Masiela Lusha ( /ˌmɑːsiˈɛlə ˈluːʃə/; born October 23, 1985) is an American author, actress, producer and humanitarian who first gained recognition after starring in film and TV projects such as ABC's George Lopez and Sony Picture's Blood: The Last Vampire. As an author, Lusha has translated poems and prayers by Mother Teresa, and has written several books in various languages.
Lusha spent her childhood chiefly in Albania, Hungary and Austria. She studied ballet in Vienna, and then moved to Michigan in 1993, where she continued to train in various forms of dance. She rose to fame when she co-starred as the passionate and rebellious character, Carmen Lopez, for five years, on the syndicated Warner Brothers series, George Lopez. This reportedly established Lusha as a TV veteran by the age of 20. She then appeared in movies such as Muertas, Katie Malone, Ballad of Broken Angels, Summoning, A Father's Love, Time of the Comet, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, Blood: The Last Vampire. In recognition of her work, Lusha has been awarded two consecutive Young Artist Awards for Leading Young Actress in a Comedy and Drama. In 2007, Lusha founded a production company, Illuminary Pictures, and has since produced two films with the company. Throughout her career, Lusha has been placed on numerous 'best dressed' lists.
As an author, Lusha is also considered to be the youngest author in the world to publish a book in two languages. She is also recognized as one of the Top Ten Talented Poets of North America for her published work Lusha has since written four books of poetry, Inner Thoughts, Drinking the Moon, Amore Celeste, The Call, a novel The Besa, and two children's books, Boopity Boop! Goes To Hawaii, and Boopity Boop! Writes Her First Poem, which was released in 2010. Lusha has also written and translated poetry in English, Albanian and German.
Lusha's personal experiences in various countries reportedly inspires her passion for humanitarian work. Most notably, in 2006, Lusha founded the nonprofit, Children of the World Foundation, which shelters, educates and promotes healthy communication between family members. She donated 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land so the charity could build its first community center in Southern California.
Read more about Masiela Lusha: Early Life and Education, Humanitarian Work and Public Service Campaigns, Personal Life, Filmography, Awards