Hollywood 411 with actress Navia Robinson

How community kept her grounded  

Photos by Carly Jean Sharp, Hair by Gianna Bitner, Makeup by Marlena Von Kazmier, Produced by Lucy Ivey

Hair charms and necklace- Petit Moments, Earrings - Ettika, Set - Alessandra Rich, Shoes - Franco Sarto

It was the closest thing she was going to get to experiencing a typical college lifestyle. Wrapping up on a television set each day, she and her castmates arrived at their West Hollywood apartment building they all lived at and gathered in their friend’s apartment. They sat with each other and debriefed their day, discussed how their scenes went and what they want to do in the future. Actress Navia Robison and her castmates didn’t have RA’s or share a bathroom with their floormates, but living in this apartment building in West Hollywood is the closest reality Robinson has to attending college. 

“We would go home after work and have dinner together and debrief the day like, ‘Oh, yeah. Did you hear that happen?’ ‘That was weird.’ ‘That scene? Yeah, that was difficult,” Robinson said. “It was lovely. It was almost like college, like being in a dorm with college students.”

Earrings - Ettika, Necklace and rings- Karo Koru, Bracelet - Petite Moments, Top - Just BEE Queen, Skirt - Zimmerman, Shoes Franco Sarto

Being a young actress in Hollywood, Robinson might be living a different life than most 18-year-olds. She has starred in television series, such as the CW’s “Gotham Knights” and Disney’s “Raven’s Home,” and has worked with the likes of Gabrielle Union and Raven-Symoné. However, she never felt her life was abnormal because she kept her family and friends close.

Growing up in Georgia, Robinson was always surrounded by her four brothers and close friends. As a kid, Robinson and her brothers would sit around their TV and feel a sense of magic. It was one of the few things that would command her and her sibling’s attention. Watching TV as a kid, she knew she wanted to become an actress but needed to figure out how.

Robinson enrolled in a performing arts school at five-years-old and eventually moved to Los Angeles at 11 to pursue acting full-time. She says she made sure to focus on her work and to make time for her friends and family while living in L.A. so she would not get distracted and lose sight of what she wanted. 

Bow - Kamperett, Pearl necklace - Karo Koru, Diamond necklace - Petit Moments, Earrings - Ettika, Blazer - The Mannei, Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell 

“I never felt particularly in the spotlight, which I'm grateful for. I think I always felt more absorbed with my four brothers or my group of friends. That felt like my life, and I think I had a pretty normal upbringing,” Robinson said.

Robinson’s upbringing allowed her to grow into a young actress and give her the opportunity to be Carrie Kelley in the CW’s “Gotham Knights.” She says entering the DC universe was daunting at first because she knows how passionate these communities are. However, this opportunity felt right for her because she grew up watching DC movies and shows with her brothers.

“DC was seminal for all of my siblings, so this project particularly felt full circle,” Robinson says.

She may have not seen herself as a young vigilante kicking-ass in the DC universe, but Robinson says being a part of “Gotham Knights” was a formative experience for her. She had the ability to work with actors she admires, such as Olivia Rose Keegan, and bring to life the relevant messages the showrunners would intertwine into a rather campy show.

Beyond the DC universe, playing Nia Baxter in “Raven’s Home” since 2017 and D’Asia in BET’s “Being Mary Jane” has allowed Robinson to learn from great actresses. Working with Symoné and Union taught Robinson to show up and take control of her work because women are sometimes taught to dim their lights in Hollywood. 

Earrings - Karo Koru, Set - Lovers and Friends, Shoes - Vintage 

When she was on set for “Gotham Knights”, she got to work with industry legend, Veronica Cartwright. Robison says Cartwright might not have given word-for-word life advice on how to succeed in this industry, but she learned from the stories Cartwright’s would tell about her life and past projects. 

“She was telling these stories and her face just lit up,” Robison said. “What I took from that is to just have fun and try to take these experiences and really soak them up, enjoy it and laugh about it. To just be grateful.”

Throughout Robinson’s success and experiences in Hollywood, what she continues to value most is her community. When Robinson feels she’s losing herself she turns to her friends, family, and co-stars for guidance. She says her community has helped her become a better actress because spending time with the people she loves has shown her what inspires her.

Robinson has always been inspired by the works of Steven Spielberg, the Daniels, and Berry Jenkins, but one actress that Robison looks up to is Winona Ryder. She says she likes Ryder because she sees the Hollywood actress as someone who’s free in their work and dives into their opportunities. 

“I think actual human behavior is when you're both grounded in reality and also incredibly free and you allow spontaneity. I think Winona Ryder is so great at that.” Robinson said.
Robinson has been an actress for almost a decade and as she becomes an adult she can’t imagine being anything else. She says it’s important to try new experiences in life, but she knows the whispering desire in the back of her mind to be in a movie or television show will never disappear. 

“I feel like I'm just in an active state of discovery. I talk about this with my friends all the time. We're just like, we don't even know what our future looks like, but we know what we want,” Robinson says.