representation is a passion of mine and I welcome all conversations.

I’m originally from a small town outside Edmonton (Amiskwaciwâskahikan), Alberta in Canada, but I have been based in New York City (Lenapehoking) going on 10 years now (where I’ve dreamed of living since I fell in love with Barbra Streisand at 13) and Toronto (Tkaronto) is where I call home in Canada. My heritage is white/European - I have Irish, Danish and Norwegian ancestors.

At heart, I am a listener, a traveler and a learner. I love to meet people, to watch people, to slow down. I speak French fluently, since childhood, and I also speak proficient Spanish (8 years of study). I love to learn new accents - capturing the nuances of expression and tone. I have been privileged to travel to 23 countries in 4 continents. This has expanded my worldview as an actor and creator, and this awareness of myself as a small part of something bigger helps to ground me in my work. As a woman and as an embodiment educator who has studied yoga, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, Viewpoints and more, I am constantly curious about exploring and rediscovering my relationship to my body, how I map it and perceive it. My body is the prime source for my curiosity and choices as an actor. I want to bring my whole self to my work, as a 21st-century queer femme woman with personal history, trauma, a multitude of interwoven identities and a resistance to reductive labels. Body sovereignty, female empowerment and queer visibility are at the heart of both my teaching and acting practices.

A few roles I have loved: Aster, a hoarder and conspiracy theorist who lives alone on a rural farm tracking alien patterns; Velma, an indie queer musician who has to leave her music career suddenly; Molly, an Irish immigrant who moves to America in search of a better life and struggles to find work and survive in New York City. Some of my inspirations are: Lily Tomlin, Mary Louise Parker, Viola Davis, and, of course, Barbra Streisand. I grew up listening to Barbra, Celine, Judy, Shania, and Avril, but my musical vibes are now more in the styles of Joni, Carole King and Florence and the Machine.

I am a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, ACTRA, AEA, CAEA and Ring of Keys: an arts advocacy organization of musical theatre professionals who self-identify as queer women, transgender, and gender non-conforming artists.