My identity is a superpower — not an obstacle | America Ferrera (re-release)

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hollywood needs to stop resisting what the world actually looks like, says actor, director and activist America Ferrera. Tracing the contours of her career, she calls for more authentic representation of different cultures in media -- and a shift in how we tell our stories. "Presence creates possibility," she says. "Who we see thriving in the world teaches us how to see ourselves, how to think about our own value, how to dream about our futures."

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day.
0:12.3	I'm your host, Elise Hugh.
0:14.2	Hollywood needs to stop resisting what the world actually looks like, says actor, director, and activist America Ferreira.
0:21.2	You might know her from her roles in hits like Ugly Betty and The Barbie Movie.
0:25.4	In her archive talk from 2019, America uses the contours of her own career
0:29.8	to call for more authentic representation of different cultures in media
0:34.2	and a shift in how we tell our stories.
0:41.8	On the red tiles in my family's den,
0:45.5	I would dance and sing to the made-for-TV movie Gypsy
0:49.6	starring Bet Midler.
0:51.6	I had a dream, a wonderful dream, Papa.
0:58.2	I would sing it with the urgency and the burning desire of a nine-year-old
1:03.1	who did, in fact, have a dream.
1:06.1	My dream was to be an actress.
1:09.8	And it's true that I never saw anyone who looked like me in television
1:14.1	or in films. And sure, my family and friends and teachers all constantly warned me that
1:20.2	people like me didn't make it in Hollywood. But I was an American. I had been taught to believe that anyone could achieve anything,
1:32.3	regardless of the color of their skin,
1:35.3	the fact that my parents immigrated from Honduras,
1:38.3	the fact that I had no money.
1:41.3	I didn't need my dream to be easy.
1:45.0	I just needed it to be possible.
	...

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