Masiela Lusha
Masiela Lusha (/ˌmɑːsiˈɛlə ˈluːʃə/; born October 23, 1985) is an Albanian-American actress, author, producer and humanitarian who first gained recognition after starring in film and TV projects such as the Emmy Award-winning ABC series George Lopez and Sony Picture's Blood: The Last Vampire. As an author, Lusha has translated poems and prayers by Mother Teresa, and has written several books in various languages. Lusha spent her childhood chiefly in Albania, Hungary and Austria. She studied ballet in Vienna, and then moved to Michigan in 1993, where she continued to train in various forms of dance. She co-starred as the passionate and rebellious character, Carmen Lopez, for five years, on the syndicated Warner Brothers series, George Lopez. This reportedly established Lusha as a TV veteran by the age of 20. She then appeared in movies such as Muertas, Katie Malone, Ballad of Broken Angels, Summoning, A Father's Love, Time of the Comet, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, Blood: The Last Vampire. Lusha has been awarded two consecutive Young Artist Awards for Leading Young Actress in a Comedy and Drama. In 2007, Lusha founded a production company, Illuminary Pictures, and has since produced two films with the company. She is also recognized as one of the Top Ten Talented Poets of North America for her published work Lusha has written four books of poetry, Inner Thoughts, Drinking the Moon, Amore Celeste, The Call, a novel The Besa, and two children's books. Lusha has also written and translated poetry in English, Albanian and German. In 2006 Lusha founded the nonprofit, Children of the World Foundation, which shelters, educates and promotes healthy communication between family members. She donated 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land so the charity could build its first community center in Southern California. In 2013, Lusha was appointed Athgo International's Ambassador for Youth. As an Ambassador, Lusha will encourage a dialogue between aspiring global entrepreneurs and Athgo's bodies of support such as the World Bank Group, the United Nations, and international universities. Lusha will participate in a forum with H.E. Mr. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda and Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of ITU and Vice-Chairman of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development.
