America Ferrara Shares About Isolation and Reaching Out

“I had never been away from home. I was having a hard time really connecting, finding friends, and I spent a lot of time on my own. And I felt bad and had new feelings of isolation and sadness and wasn’t exactly sure how to bring myself out of it or even what to call it.”
America Ferrara

In honor of May Mental Health Awareness Month, actress and activist America Ferrera describes her struggles with isolation and sadness during her college years, and how she overcame it by finding people to talk to. She stresses the importance of reaching out, asking for help, and talking about mental health.

Battling mental health issues can sometimes feel isolating and overwhelming. The You Got This campaign strives to assure you that you’re never alone. Celebrities and influencers share their stories and provide tips on how they got through the hardships of both their past and present, reinforcing the empowering message that while things may be hard now, #YouGotThis.

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America Ferrera is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her feature film debut in 2002 with the comedy-drama Real Women Have Curves, earning praise for her performance. Ferrera has won an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award among others.

Ferrera achieved modest success early in her career with roles in films such as the Disney original film Gotta Kick It Up! (2002) and the comedy-drama The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005); the latter earned her the Imagen Award for Best Actress and her first nomination for the ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. She undertook television roles including the eponymous role on the ABC comedy-drama Ugly Betty (2006–2010). She was praised for playing the protagonist of the series, Betty Suarez, and won several Best Actress Awards in 2007 at the Golden Globe Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Primetime Emmy Awards, the first for a Latina woman in the category.

Ferrera’s other notable film roles include the drama The Dry Land (2010), the romantic comedy Our Family Wedding (2010), and the crime drama End of Watch (2012). She provided the voice of Astrid Hofferson in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, including the three films and the television series Dreamworks Dragons. She co-produced and starred as Amy Sosa in the NBC workplace comedy series Superstore (2015–2021).

Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007.