Hey there! My name's Lissa. I'm an actor, producer, and costume designer currently based in New York City, but raised in and around Philadelphia. My interest in acting began in my early twenties—starting in Philly and eventually leading me to New York City. 

My on-camera journey began with a featured role in Season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which sparked my pursuit of professional acting. I debuted my first lead role in the feature film Alice-Heart, a project created through my collective, Scene 3 Productions. I was proud to also lead-produce the film, bringing it to its world premiere at Slamdance 2025, where I received the festival's Outstanding Acting Award and our team earned a Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize Honorary Mention. Alice-Heart has since won Audience Awards at the Mammoth Lakes and Brooklyn Film Festivals, and we're excited for what’s next on the festival circuit.

As a mixed Filipino-American creative, I feel fortunate to work in a time that seeks out and champions diverse voices. Growing up in two distinct cultures has taught me to appreciate the eccentric- and often contradictory- facets of the human experience. With the projects I contribute to, I hope to rekindle the liberated spirit of independent, low-budget filmmaking and encourage more Gen Z artists to tell stories that are true to them, no matter how seemingly trivial or grand. I firmly believe that film sets should be environments that foster collaboration and friendship, and I aspire to influence a future where this outlook becomes customary. 

Some of my favorite films include Goro Miyazaki's From Up on Poppy Hill, Ryuske Hamaguchi's Drive My Car, Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread, Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World, Lino Brocka's Manila in the Claws of Light, Luis Ortega's El Ángel, and Damien Chazelle's La La Land. These films, among many others, inspire me to continue storytelling and reaffirm my optimism in the future of the film industry. 

When I'm not acting or producing, I love studying linguistics, playing music, cooking, reading, and painting :)