Louisa Gummer

On June 12, 1991, two vastly creative beings, Don Gummer and Meryl Streep welcomed their youngest, Louisa Jacobson Gummer. In April 2018 I asked Louisa a few questions. Here's what I learned:

Louisa was born in Los Angeles, California. By the time she was born, Henry, Mamie, and Grace were already around, expecting her. As a girl, she spent most of her childhood in Connecticut in the countryside where her fondest memory was created, running around in the woods with her siblings and getting dirty.

Growing up she recalls being all over the place. As youngsters, she and her siblings put on shows for the family, usually endless ones. And as a kid, she was constantly making videos and indulging in creative worlds even without realizing.

Among many other things, Louisa's father, Don a sculptor and her mother, Meryl, an actress have been people who have held her family together and have positively been incredibly passionate about what they do. To Louisa, it never came to mind that other families didn't work the same way or had the same drive.

Poly Prep, New York schooled Louisa for some years. She did not have consistent A's but worked hard and obtained good results. When Louisa finished high school she had an idea of what she wanted to do. "I thought I did at the time, but it’s easy to change your mind when you’re young. I didn’t think acting was for me when I first got out of high school, I definitely would have pursued it sooner."

However, Louisa entered Vassar College and obtained a degree in Psychology. Her creative and artistic sparks couldn't but stand out so, in spite of her degree, Louisa decided to enter Yale School of Drama, where she currently studies acting.

Acting was something Louisa did for fun even before discovering that was her passion. When I asked Louisa whether she felt acting was something she felt she was born to do or not, she replied: "I think I’d be crazy to put this much work into something I wasn’t truly passionate about. It’s something that I love and something that I hope to be good at, and I hope I get to do it for a long time."

As a keen actress, Louisa's process of portraying a character is having a lot of research done; a lot of studying. She must feel like she knows everything about this person before portraying them genuinely. She needs to know such as how they grew up, what the time period they're from was like, among other elements.

We all encounter art as being a part of us at different levels and stages of life. Art seems to have been around Louisa since forever. Her own definition of art as it applies to her life and what she does is: "the expression of emotion". Now being an actress, what she does with that you may ask, she states it as: "my duty as an actor is to portray as much feeling as believable as I can."

Having worked in theatre only which she does love, she hopes she gains experience from every other aspect of the industry.

Even if acting is what takes up most of her time these days, you may find Louisa reading, modeling or goofing off with friends. Nevertheless, she let me know what her favorites are:

• Color: Blue

• Fashion designer: everything Versace

• Actors: Audrey Hepburn, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, Robert De Niro and Tom Hanks

• TV Show: This Is Us

• Character: Holly Golightly from Breakfast At Tiffany's

• Films: Forrest Gump, Dead Man Walking, The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz

• Play: 1984 - "I really, really loved it. I think it’s so important to see with the country’s current climate."

• Place: Connecticut

"One thing I’ve learned is not to feel discouraged - there are 100 rejections for every part you’re going to get."

This is something I was able to learn from Louisa and will probably keep with myself. 

Louisa hopes that by 2028 she is still acting and with a family of her own (if she feels she's ready) but is currently doing stage work only.

If you're ever in New York, you should visit Greenpoint Terminal Gallery and must not lose a chance to watch Louisa perform! 

A reminder, as some of Lousia's favorite words say: 

"If things go wrong, don't go with them." 

Photos by: GettyImages, Jim Spellman, Louisa's Instagram or given by her.