“It’s nowhere even close to being a level playing field,” says Martha Lauzen, executive director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film in San Diego. She told The Hollywood Reporter, “Women have only 16% of powerful behind-the-scenes jobs in the entertainment industry.” Although optimism would have us believe otherwise, slow and steady seems to be the motto for the entertainment industry.
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That being said, there are a handful of women who have still managed to become a triple threat in the world of entertainment. None other than Kim K who is a model and lucrative business woman with her own television show. The beautiful Beyoncé: singer, actress and producer. And let’s not forget, “Jenny from the Block” –Jennifer Lopez is an actress, singer and fashionista. In this “man-eat-man world,” Jessica Dhillon has arrived as a breath of fresh air. Following this trend of multiple talents, Jessica has already become a quadruple threat – dancer, model, co-producer and a DJ.
A 26-year-old young woman, who has accomplished more than one can hope in a lifetime, she is showing no signs of slowing down. A small town girl, Jessica was born and raised in Prince Rupert and moved to Vancouver, where she went to high school and later attended the University of British Columbia. She majored in Biology with a minor in Commerce.
When she first started at UBC, her dream and plan was to attend medical school and become a physician, which was the field many people, including herself, felt she would pursue. Jessica laughingly says, “I grew up as a geek; I focused on school and got my first B in university. I was definitely very studious. Besides studying, my only other hobbies were basketball and dance.”
However, Jessica surprised not only her family and friends but also herself with a sudden change of direction. From trying to copy her older sister while she danced to becoming a graceful dancer herself, Jessica has always had a certain love and passion for the arts. Yet, she never considered dance anything more than a hobby until that one summer she spent in the United Kingdom, where she watched the inspirational musical “Bombay Dreams,” which became the turning point in her life.
“I have been a dancer my whole life, but acting is something I decided to pursue after that summer.” Once acting became her passion, med school was history, “I ended up coming back and taking acting lessons and workshops, I am so in love with it! I also got a few modelling contracts, including an opening catwalk before a Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai performance.”
After Jessica graduated from UBC, she began to audition for Vancouver Film School’s short films to try and build up her acting resume. In this time and age, experience will only get you so far but networking will take you all the way! Jessica’s successful climb up the ladder has been due to her talent but also through the ability to network in the industry, “I networked right after UBC, and met the right producer, right time!” During the auditions process, she met a fairly major producer who started her on the path of becoming a producer after seeing how business-minded she was. A shy Jessica admits, “I didn’t even know what a producer did! I had no idea! I thought they compiled a movie to one degree to another!”
Shortly after meeting with the said producer, she began a six-month internship where she had the pleasure of working with a handful of talented producers and directors. An awestruck Jessica said, “It went absolutely amazing, I met people I would have never dreamt of meeting.” She has had the opportunity to meet top tier Hollywood producers, who have worked with George Clooney and Nicholas Cage and the Twilight producers. She was then highly recommended by her production mentor/Managing Director of Kerner Studios (formerly known as “George Lucas Physical Effects Studio – ILM”) to its CEO who hired her instantly. She was with Kerner Studios at the time of James Cameron’s Avatar, The Last Airbender and Transformers to name a few – what a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
She was also exposed to the Bollywood film industry during this time, “I ended up taking Kerner Studios and introducing them to India for some conferences. Before I knew it, I was meeting with people like Yash Chopra and Karan Johar.” Currently, she is working as a producer with an Oscar-and Emmy-winning director on an India-US co-production which is based on an award winning novel called “Sold.” Also, guess who will be acting alongside the likes of Om Puri and David Arquette? If you said Jessica Dhillon – you guessed it! Definitely something to look out for!
Aside from the film industry, Jessica is also a stunning model with a few international modelling assignments under way. Currently, she is the brand ambassador for a US company called “Do The Extraordinary” for a campaign called “Red With Love,” which raises awareness about child trafficking. “They have a clothing line where the proceeds go to stop child trafficking,” says Jessica, adding this is also the storyline for the “Sold” film project. She also represents Beat Body Training as a fitness model.
Jessica still dances whenever she can, and strives to give back to the community through dance. She used to help choreograph the UBC Culture Show and now works with the Vancouver School Board teaching Bollywood Fusion to children at various schools. She has recently taken up a new project – learning to spin in the male-dominated industry of disc jockeys under the name DJ Goddess. Inspired by DJ Risk One and DJ Aqeel, she learned the ropes from DJ Lisa Delux, a fellow female in the industry. DJ Goddess quickly surpassed the training stage and landed an amazing debut gig – she was invited to spin with Raghav at Citytv’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Calgary. This event was broadcasted across Canada. The talented DJ Goddess was later invited to spin and debut her skills at Vancouver’s Ginger 62 nightclub to celebrate the “Republic Day of India” event, which was hosted by High Society.
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” – The Alchemist. Life has a funny way of working out; you never know what is in store for you. Jessica Dhillon, unknowingly, has been preparing for this her entire life. She came onto the entertainment stage with a fiery presence, and her talents have proven that she is not just another pretty face. To see where life takes Jessica, follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/jessicadhillon or visit www.jessicadhillon.com.
