Actress/Storyteller: Ada Mauro

by Lon Levin

An Italian born actress, linguist, chef, and inspirational speaker, Ada is what show business in Japan calls “maruchi-tarento” (multi-talent), a talent with a wide range of performing skill, from comedy to drama.

I met Ada a few years ago in my role as a real estate agent. I didn’t get her listing but we did become friends. I hope I am able to bring to you readers the Ada I know who is vibrant, energetic, funny and very much a star.

“I plan to travel and tour with my show and publish collections of my writings about confidence, mental toughness (emotional intelligence and the power and rewards of self control, patience and perseverance — versus instant gratification and entitlement). ”

When did you first think about acting as something you wanted to do? How did that evolve into your present business? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors?

My first exposure to the performing arts was through a community theater sponsored by the church I went to as a child. We did lots of singing and acting, comedic plays and musicals. My first gig on camera was for RAI National Television at the age of thirteen. It was a great experience that planted a good seed in my heart, I later modeled a bit in Milan and then worked for a local TV channel. At the age of twenty, as I was studyingthe Japanese language, (and fell in love with both the people and their culture), I grasped a clear vision about going to Tokyo to pursue show business there. I was not particularly encouraged by my family or friends, but I fortunately was by one of my teachers at my university (I will be eternally grateful for him!). I knew in my heart that that was what I was supposed to do, no matter what other people said. As far as the evolving of my career, for me, being an actor is getting in someone else’s shoes, studying and exploring human behavior; it is about understanding the human heart and mind, and the struggle and beauty of life; what I do today is no different, in fact it is exactly the same — but just in real life. I believe the more truthful and compassionate we are the more we can connect with one another. Being a talk show host and entertaining people comes naturally for me, but certainly the fact that I’ve done so much professional work and interacted with an innumerable amount of people both on camera, live stages and in multiple languages and countries, has definitely provided the familiarity and ease at what I do today. If there is anything new, that would be the amount of writing I currently do on a daily basis — that came as a surprise. I expected to write at some point in my life, but I thought it would be later and certainly not almost unstoppably! I now write more than I talk — and that’s truly hard to believe!!

What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up? What were your influences?

I was born and raised in a sunny port city named Salerno, but I grew up with lots of access to nature and the outdoor because my grandparents owned a 750 acre property in the country side with multiple rural homes, and I spent lots of time with my maternal grandma growing up. She was a professional tailor incredibly energetic and motivated who started with nothing and built a fortune, along with my grandpa. She was a calm force of nature, pioneeristic, courageous in her business undertakings, and could do almost anything, but was just not very interested in cooking or food so much (although she did make the best bread in the world, which I miss!). She was undoubtedly my greatest mentor. I owe my cooking skills and passion to my mom, who was an incredible cook and my grandpa, who was a professional chef. I was interested in crafting, drawing, sewing, and in all creative and artistic endevors (except for cooking back then, just like my grandmother hahaha!). My dad, who made a living as an accountant, was an amazing artist, he drew, painted, was a master at calligraphy, and wrote beautiful poetry, he was kind, generous and unquestionably one of the most beautiful souls on earth. As far my personality, I was a deep thinker at a very young age, very sensitive and aware of my surroundings, and a very gregarious child (according to my mom I was born to talk and spoke before I walked!). I loved being with my cousins (who were my first best friends), my mom would quite often invite them over at meal time so that I would eat (I was a horrible eater, absolutely not interested in food until I hit 13). I grew up in an atmosphere of creating and making everything at home from scratch, literally everything: cheese, olive oil, vinegar, pizza, pasta, wine (which by the way, I hated the smell of), clothes, and even soap! Of course we had everything from eggs to fruits and vegetables coming from our land. Crazy when I’m reminded of all of that!

Your style is very unique. Did you work on developing a style or is that what naturally came out of you?

Thank you, I appreciate the compliment! I think I just strive to be true to myself since a very young age. I owe this way of thinking to my mom. She always told me not to be afraid of people’s judgment, but to feel free to be my own self.

What areas does your work appear in? How did that come about?

That’s a big question to answer, but I’ll try. Some of my early work can still be found on You- Tube (sometimes people send me clips they randomly find of my work in Japan). That stuff is old and although I feel very blessed to have done it, I feel like it’s almost from a previous life (hahaha). Today I still do some acting, and occasionally even work from here for Japanese TV again, but mostly I am focused on sharing my message through writing, podcasting and live talks. I have two regular venues for my Eat-Laugh-Learn events, one in Beverly Hills and one in Monterey (and currently looking for a location in San Diego). I travel all around Los Angeles and California for small private, and corporate businesses company events, as well as for schools, and even homes upon request. It all started from one little YouTube video I had made for my Japanese fans who I thought my still remember me after so many years . The idea was actually prompted by a conversation with my wonderful and very talented, long time friend Yuko Kurosu, who was my make up artist on one of my regular shows back in the day. She encouraged me to start a YouTube channel to reconnect with the people that wondered what happened of me and would’ve liked to hear from me. My using food as a vehicle to talk about what it means to live a full and delicious life developed from cooking on my YouTube videos and thinking about what we all need to feel good about ourselves in order to enjoy life. I basically went from talking about eating organic food to talking and writing about how to organically live a healthy, happy and full life. I had what I call a “diamond epiphany” and realized that connecting food to our emotional and overall human needs would resonate with all people, no matter what language or culture they come from. You can find me on social media and popular websites like Medium or Quora, even Patreon, Facebook, Twitter, You- Tube and Instagram (of course haha!). People can book their own Eat-Laugh-Learn with me or join one already scheduled in my calendar on my website.

How has the advent of the computer affected your work?

For someone like me, born and raised in one continent, with a long history and career in another continent, and then currently living in a third one, the computer is what words cannot describe. I am so grateful for all that I can learn and put out to the world through the Internet, as well as the encouragement I receive from so many wonderful people all over, including old friends, family, fans from a long time ago that still graciously support me. The computer has given all of us the ability to travel, explore and learn from the entire world, (which is a major dream come true for me). Not to speak about how easy it has made it for all of us to create and edit all sorts of content. I do all my editing for both videos and podcasts, as well as my website work and I love doing it!

I’m fascinated by your popularity in Japan. Was it because you’re a beautiful Italian woman whose funny and can cook or something else? What’s the origin of that?

My career in Japan had nothing to do with my cooking skills (although I did enjoy starring on their major cooking shows on television). I was given a nickname there by which I was introduced many times when I appeared as a guest on TV or live events, which perhaps explains some of my success there. Sometimes I would also use it to introduce myself, it goes like this: Yokina musume no Ada desu. I was the cheerful, bright Italian girl who loved Japan, was fluent in Japanese, outspoken and funny. My ability to improv have confidence in front of a camera and a large audience, along with my people skills, moved me quickly to stardom. Most of all, I think I just loved Japan, the people and the culture so much, that they just loved me back! I worked on many popular shows, one of which was the longest running daytime comedy show in the world wide history of television. It aired on Fuji Television; Another one that played a strategic role in my career was a Japanese version of the American SNL, which aired on Tokyo Television. What I loved about my work there is that in Japan, if you classify in the “maruchi- tarento”