Our guest today is a successful actress who arrived in Hollywood over a decade ago with a one-way ticket and her mother's beaten-up suitcase. Since then she's landed many prominent roles including a lead role in Alphas on the American Syfy Channel. She's also been on Entourage, How I Met Your Mother, Veronica Mars, The Mentalist among countless other shows.

Azita Ghanizada joins us from LaLa land. Her personal journey is a fascinating one. Her family fled to the U.S. when she was just a baby, seeking asylum to escape war-torn Afghanistan. They settled in Virginia and while Azita always aspired to be an actress, she was forbidden to do so until finishing school. So, after receiving her B.A. in English and Journalism, she left for Hollywood.

That's where our interview begins...What were those first few years auditioning like? How did she afford to make ends meet? What do her parents think now of her career choice?

Azita is also a humanitarian. She focuses on issues surrounding women in war-torn areas, whether it’s co-hosting a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees fundraiser for World Refugee Day or serving as a Global Ambassador for womenforwomen.org. Most recently, she's become an advocate for MENA (Middle Eastern, North African) Artists and has been called on to speak on diversity issues in the media and in business.

To learn more visit www.somoneypodcast.com.