Share
So Money with Farnoosh Torabi
589: Azita Ghanizada, Hollywood Actress
Our guest today is a successful actress who arrived in Hollywood over a decade ago with a one-way ticket and her mother's beaten-up suitcase. Since then she's landed many prominent roles including a lead role in Alphas on the American Syfy Channel. She's also been on Entourage, How I Met Your Mother, Veronica Mars, The Mentalist among countless other shows.
Azita Ghanizada joins us from LaLa land. Her personal journey is a fascinating one. Her family fled to the U.S. when she was just a baby, seeking asylum to escape war-torn Afghanistan. They settled in Virginia and while Azita always aspired to be an actress, she was forbidden to do so until finishing school. So, after receiving her B.A. in English and Journalism, she left for Hollywood.
That's where our interview begins...What were those first few years auditioning like? How did she afford to make ends meet? What do her parents think now of her career choice?
Azita is also a humanitarian. She focuses on issues surrounding women in war-torn areas, whether it’s co-hosting a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees fundraiser for World Refugee Day or serving as a Global Ambassador for womenforwomen.org. Most recently, she's become an advocate for MENA (Middle Eastern, North African) Artists and has been called on to speak on diversity issues in the media and in business.
To learn more visit www.somoneypodcast.com.
More episodes
View all episodes
1665: Ask Farnoosh: Withdraw Early From My 401k to Pay Off Debt?
28:06Join Farnoosh's private community to up-level your finances at SoMoneyMembers.Last day to join Book to Brand in NYC.This week's questions: Does it ever make sense to withdraw early from a 401k to pay down debt? What investing fees should we watch out for? Is my target date fund OK, or should I expand my investments?1664: Retirement Planning for Small and Micro Business Owners
31:45The average worker believes they need over $1 million to retire comfortably. How can small business owners secure this lofty financial goal for themselves and their employees with less stress? Guest Jean Smart is the founder and CEO of Penelope, a fintech company that is disrupting retirement solutions for small and micro businesses. Penelope (named after her daughter) was inspired by her personal experiences, as Jean is the daughter of Korean immigrant business owners who were not prepared for their own retirement.1663: First-Gen Finances and Overcoming Survivor’s Guilt with Jannese Torres
34:39Jannese Torres is an award-winning Latina money expert. She became an accidental entrepreneur after a job loss inspired her to turn her food blog into a six-figure business. Throughout the years, her passion for entrepreneurship led her to notice a gap in the conversation around money. Her debut book, Financially Lit, offers culturally relevant and relatable personal finance advice to make you feel seen, heard and understood. Whether it’s the guilt you feel from being the first person to “make it” while members of your family are still struggling or the way financial trauma manifests itself in negative and limiting beliefs around money, Torres is here to guide you through it all. Check out Jannese's first interview on So Money.1662: Ask Farnoosh: Major Credit Card Debt and Career Indecision (Should I Quit?)
31:19Registration for Farnoosh's investing workshop closes soon. Secure your spot here.This week: Helping a listener who's overwhelmed by credit card bills; Should a listener quit her job if she is the breadwinner? And should another listener take an early retirement package if they still need to make money?1661: Webby Winning Podcast with Michelle Buteau, Star of Netflix's Survival of the Thickest
35:02So Money has officially won the 2024 Webby for BEST LIVE EPISODE RECORDING with comedian, actress and author Michelle Buteau. Relive the magic of that episode today, as Michelle shares her struggles and wins, rising through the world of show business and comedy. Learn about her investments, savings strategies and financial hopes for her two children. (This episode aired originally on August 21, 2023)1660: Money & Divorce: The Case for 50/50 Shared Parenting
33:48In her new book The 50/50 Solution, creator of the Wealthy Single Mommy community Emma Johnson showcases the robust research proving that, in the vast majority of cases, equal timesharing is the best outcome for everyone in a family where the adults no longer live together. The 50/50 Solution will show you that equal parenting time leads to better physical, emotional, and mental health for children of divorce, higher career earnings for single mothers, fathers who are more engaged and whose rights as parents are preserved and far less parental and legal conflict.1659: Ask Farnoosh: I'm Debt-Free! Should I Still Have Credit Cards?
26:20Register for Farnoosh's Investing Masterclass on April 29Prospective Authors: Join Farnoosh at Book to Brand in NYC - few seats left!Join the Waitlist for the So Money Members ClubToday's show: The benefits of credit cards, recommended stock portfolio allocations and resources for helping kids learn about money. Plus: How to execute a Roth IRA?1658: Defining Enough, Smart Investments and Raising Grounded Kids with Carl Richards
44:28Carl Richards is a Certified Financial Planner™ and creator of the Sketch Guy column, which appeared weekly for a decade in The New York Times. He is the author of The Behavior Gap and host of the new podcast 50 Fires (I'm a guest!). We cover a range of complex financial topics in this episode from "enoughness" to finding meaning in your career and making investments that are "worth it."Listen to Carl's previous appearance on So Money.1657: Creating More Financial Security With a Portfolio Life
35:43My career has never been this ONE thing, and I sometimes worry that it seems like I’m scattered. My guest today wants us all to feel validated and secure in pursuing multiple pursuits simultaneously. Christina Wallace is the author of The Portfolio Life, in which she shares how we can develop an identity that is so much broader than just how we monetize our time today. Christina is also a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, where she teaches entrepreneurship and leads the HBS Startup Bootcamp. She is also the co-founder of Nothing Ventured Productions, where she and her co-founders provide access to micro-investments in Broadway theatre. Christina and I will talk more about investing in theatre, crafting your portfolio life, and the applications of AI in our daily lives.