Faith in Hollywood

Often, young women in showbiz treat themselves as eye candy or a prop, placing all their marbles in their "beautiful looks" basket, sacrificing their morals, education, or relationships with friends, family, and God.

Taylor Kalupa breaks that stereotype. She is obviously gorgeous, yet that's not all that defines her! In fact, it doesn't even break the surface.

As a professional model, dancer, and actress living in Los Angeles, she defies the stereotype through her desire to know Christ and be like Christ. Modeling, acting, and dancing is something every girl dreams of doing professionally. The question is, how do we do it the right way for the right purpose? Taylor gives us the inside scoop.

How have you allowed God to guide life your steps?

I'm fortunate enough to have become a follower of Christ at a very early age. My maternal great grandmother was actually Jewish and most of her family in Ukraine was wiped out in Pograms and the Holocaust. She survived because she had moved to the United States. Originally she wanted her family to become Christians so they would never face that kind of hatred again. She converted to Christianity and as a result my grandmother and my mother were strong Christians. I thank God that despite the horrors of the Holocaust, my family was led to Christ.  I accepted Jesus as my personal savior at the age of 7 and have continued to grow in my relationship with him ever since.  Being a Christian isn't always easy as many of us know but I can't even imagine living any other way other than trying my best to follow God's footsteps and will for my life. I continually pray that his plans be done over my own because I know that his plans are incomparable. Everyday, I wear a bracelet that I had made as a reminder of this. It says "His Plans > my plans."

What do you do in your day-to-day living to stay connected to God?

There are quite a few things I do in my day-to-day living to stay connected to the Lord. First of all I have two daily devotionals, both written by Joyce Meyer whom I love! So I read those. I try to have a continual conversation going with God throughout the day. Of course I get busy with things and distracted but whenever I have quiet moments or I'm in the car (which is where I spend A LOT of my time driving in LA lol) I talk to God. I also have a lot of Christian music on my iPod that I listen to. My favorite songs being Oceans by Hillsong, Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture, Clear the Stage by Ross King, and Chasing by Desperation Band. Another way to stay connected for me is Instagram and Twitter, ironically. I follow a lot of faith based users such as @trustGodbro, @wisdomfeed, @God_Loved, etc. and it's very encouraging to see the different verses and quotes they share. It's just a small way to constantly be reminded and encouraged to trust God. Lastly, I have recently started listening to sermons in my car during long drives or while I'm at the gym. My favorite pastors to listen to are Jeff Vines, who is the Senior pastor of my hometown church Christ's Church of the Valley, and also John Ortberg, who is the Senior pastor of a church up in Northern California that I attend when I am visiting one of my best friends who lives there. While all of these things are good,I'd like to start writing in my prayer journal consistently. I think that's important, but it's easier said than done. So that's something I need to work on.

Is it tough to be a Christian in the entertainment industry?

I can say with certainty that it would be much easier to not be a Christian in the entertainment industry, however it would not make me happier. There are so many opportunities to do things that would go against my morals and beliefs yet further my career. I have been on photoshoots where the photographers have tried to talk me into "just showing a little bit more" or even just flat out taking off my top. I can understand why a lot of girls would feel pressured to do so. A lot of models come to Los Angeles from other states and live in model apartments and just want to make it so they don't have to go back home. A lot of them are scared that if they don't do what the photographer wants, they won't end up being successful or their agent might drop them. Luckily, God has blessed me with great agents my entire career who have never made me feel pressured to do  anything that goes against my beliefs. That is something that is really important. Also, having a firm self worth and trust that God's will is far better than any man's plan is also important. Acting is similar. I remember one audition specifically that I was requested for that if I had ended up getting cast for it I would have a significant role opposite a very well known, successful actress. The role required full nudity. I turned down the audition for this reason. Had I booked it, I would have gotten lots of exposure (well in more ways than one lol) and it would have substantially helped my career, but that's not the route that I want to take. The verse that comes to mind when I think of how the entertainment industry can be is Matthew 7:13-14  "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." I have been blessed so far with supportive representation and also not having to face too many challenging decisions. I know that as I go further in my career this will likely change and more difficult decisions will need to be made, but as a Christian it's vital to trust that God's way will be better than ever expected even though it can seem much more difficult or take longer to get there.

How have people in the entertainment business reacted to your faith?

I personally have not had horrible experiences with reactions to my faith. I've had people laugh at it or mock it a little but nothing too bad. However I know people who have had much worse. A friend of mine was in the process of meeting with and possibly signed with a great agent. They googled his name and saw that he had done a Christian interview, much like the one I'm doing now, and they decided not to sign him just because of that. I think that's heartbreaking that someone would want an actor and then find out they are a Christian and drop them. I hope that any casting director, agent, director, producer, etc who reads my answers for this article won't decide to pick someone else just because of my faith. I hope they realize that I'm a passionate, hardworking, and dedicated actress who loves God and therefore is able to better love other people including them. But I'm prepared to have people not want me because of my faith and I know that those aren't people whom I would want to work with anyways. 

Have there been any turning points in your life when you had to trust completely in Him? 

Being in the entertainment industry, I consistently am going through turning points where I need to completely trust in God. It's not easy by any means. A lot of people think that successful actors and models are made overnight. While this may be true every once in a while, the truth is that most successful actors and models spend years waiting for their big break. Growing up, I was always a really hard worker in school and dance and in these two environments, it paid off and I saw the fruits of my labor right away. Since I have graduated and f  ocused everything on my acting and modeling career, this has changed. Acting, which is my biggest passion, is such a competitive industry. It's almost like a waiting game. So going from a secure world of college to the unsure world of acting, where I am putting in just as much if not even more dedication & work, has been a major turning point for me. The amount of rejection an actor gets is crazy.It's something that I was familiar with in modeling but now that I'm fully into the acting world, it's been something that I've had to learn to accept. I have had to learn how to let things go when I don't book them and trust that God has something so much better planned for me. I know that sounds like I'm saying it's pretty simple: just trust and let it go. But it's definitely been a journey for me. I still struggle with not booking certain roles or not having things go how I think they should right now. It's a battle and I have to continually remind myself that there's a bigger picture and everything that happens is a puzzle piece. During the times I'm playing this "waiting game," God is preparing me for the future he holds. 

Where do you hope to see Him guide you in the future? 

I hope to see him guide me in every aspect of my life. I trust that He gave me my passion for being in the entertainment industry for a reason and that he had a plan for me that is even better than what I can imagine. I hope to see him guide me in my love life and whoever it is I will eventually marry. And then after that, guide me once I start having a family. And last but not least, I hope he guides me to be a light for others and that people who know me will see His love. 

Advice for yourself ten years ago?

Wow that's a tough one because, while I would love to go back and tell myself ahead of time how to avoid any kind of heartbreak or disappointment I've had in the past 10 years, I don't think that would be a good idea. I believe that everything I've gone through in life has taught me something and shaped the person I am today. It'sthe hard times in life or the times that I started to try to go down my own path that made me realize how much better God's plan for my life is. Without the lessons I've learned, I wouldn't be as close to God as I am. Therefore, the only advice I would give myself is to remember that the only opinion that truly matters in this world is God's opinion. Don't get consumed with what other people think of you or how the world thinks because at the end of the day, it's meaningless compared to the way God sees you. Lastly, and this might be a little off topic, but I believe that nowadays Christians get a bad rap for being judgmental and exclusive. This breaks my heart because Christianity has and always will be the most loving way of life there is. Jesus died because he loved every single person and I hope that I can show the people I come into contact with what being a follower of Jesus really is.