LatinGirl Magazine – Majandra Delfino

Thanks to Sheila for sending this in

Well this is from ‘LatinGirl’ Magazine Issue 10, the August-September Issue.

Enjoy !

Majandra Delfino – Past, Present, Future

Roswell’s Rising Star Majnadra Delfino may only be 18
years old [This is old MD is 19 now and will be 20
on Feburary] , But Her Career’s Already Out Of This
World! Here She Talks About Family Friendship And What
Really Goes On Behind The Scenes.

Aside from moving from Caracas, Venezuela to Miami
when I was three, my childhood was totally normal.
I’ve really had one of those truly blessed lives. My
family traveled a lot; we lived by the water. I had a
jet ski, a boat, even a trampoline. My dad and my
step-dad are both successful businessmen, so I was
lucky to have been given all of the opportunities to
try everything. In fact, sometimes I feel very guilty
that I’ve had so much!

I have one older sister, Marieh, who was a tomboy. I
pretend to dance, draw and, at age four, I pretended I
was a DJ. I’d take my sister’s music tapes and record
myself announcing songs. It’s hysterical to listen to
now because I still had my Spanish accent – “Okee, dee
next song ees ‘Baby, I Love Your Way.'” I also started
playing the piano that year. I had one of those teeny
pianos and taught myself every song in the book. Then
I started writing my own songs. By age seven, I had
already figured out how to record the piano and my
voice on separate tracks, so I made my own recordings.
I wasn’t an overachiever I was just always a loner and
constantly filled my time with all sorts of creative
endeavors.

Early Fame

At ten, my parents sent me to this really artsy camp
to dance, but my voice teacher realized I could sing.
That’s when I started taking singing more seriously.
That next year, my best friend Alana asked me to
audition with for a singing group. My parents were so
strict when it came to school that there was no wat I
could ask them. So I snuck out of the house to go to
the audition, where I performed a song from The Little
Mermaid. It was cheesy, but I made it! My parents were
totally shocked when I announced that I’d just signed
a contract – at eleven years old! They were mad, but I
begged them until they agreed that as long as I could
do absolutely everything I was already doing, I could
join. For three years, our group, China Dolls, was
together. We were like the white En Vogue. It was
crazy! We had three record offers from the Latin
market, but we didn’t want to be a flash-in-the-pan
Menudo thing, so we turned them down. When I turned
fourteen, we split up. Afterwards, I danced with the
Miami Ballet and then decided to audition for this
Fame-type high school. Unfortunately, that involved
acting and I’d always thought acting was totally dumb!
My audition was unbelievably hard, but I was accepted,
and the acting coach told my mom I should act
professionally. I thought “Hey, it could be cool to be
in a movie.” My acting coach asked my mom to get me an
agent, but she said, “No way!” I swear she imagined I
wouldn’t be able to use my fork and knife anymore if I
became an actor! So I secretly met with an agent who
agreed to represent me.

Big Break

I was way too scared to tell my parents, because I
knew they’d be incredibly upset. Eventually, I
confessed, and my mom made a deal with me – I could
act for six months, but if nothing happened, my career
was over. Two months later, I got my first role in the
film Zeus and Roxanne! My parents were really
supportive, but they were still worried because I was
so young. I’d never dreamt of being a star. I
hadn’teven thought of what I wanted to do when I grew
up! But all of these doors opened up: “Come to L.A.!”
“Come be on our show!” I got really scared. I didn’t
want to leave Miami at all. I’d just wanted to have
fun, and suddenly everything was becoming way too
serious. But doing the movie was actually really
exciting and it wasn’t intimidating – it felt natural
to me. After shooting in the Bahamas, my mom agreed to
take me to L.A for one week. But during that week, I
got a role on the The Tony Danza Show, so my parents
bought a house where we live while I’m working. They
even bought the trampoline!

Show Biz

When the show aired, suddenly everyone wanted to be my
“friend,” which was creepy, but I understood what was
happening. My best friend from Miami, Alana, was
really happy for me, and my career didn’t affect our
relationship at all. Friends like that really help you
stay balanced.
I’ve never been treated more rudely than in show
business; people have no manners. That alone keeps you
grounded, because you have to stay above it all.
I’ve met so many actors who say, “I just want to be
famous,” but I don’t feel that way at all because you
become this freak of nature! People always want an
autograph, a photo, just to prove they met you, which
is so strange to me.
Still, success has definitely made me happier- not
the money, but just my accomplishments. When I’m hired
for a film, it’s like getting an A on an exam. The
treat of acting is just getting the job.

The Roswell Set

After The Tony Danza Show was canceled, I was cast in
several movies: The Secret Lives of Girls, The
Learning Curve and I Know What You Screamed Last
Summer. Then I received the script for Roswell. It was
amazing! It’s about teens in Roswell, New Mexico who
believe they’re descendants of aliens. I play “Maria
de Luca,” and I’m one of the five people people who
know about these alien teens. Even now, after being on
the show a while, I have to say my feelings for
Roswell have never changed. I really love it because
they give me such great stuff to do on the show. And
it’s really sick how well the cast gets along. It’s
more like a party than a job. I’m probably the biggest
prankster, though; I’m really the most immature. I do
things like put electrical tape on people’s backs so
they walk around all day not knowing it’s there.
One time I doused Brendan Fehr’s (“Michael”) hot
chocolate with Tabasco Sauce. Unfortunately, he
didn’t find it funny at all! I felt so stupid! Then
there was the time that Shiri Appleby (“Liz”) and I
decided to spread a rumor that I was pregnant. Shiri
actually knitted baby blankets for me on the set! We
just thought it would be hysterical to see how long it
took for the rumor to get to the point where the
producers would have a serious talk with me. But no
one believed us, and I think we were the only ones who
thought it was funny!

Best Friends

My best friend on Roswell is exactly like my best
friendships in real life. We’re true best friends, and
that’s how my best friends have always been.
Sometimes they depict best friends on TV as kind of
bitchy to each other. But it’s not that way on our
show or in my real life. We love it when things are
going well for each other, and we let each other get
away with murder. That’s exactly how it is with my
best friends, Alana, Paul, and my sister.
The fans of Roswell are great. When the show wasn’t
immeditately picked up for next season, they freaked!
They sent about 3,000 {{ acturally it was more }}
bottles of Tabasco sauce to Warner Bros. and gave out
Tabasco in New York to get people to watch the show! [
Tabasco is an alien favorite on the show.] It was
pretty cool.

Setting An Example

I really love being a role model for other
Latingirls. And let me set the record straight – there
are Latinas who are light skinned and blonde! That’s
been a real difficulty, because I never get the Latin
roles. They always say they want a more “authentic”
Spanish girl, like I’m not Latin enough! I also hope
Latinas will see me and believe that they can do
anything! I hope they realize that an education is the
most important thing you can have in your life.

Looking Forward

I’m going to be doing a Michael Douglas/Catherine
Zeta Jones film called Traffic{{ Has already finished
filming }}. Stephen Soderbergh directs it, and I play
a high school student who stays high to deal with her
insecurities. It’s incredibly exciting! Even my guy
friends are freaking out, because Soderbergh’s Out Of
Sight was their favorite movie. If my acting career
disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised. I would
care, but that’s the nature of this business.
Honestly, I don’t really like to look too ahead. I
just try to enjoy the moment- it’s a much easier way
to live.

By Majandra Delfino As Told To Sandy Fertman

Photography by Patricia De La Rosa

Re-Typed By Sheila Rosemarie Limontas