When Vena Excell answered the phone, she was barely out of breath.
“I’m coming from set,” she said in the beginning of our interview.
That is the norm now for the social media star, otherwise generally known as Pretty Vee, who’s amassed nearly 7 million followers across her platforms along with her hilarious videos. She is a component of a crop of mega influencers birthed post-Vine, where humor dominated their Instagram pages as an alternative of heavily curated photos. Now, nearly a decade after making her first post, Excell is making her entry into Hollywood.
In Issa Rae’s scripted HBO Max dramedy Rap Sh!t, Excell plays an ambitious sex employee, and the reception has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Pretty Vee being one of the best actor on Rap Shit is such a surprise,” one Twitter user wrote. One other user lauded Excell, stating the role was meant for her.
Excell’s perfect performance is smart, as glimpses of the Miami native’s acting chops have shone through her skits’ characters for years.
“I’ve all the time been imaginative, so creating those scenarios are like an outlet for me,” she shared.
Before focusing her attention on content creation, she studied mass communications and radio in college, eventually landing a job working for a music label. Although she clearly had talent, the timing wasn’t right.
“Well I began…I used to work for a label,” he said in a 2020 interview with the Atlanta Black Star. “I used to be working. I went to varsity for radio; that was my first passion, and I wanted to try this before every little thing after which I ended that. I worked for a label, [and I] got fired.”
Even though it was a troublesome blow, Excell said it was an element of God’s divine plan.
“He was taking me in a direction I didn’t realize I needed to go in,” she said, sharing that after her content gained massive attention, she decided to take her comedic profession more seriously. Excell auditioned for hit skit show Wild’N Out in 2017, but didn’t get casted until a number of years later. She’s been a fan favorite of the Nick Cannon-produced show ever since.
“Nick has definitely been an enormous inspiration for me business-wise,” she shared. “I just really admire how he’s used his comedy to enterprise out into so many alternative avenues.”
She’s laying plans to do the identical.
Up to now two years alone, she secured an apparel cope with Citi Trends, inked endorsement partnerships with a myriad of brands including spirits firms Bumbu, and launched a fragrance.
Excell said that is only the start.
“I actually have so many incredible projects coming down the pipeline and I owe all of it to God,” the self-professed preacher’s kid said.
She shared that although she’s grateful for all the opportunities coming her way, she’s not surprised.
“I’ve worked hard for this—I’m way greater than only a social media comedian.”
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