Pronounced: El-AY-na WATT-co
Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia by a doctor and a computer programming analyst, I was an academic overachiever who loved pop divas and musical theatre. At the age of 18, I auditioned for Canadian Idol, getting as far as the Top 6 before my performance of “Early Morning Rain” by Gordon Lightfoot sent me and my pink hair extensions packing. Two years later, I was Idol’s Roving Reporter for the show’s cross-country audition tour, interviewing hopeful contestants and hosting sponsor segments each week up until the finale. I missed performing, though, so I returned to university to complete my undergraduate degree in Drama and Women’s Studies, ditching my Biology major for a career in the performing arts.
I played leading roles in stage productions across the country, receiving a Dora nomination for my work and winning a Jessie Award in Vancouver for my performance as Christine Colgate in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I understudied Eponine in Les Misérables at the Princess of Wales Theatre (I went on ONE glorious time!) and played Nicola in Kinky Boots at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, before booking my first television series as Dr. Scarlet in YTV and Nickelodeon’s Open Heart. It was a role that made my mother proud and a series that was destined to be the next Degrassi. It lasted one season.
In 2015 I wrote and released an album on International Women’s Day called Beyond This Line, a small compilation of acoustic songs that ticked a big box off my bucket list (even though making it felt a little lonely).
After a period of time where I didn’t work and got side jobs as a Christmas elf and go-cart driver, I booked a breakout role opposite Jann Arden in her comedy series JANN as her unimpressed and cutting manager, Cale. My other claims to fame include: the two lines I had in the Academy Award winning film, Spotlight (they showed the back of my head at the Oscars and I screamed); the time in Schitt’s Creek when my character (spoiler alert!) [saved the family business in the final season]; and my role as Jo Koy’s sister, Regina, in Easter Sunday, the first Hollywood studio film in history to center on a Filipino family. I skipped the red carpet premiere in LA to film a movie-of-the-week in the peak of summer while 9 weeks pregnant. Zero regrets. I had a blast and I really needed that diaper money. With Roque as my co-star, I also played Hy’Rell, the first female and first named Efrosian alien on Star Trek: Discovery, as well as Lomax, the funeral director turned real estate agent on SyFy’s Surrealestate, now on its third season.
On March 7, 2023 I gave birth to a 9-pound baby boy named Roque Lorenzo Juatco Dunlop. I walked to the hospital fully dilated because I didn’t want to pay for parking. Since then I’ve become passionate about sharing my hypnobirthing story as it completely reshaped my ideas of childbirth and the power that women can wield. You can read my birth story here.
I work hard. I have fears of failure often. I am in a fickle industry, full of moments where I feel famous and even important, and other moments where I feel like I will never work again and everybody knows it. If motherhood has taught me anything, it is how incredibly hard I am on myself. Motherhood has also taught me to stay curious, to challenge and re-write narratives, to speak more gently to myself, and to make sure that I carve out a space for just me and my creativity because I deserve it.
I started this blog to start writing again. I would love to write a memoir one day, so please message me with your book offers. I named this blog after that which makes me feel warm, safe, and nourished. It is the place where great ideas and conversations happen. It is my favourite meal to enjoy either solo or with my closest friends and family. It just takes a little extra time to prepare, but it is always worth it. Welcome to garlic rice and coffee.
Thank you for being here. Mean comments will be deleted.
Love, Juatco XO