UNTAMED HEART

UNTAMED

The continuous pursuit of creativity, living yourself as the main protagonist of your own destiny

FEATURING DANIELA LEWKOWICZ PHOTOGRAPHED BY DANI BAUER

HEART

PHOTO CREDITS PHOTOGRAPHY & ART DIRECTION: DANI BAUER HAIR & MAKE-UP: JADE ANDALON WARDROBE: ROSITA HURTADO JEWELRY: MEESHA FARZANEH LOCATION: THE COVE AUSTIN

Daniela Lewkowicz is a multi-talented photographer and actress from Bolivia. She was born into a very creative family, with her mother being Rosita Hurtado, the renowned and successful Latin American fashion designer. Daniela remembers growing up in this innovative environment, watching her mother work with her extended family to create beautiful clothing through their work as local seamstresses. Her mother continued her career by studying design and transforming herself into a highly successful entrepreneur creating fashion for celebrities and participating in multiple fashion weeks across the world. With these inspiring teachers in her life, Daniela grew up learning to nurture her creativity and to pursue her passions relentlessly.

When she was three years old, Daniela and her family moved to South Florida, which allowed her to live in a bi-cultural community that further enhanced her ability as an artist to honor both her native and adopted cultures. With such a creative foundation, Daniela naturally pursued the arts as her passion ever since she can remember. In our conversation, Daniela remembers at the age of 7 years old a friend auditioned for a Justin Timberlake music video, and the acting bug bit her ever since. She was so intent on pursuing acting that Daniela moved to Los Angeles at 14 years. Enthusiastic and passionate, Daniela made a serious attempt to become a professional actress. In fact, her lead role in an anti-bullying PSA earned Daniela a student Emmy award in 2016. Even with this recognition, Daniela understood that to succeed at the level she wanted, she needed to mature emotionally and potentially get more formal training.

Somewhat discouraged but never beaten, Daniela returned to Florida to attend school and study film production behind the camera. Her creative curiosity could not be contained, so she also started to take photography seriously. Daniela focused on fashion, portrait, and commercial branding photography with significant success. Nonetheless, acting had never really left her mind. During her isolation, when the Covid pandemic hit, Daniela kept returning to the idea of acting. So as soon as possible, Daniela enrolled in acting classes in Austin, and in 2021 she participated in her first commercial. She also directed her first short film, Mckinney Falls, which placed 2nd at the Water Texas Film Festival judged by Richard Linklater.

After the emotional turmoil of the pandemic, Daniela found that she didn’t have any fear or hesitation to push her career, and she jumped at the chance when her first movie opportunity came up. Although Daniela felt confident in this renewed pursuit of her dream, she also realized she still had a lot to learn about acting. Initially, she used her photography experience to help her get spiritually centered since acting in front of live classes was not as easy as first imagined.

Daniela told me that acting was so addictive to her because she could happily get lost in a new persona along with the imaginary circumstances surrounding the story. She felt that instead of acting a part, she was actually living herself truthfully as the character. Daniela was able to be vulnerable and demonstrate all her emotions and intensity. It was a release for her as she had nothing to hide through her connection with the audience. Daniela’s success has not been taken for granted. She is very grateful and excited about all her recent work she’s taken part in throughout 20202021, and she can’t wait to see what else is in store.