Acting Is Just a Dayjobfor90210 Star Annalynne Mccord
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hero WORSH Actingis just a dayjobfor90210 star nnalyrrhe McCord is spring cleaning on a Friday Annalynne McCord. morning in mid-June. With the help of her older sister,Angel, who is visiting from out of town, McCord is in deep de-cluttering mode to gather some of WRITTENBYJULIE JACOBS her personal items for eBay Giving Works, which allows sellers to direct their proceeds to their favorite causes. McCord's beneficiary will be the New Somaly Mam Fund: Voices for Change,a nonprofit that supports the efforts of Somaly Mam, a leader in the fight against human traffick- ing and modern-day slavery,as well as a force in empower- ing survivors ofsexual exploitation and abuse. McCord, best known for her roles in 90210 and Nip/ Tuck,hasbecome a force herself when it comes to the anti- trafficking movement. As the Goodwill Ambassador for the New Somaly Mam Fund, she helps to raise awareness about semalized violence. contributes to the rehabilita- tion and education of victims, and travels to Cambodia (where Somaly Mam is based) severaltimes a year to meet with survivors and witness firsthand how they have overcome ilauma. McCord learned about the New Somaly Mam Fund from a friend during the early days ofher career,when she was offered 90210.9he saysshe heard stories "you cart't unhear" and they stuck with her-so much so that at a pivotal moment for any aspiring actress,she became filled with "righteous anger" over the atrocities of trafficking and had what she describes as a "young life crisisi' questioning whether she wanted to continue acting. She began attending events for the New Somaly Fund and journeying to Cambodia, and after a fewyears of involvement with the organization, had a revelation as to why she was so enraged:"It was my storyi' saysMcCord, who had been sexually assaulted.at age 18 by a male friend. "I was going around the world trying to savemyself [but] ever]rwhereI turned, I found someone elsewho was more worthy of being saved than mel 80 LIFESTYLESMAGAZINE FALL 2015 FALL2015 LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE PROFILE ANNALYNNEMCCORD Recalling her first visit to Cambodia about For more than two decades,SomalyMam has been six years ago, she remarks, "I was not prepared mental in nurturing this a"ffection and exoneration by for what I experienced. What I experienced the girls andyoungwomen McCord has met, alongwith was all of these victims-who were not victims sands of others, a new lease on life. She has coordinated free at all. Theywere victimized, [but] theywere clinics that provide them with the necessaryphysical, not victims. I experienced overwhelming love, logical and vocational services to re-enter their communities which I could not reconcile... Theselittle be- and lead healthy, productive, independent lives. Somaly Mam ings...found forgiveness,which is the whole known worldwide for her advocacy; McCord recognizes her thing that the Somaly lculture] teaches,which as a comrade and confidante. is forgive, forgrve, forgivei' "She'sone of rny closest friendsl'McCord saysas she looks a blown-up photograph of Somaly Mam, displayed promi in her living room. "She'smy hero, because she is someone McGordatthe UN will stop at nothing to saveher girls.She does everything and WomenforPeace anything to make them feel loved, to make them feel safe,to MarchinMarch back to them what she did not havel AwardsLuncheon at Apart from her ambassadorship,McCord is giving back in theUnited Nations headquartersin other ways. She has put many victims through college with NewYork. scholarships,proudly pointing out they are studying to be doctors, lawyers and psychologists to "help prevent this from happening to another little girl. 'They are my kids. I ve got a lot of them. I ve got a couple hundred ofthemi she laughs. McCord has further made her passion for the cause evi with a thought-provoking short film she wrote, directed, pro- duced and starred in. Entitled I Choose,the project interlaces two stories unfolding simultaneously that send a strong mes- sageabout free will One follows a young girl who is sold out of the back of a van for iust a few dollars. while the other features young woman who makes the choice to be intimate with a She notes that both stories are her own, referring to her rape as a teenager."No, I wasn t trafficked into slavery but I ve been the woman who chooses and the woman who didn tl' "Theidea of being able to do something where I can talk about these issues 0na scale, likean open forum style platform, where people can Skype inand we can talk about thisin real time, thats kind of where my aspirati0ns areleading to," The feedback from the film has been really interesting, she says,recalling one instance when she screenedit at a prison for both male and female inmates. The men did not understand the film, but the women did, which spurred a fascinating and illuminating conversation. "It was this amazinginteraction taking place because of something I [conceptualized] in the shower, washing my hairl' she remembers. "It was a really beautifirl display of what art can do, to start the conversation, and that s ultimately what I wantedl' Earlier this year, McCord strengthened her spokesmanship against sexual assault when she became an ambassador for the NO MORE campaign. NO MORE was established in 20l3"by a PROFILE ANNALYNNEMCCORD coalition ofleading advocacygroups, service providers, the U.S. change it. In that moment of anguish I wasn t Department ofJusticeand major corporations"to rarseaware- present;I was elsewhere.But I'm back now and nessabout serrrralassault, as well as domesticviolence, and to I'm taking action more than ever.I will end eliminatethe associatedstigma and shame.It doesnot provide slavery or I will die tryingi' lM services,but rather seeksto keep the dialoguegoing to prompt prevention.McCord has certainly been engagedin the dis- course,speaking at a NO MOR-ESuper Bowl event and continu- ing to bring attention to the issuesat schoolsand colleges. Next on her agendais the (S)HEROESAwards. an initiative she is developing to spotlight and pay tribute to men who em- power and support women. "We dont think of all the wonderful men who would never,ever contemplateharming a woman, never contempiate taking advantage of a r'ulnerable situation, McCordatthe at the 17h Annual rvho would be someone who would actually see a situation CASTFrom Slavery toFreedom and want to helpi' saysMcCord. "We should reward them. We galain Los Angeles. shouldrecognize men, young boys,teen boys,who are support- ing their females."She hopes to createan affiliated curriculum and eventually expand the program beyond the United States. McCord has indeed become a fervent,forthright activist.She ivrote about her own sexual assault in a frank essayfor Cosmo- politan'sJrtly2014 issue, and talks about Angel'spast cycleof sexualabuse. These experiences have led McCord, an Atlanta- born pastor'sdaughter, to her calling,to what she cites in her essayas "my own revolutionl' It is a revolution that has garnered her great satisfaction alongwith much praise.She has been acknowledgedfor her humanitarian work with a 2011VHI "Do Something"Award nomination, and a U.S.Congressional honor presentedto her in 2009by Connecticutcongresswoman Rosa Delauro. Arrd the Look to the Starsorganization, a prominent online sourcefor celebrity charity news and information, has named her 'bne of the strongest young female philanthropists standing up in Hol- ly-r,voodand fighting for the charities she believes inl' ,ffi Sharingher goalsand accomplishmentsthrough sociai media with her fans and followers-234,000 strong on Twitter- has changedher entire life, she says."It's changedmy desiresas ';tG wellj'she adds,noting that sheis testing an online talk sho'nr "The idea of being able to do somethingwhere I can talk about ,{, theseissues on a scale,like an open forum styleplatform, where 4 peoplecan S\pe in and we can talk about this in real time, t1- that s kind of where my aspirations are leading to. fil sa "I ve redefinedthe word 'success'i'offers McCord. "I love act- .}- ing. It s fun. I enjoy it. It's a beautiful part of my life and it's been P a saving grace as far as therapy, art therapy, which really took me out of a lot of negative things in my life. But what makes me happy are going through the emails Ifrom survivors]...andtell- ing them 'Youre okay,youre going to be okay...youcan do itj" Sheeloquently writes about how shebecame okay in a ChristmasDay posting on her blog at theannalynnemccord. com, "I was sitting in Somaly [Mam]'s lap curled up like a child being held by a loving mother, sobbing my eyesout, becauseI cannot acceptwhat is. But that's okay, becauseI-m doing one of my olher three options. SinceI most certainly cannot walk t: away from it, I'm left with my choice to FALL 2015 LIFESTYLES IVAGAZINE \i:_ry.