I just got back from a whirlwind, 24 hour tour of Comic-Con in San Diego. My friend Heather and I jumped in the car and drove down for the weekend to party with the nerds, and geek out over celebrity sightings. (Tara Reid stop following us!)

heathers at comic con

We are tired. But it was a blast! More to come in another post. This post is all about the beautiful mama actor Challen Cates and her open and honest talk with me about her experiences with motherhood in Hollywood.

challen and kids

 

You might recognize Challen from the Nickelodeon show Big Time Rush where she played the hilarious mom to the Knight kids! That’s a HUGE deal because in case you didn’t know, BTR was one of the longest running live-action shows in Nickelodeon’s history.

She’s also been in a ton of other projects like Modern Family, Passions, and A Million Ways To Die In The West. She shares how starring alongside her son in that film was a special mama actor moment for her.

challen-cates-images

And she stars in a wonderful web series called Namasté Bitches that skewers the LA yoga scene. I talked about my love for this web series in a recent article for The Daily Actor. If you haven’t seen it yet, definitely check it out!

Challen is incredibly beautiful and funny. I love what she says about getting that dream role playing a mom on-screen for 4 season, and being a mom of two kids at the same time. Her advice for fellow mom actors is genuine and honest.

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were suddenly cast in a leading role? Her kids were small when she was cast on Big Time Rush so she had to get creative. She shares some great tips for actors on managing their family and career expectations in this business.

Challen winery

 

And, not to bury the lead, but she’s also a wine producer!  What? Amazing!

She has vineyards in central California and actually makes and bottles her own label of Pinot Noir. How cool is that? It also makes me feel like a complete and total slacker! You have to hear her amazing stories about working with child actors, how her kids are now showing interest in the biz and what she’s doing to help navigate that.

You should definitely listen to this episode over a bottle of Challen, found in stores and online. Then follow her social channels to stay up-to-date with her next adventure!

Twitter @ChallenCates

Instagram: @ChallenCates

Facebook: @ChallenWinery