Born and raised in Australia, she decided to move to the United States at 17 years old to pursue her dream. The difficulty of finding work in her home country at that time and the advice of a couple of casting directors drove her to take her chance and hop on a plane. ‘‘I think now if I had to move in my twenties I would be a little more scared, knowing what could go wrong,’’ she laughs. Aisha has been gracing our screens for three seasons of The Bold Type, portraying her character in the most authentic way, Kat Edison, an assistant at Scarlet Magazine who becomes the head of the Social Media department. However at first, the actress wasn’t really sure about how the series would turn out. ‘‘I think I underestimated what the show could be,’’ she explains. ‘‘But when I read the script, it really pleasantly surprised me!’’ Alike the fans, Aisha absolutely adores the friendship between her character, Sutton (Meghann Fahy) and Jane (Katy Stevens), and she believes that this is what makes the show so special. ‘‘I think that people connect to the female friendship, and how it reflects real life,’’ she tells. ‘‘I also think that people see themselves in the show because it is so diverse. To me, all of the show is aspirational. It’s a chance to see life as it could be.’’ ‘‘I just find it so inspiring,’’ the actress states when being asked about what it means to her to portray a woman discovering her bisexuality. ‘‘Kat is exploring her sexuality in such an honest and open way. She’s afraid, obviously it is a scary thing to be in love for the first time, but she is so fearless.’’ Aisha was also overwhelmed by the response of the fans, who have been
inspired to be more confident or to come out to their families and friends. In the show, Kat and Adena (Nikohl Boosheri) developed a strong connection from the moment they met, but after being in a relationship for a while, they decided to break up at the end of season 2. ‘‘I love that Adena was really nurturing to Kat, and never pushed her too far,’’ Aisha expresses. ‘‘Honestly, I know that the fans were really heartbroken when they broke up, and I was too. But I feel like this isn’t the end for them!’’ Another of Kat’s journey concerns her identity as a black woman, and the actress loves that we get to see her character work through that as an adult. ‘‘No matter who you are, when we are growing up, and I don’t think growing up ever ends, we are constantly discovering and rediscovering ourselves,’’ the actress says. ‘‘So that experience in itself was really universal to me and I certainly know what it is like to come to terms with your racial identity.’’ According to Aisha, every episode is a challenge, as she often has to be honest and vulnerable about certain things. ‘‘It can be scary. These are things that I myself still struggle to be open and honest about,’’ she tells. ‘‘The way Kat approached love is really brave, so I feel inspired by her. I aspire to be as strong and confident as her.’’ As The Bold Type came back in April to broadcast its third season and has even been renewed for season 4, the actress feels really grateful to be able to continue on this journey. ‘‘It’s amazing to be on a show that people are watching and connecting to. So I’m really lucky that this is the one that really resonated with people.’’
‘‘ Growing never ends. We look at our teenage years as being the time we grow and then we’re supposed to have it all figured out but personal growth is something that should be a priority for your whole life’’
ISSUE NO.14
GRUMPYMAGAZINE.COM
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