Heather Graham talks to Booker High School students about how she got her start in the entertainment business

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – Booker High School students in Sarasota furthering their education with some help from Hollywood. 

On Friday, actress Heather Graham spoke with students via Zoom. Graham is best known for movies like Boogie Nights, The Hangover and Austin Powers. 

She talked to the students all about how she got her start in the entertainment business, “I started when I was around 16 when I had a driver’s license and I can go on auditions. For me, it was really something that was very empowering, luckily I got to start making money when I was pretty young and that gave me independence for my family which I really appreciated.”

This is part of the Creative Empowerment Program led by Semkhor. It’s a program where students are learning from those who have been successful in the entertainment business.

Booker High School student Rihaunna Stafford said, “It’s cool that actors and actresses from across the world globally are able to talk to us and tell us first hand what their experiences are.”

John Timpe is a Film and Screenwriting teacher at Booker High School. He says this program is inspiring for the kids, “Fantastic writers, directors and actresses like Heather Graham want to come and talk to the students and really help them almost get a forward leap into what they’re doing by benefit of her experience. We love that, we’re grateful for that.”

Heather Graham had these words of wisdom for the students, “It is possible to make a living in the film business, I mean it’s definitely hard and you kind of have to love it. You really have to just keep going.”

Copyright 2024 WWSB. All rights reserved.