Many know Miranda Frigon from her fantastic portrayal of Paula Bowman on Syfy's Day Of the Dead, but incredible woman has more to offer. As a seasoned actress and dancer, she is a familiar face in Hollywood. Miranda currently provides insight into a recurring issue in women's reproductive health. After Miranda's encounter with failed IVF treatments, she stresses the need for patience and self-appreciation for one's body. Miranda's positivity is inspiring, and her eagerness to share her story only proves how amazing she is. Especially in times as problematic as today, Miranda reminds us that everything happens for a reason, and a strong mindset is an ultimate guide through hardships. Jejune is excited to talk to the force that is Miranda Frigon. Please continue reading below to learn more about Miranda, her experience with infertility, and her humanitarian work that is quite literally changing the world.

When did you first pursue acting? Was it something you always wanted to do?
From a very young age I always said I wanted to be an actress, before I even really knew what that meant. I grew up dancing and doing gymnastics, and loved the performance aspect of it. I loved entertaining people, making people laugh and took any opportunity to put on a show for anyone who would watch. I knew in my bones that I was born to perform. My first acting job was at eight yrs old in a commercial for a type of building block called ZAKS. I was like, you’re going to let me play with toys, play make-believe, put on a little show with these other kids, and you’re going to pay me?? From that commercial on, I was hooked!

Can you tell us a little bit about your current role in Day of the Dead?
I play Mayor Paula Bowman, a stereotypical right-wing, gun loving mayor who has gotten caught up in her hunger for power and control and forgotten her humanity in the midst of it. Over the course of 24 hours, she’s faced with her own mortality and the lives of her family being threatened. She’s forced to see how her political views and actions have affected her son’s life and the world around her, so she’s forced into an awakening of remembering who she truly is.

You are very open about your journey with body positivity. Do you feel like this is your new calling?
What I feel called to do is bring awareness to challenging subjects by sharing my personal experiences of them. What I strongly believe in, is promoting mental health. When there is negativity around any aspect of our being, our mental health suffers. It then affects our thoughts, actions, relationships, jobs and how we live our lives.

The body positivity movement was born out of the need for us to be accepting of and celebrate bodies of all shapes and sizes; and a rejection of the idea that bodies need to fit a certain mold in order to be considered beautiful. Though I cannot imagine the shame and negativity some people have had to endure, I can only speak to my own experience of it. To some people who have suffered worse, it may not seem so bad, but it did influence my life in a number of ways and I do want to share how I’ve worked to overcome it.

You struggled with body image, eating disorders, etc? How did you save yourself from that? How did you survive?
My body image issues came from spending my early and adolescent life split between competitive gymnastics and ballet.  I spent most of my life in front of a mirror, comparing myself to others and hearing my teachers compare me to others too. In my ballet life I learned that my body was never quite good enough. I wasn't in the right shape, my leg muscles were too big, I wasn’t tall enough and my feet didn’t have the right amount of arch.  I was never taught how to love and cherish my body as I was always being told how I needed to fix it.

Nutrition was not something that was talked about in our dancing days, and so, my diet consisted of chips, soda and chocolate bars from the corner store. Into my teens we would smoke cigarettes instead of eating as that curbed our appetite so we could stay “skinny.” Throwing up our food was also on that list of tools.  It was the unhealthiest time in my life.

This all formed some very deep insecurities in me and belief systems that I’ve been working very hard to rewrite.  When you’re in it, it’s just normal to you; it’s life and you try to just keep up. It wasn’t until later that I really saw the effects of it bleeding into other areas of my life. My relationship with food, people, my body, my exercise regimen and my confidence in general.  It all became very obsessive and OCD, and was truly unhealthy.  What saved me is when I finally got the awareness. Once you have the awareness, then you can start to work on rewriting those belief systems.

I try to look at my struggles as a necessary part of my journey. They are meant to be experienced in order to fulfill who I am meant to be.   As I grow and work through those struggles, it activates my compassion for others.  When you start to use what you’ve overcome in order to help others, that’s when you are living your true purpose.

Ballet is infamous for harmful beauty standards; what do you see as reform in that industry? Are things changing as we step in 2022?
Being that I’m no longer in that industry, I’m not sure what changes have happened since I was involved in ballet, but I hope they are much different now. My hope today is that ballet dancers of all sizes and shapes can be celebrated. I hope that nutrition and health are being talked about, and that dancers are being educated on how to properly care for their bodies through the rigorous training and the pain they often have to deal with. I hope that body shapes and sizes are talked about, and that young dancers are made to understand that all bodies look different, that doesn’t mean that one is better than the other. Finally, I think for any professional sport (and I include ballet in that category) there should be specific therapists available for young children or teens to talk to when they are struggling.

How has what you learned as a dancer proven helpful for your calling now?
Dancing made me fall in love with performing, it gave me an outlet for creativity and a way to use my body to express myself. Dancing is all about storytelling. The dancers we love to watch, really feel the story inside of them and they express it with their body. That same feeling inside is what a good actor should feel and portray when telling a story on screen. The discipline I learned from my dancing years was incredible and I now apply that discipline and perseverance into many areas of my life. As for my calling, dancing sparked the beginning of my career as an actress, created in me a love for music (which I now write, produce and perform), and created discipline by learning to push my body to do things I never thought it could. That type of mindset has been useful for me in setting goals for myself that sometimes feel unattainable.

Did not being able to conceive a second child encourage your mission to bring awareness to the functionality of one's body? Can you tell us a bit about what happened?
Believe it or not, I have not given up on having my second child. I’m still on the journey, three and a half years later. I learned from the first time around that I need to be patient and trust in my body and in the plan that the universe has for me. That doesn’t mean that I won’t still pursue fertility treatments, but I’ve come to realize that it’s not just about the functionality of the body, but also the connection between the body and mind. Our mindset is also crucial and that is a message I want to share.

My journey to my daughter was frustrating and emotional, and I’ll share a bit about my experience in hopes it may resonate with some women.

I’m an incredibly determined person and when I want something, I do everything in my power to make it happen. I learned from a young age that hard work is how you make things happen and so I treated my fertility the same. When I wasn’t getting pregnant, I’d feel that I must not be doing enough. So I’d work out more, research food to help fertility, buy endless supplements, meditate, do hypnosis, therapy, fertility coaches, you name it. If I just did enough, THEN the baby would come. Well, sadly none of that was working.

I saw how I was treating myself through it and realized that I needed to surrender and find acceptance in my journey. To work on accepting myself as I was, my life as it was, and to find a deep gratitude for what was in front of me. I wasn’t aware at the time of course, but the month my husband and I took off from trying, we agreed to focus on each other and to just let go and enjoy the month without the stress of trying. That month our little angel decided to come. Was there a connection? I don’t know, but I believe there may be something to it.

As we struggle again for our 2nd child, I am trying to bring that same mentality to it. I’m not going to lie, it’s hard. There are a lot of tears. But through the tears, I have a deep trust that I am exactly where I am meant to be and in years to come, I will see why this struggle was on my path whether I have another child in my arms, or not. I am growing every day from it, and it helps bring me peace as I walk through the difficult times.

Based on your own experience with failed IVF treatments, what would you tell a woman in the same situation?
I would encourage any woman struggling, to love themselves through this and to find a way to see it as an opportunity to grow and better themselves. Any struggle in our lives, I believe, has a hidden opportunity to build strength.

Live in the trust and the faith that you are exactly where you need to be. More women that you can count struggle with this same thing. Sometimes we do need the help, fertility treatments are amazing and can really help on the journey. But on the spiritual end, I believe our bodies communicate with us. If it’s not coming easy then there may be some way to learn and some way to grow that you might want to explore.

Finally, don’t compare yourself to other women. We each have our own story and we will never get to experience anyone else’s journey. Focus on yourself and how you can find peace and gratitude as you embark on this quest to welcoming a little one into your life. :)

How did you stay positive? Especially during the pandemic?
Oh, I’ll be the first to admit I did not stay entirely positive through the pandemic. I battled with my anxiety through most of it, and am still managing it on a daily basis. Life got turned upside down for us all. Having a toddler and being stuck inside for over a year was insane. But through the struggle, again I’m trying to find the opportunity to surrender. I can’t change what is happening in the world, so instead of being angry and fighting against it, I choose to find acceptance and work on myself from the inside. What is helpful for me is to begin every day with meditation. I try to clear my mind of my fears and worries as I imagine all of the things I love and appreciate and bring them to the forefront of my mind. It’s definitely not always easy but I believe we need to work on our minds everyday like our life depends on it. To start each day from a place of peace is key to getting through our days with a positive attitude.

You are a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Can you tell us a bit about that mentality? Can you inspire some hope to those who don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. How do you find the strength to stay positive?
I mean, we are human! We can’t possibly stay positive all the time, not even buddhist monks can do that so first take that pressure off!  We will all have moments of struggle in our lives and we’ll all have to work through tough times whether we are endlessly positive or not.  But it’s our mindset and how we take care of and nurture ourselves through those times that matters.  Do you beat yourself up or others up when things don’t go as planned?  Do you live in regret, guilt or anger?  Or do you honor the feelings that come up in each moment and love yourself through them.

I believe that our feelings are a way for our soul or higher self to communicate with us. When we feel pain or hurt in some way, it’s always an opportunity to rise above.  It’s okay to feel sad, it shows us that we’re alive, and we feel and we have a heart that tells us when something doesn’t feel right. Let the sadness happen, acknowledge the feeling, then find a way to guide yourself through it.  Our darkest times always lead us to the light.  How you find your way to that light is to see the challenge as an opportunity to grow.

To share an example…I’ve struggled with anxiety for most of my life and have to manage it daily. We all have things we are struggling with in our lives but I believe our struggles are what make us who we are meant to be. For so long I fought against my anxiety and the fear of it.  I hated it. I was angry at it.  As I’ve  worked on myself and grown, I’ve learned to love and take care of that part of me. I believe it’s a necessary part of my journey and it’s here to help me grow and evolve. My journey living with it has created in me an awareness of myself, a desire to grow and a deep empathy for others; things I actually really love about myself.  So, I want to offer you another perspective,..whatever you’re struggling with, no matter how ugly or how hard, send love to it today and thank it for being there... to help you learn, to help you grow and to help you evolve your beautiful unique soul. Then find a way to use it to help others.

Not only are you a body-positive pioneer, but in the past, you and your husband worked with a non-profit organization devoted to feeding the homeless and families in need. Can you tell us a little bit about this organization and why we need to make use of all the food we waste daily?
I was very lucky to be a part of a very special place that has changed many lives.  It has changed hands since my husband who was the program director and his mentor who retired have moved on to other work, but the effects it had on me still remain. There was a small food ministry that was run at a church in east Hollywood and they wanted to make a difference. They made visits to 8 different Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Markets within a 10 mile radius and asked them what they do with all of their leftover or near expired food.  The answer was — the trash. Yes, it all gets thrown out in dumpsters. They asked if they would consider donating it to a worthy cause, the stores said yes and so a deal was made.

The program was called HOPE HOLLYWOOD and is now run by REALITY LA. It’s a volunteer-run non-profit based in East Hollywood. Leftover, near expired, packaging damaged or overstock food is picked up twice a day from 8 different Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Markets in the area. Organic meat and produce, seafood, frozen food, endless cartons of eggs with only a single damaged egg, perfect dry goods with only damaged boxes, oils, spices, baby food etc.  This food would end up in the trash, every single day.  Thousands upon thousands of pounds of it.  HH found a way to make use of it all. Volunteers come in and sort it, throw out what isn’t good, then twice a day gourmet meals are prepared to feed the less fortunate community in Hollywood.  Anyone is welcome.  100-150 people line up outside the door twice a day and get a beautiful home cooked meal.  Not only is the program saving an incredible amount of waste but it’s helping to keep less fortunate people on the streets alive and part of a community that cares about them.

Many years ago when I spent my first day helping to prepare a meal, I had the opportunity to serve each plate to a person in need and I could not contain my emotion.  To see what would have been trash, keeping people alive, people who were in desperate need of it and incredibly grateful for it, was beyond moving.  This was only a few grocery stores, imagine the waste in the millions of others around the world?

I think it’s so incredibly important to find a way to make use of this food and it starts in our own homes. Don’t over buy, use what you have, compost, recycle.  All of this food ends up in landfills and the organic mass in those landfills decomposes and methane gas is released. This gas can contribute to climate change and can destroy natural habitats for wildlife. The trickle down effect of waste is damaging our world and we can do better than this.  We don’t have to run out and start our own non-profit but we can change how we are purchasing and handling waste in our own homes.

Do you have any goals for your professional or personal life?
My goals are never-ending :) Professionally, I want to create more of my own work and travel less. I have my own shows that I am writing and working on and would love to see those manifest. I’d love to put out another album and place even more of my songs in films and television and I have a goal to create my own production company with content about family, love, humor and growth.

Personally, I plan to keep working on myself every day from the inside out, find more time for silence and peace, spend time with my amazing family and live more in the present without feeling the need to accomplish every moment.

Is life for you back to normal after the pandemic?
Life is definitely far from normal for me, but I’m not sure that it ever will be back to the way it was! This pandemic has created a new normal and so my goal now is to surrender and accept things as they are, and find a way to thrive and be happy today.

What hope do you have for humanity?
My hope is that we can all learn to live more in the present moment. To be kinder to ourselves and kinder to each other. I hope we can get to a place where we look for the beauty and love in every person and not the things to judge, that we stop looking to the outside to find our self worth but to find it inside of us. For us all to think before we speak and to always consider whether our words are kind. I hope we can all realize that none of us are perfect but we are all here to learn, grow and to love and support each other through it. We are not meant to be perfect, we are meant to struggle in order to evolve and learn from our mistakes. I wish we could all consider the planet and our resources, if we could all take one day a week, or one meal a week to not eat a once living thing and to realize what a difference that would make. To use what we have and to be conscious of what we waste. To lift each other up and not to take another down so we feel better about ourselves. To be loving to our children and to teach them not from the trauma we learned, but to teach them from the places in us where we have grown. To live in this type of world would require that we all look within ourselves. It would take awareness and work from each person on our planet. This is what I hope for humanity.

What is your motto in life?
I have a few sayings that I like to remind myself of daily. :)
~ Faith in the Universe and fear of the unknown both ask us to believe in something we cannot see, so we might as well choose faith.
~ Create a life that feels good on the inside, not just one that looks good on the outside.
~ You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible. - Deepak Chopra

To keep up with Miranda, please follow her via her Instagram below:
Instagram: @mirandafrigon

Working Through The Tough Times With Miranda Frigon