Emily Uribe
Valeria Moreno
By Valentina Moreno
Prologue:
I am convinced I have a superpower. A whisper of some sort, from the great divine, that enables me to use my third eye and see when someone has magic within them.
Trust me when I say, this does not happen often. There’s a gut feeling, an indescribable pull. These people make it hard to look away, they simply are memorable.
I stumbled upon Emily Uribe during the heat of the pandemic. She’d been doing videos on Tiktok for a minute and occasionally they’d pop up. I can’t remember the exact video, or whether it was a cultivation of them, but her interest in acting was mainly the reason I decided to follow her journey.
You see, there aren’t many women that look like me, and for God knows, there aren’t many women who are loud about what they want. It’s rare to see someone dream nowadays. People confuse their crave for fame, with genuine passion for the art. She didn’t feel like that, she felt like a promise. Her love for Marvel, ambitious spirit, and hunger felt oddly familiar to mine. As a young Mexican girl from the middle of nowhere, I used Emily as an anchor, constantly reminding myself that the only limits we have are the ones we set ourselves.
When we arrived in Los Angeles, I was anticipating the day we’d hopefully run into her. Fast forward to two months in, and not only did we meet her, but she graciously sat down with us, at Jon & Vinny’s of all places, to talk about her journey as a creative.
Dreams do come true.
Jon & Vinny’s. 11:50 A.M.
“Did we accidentally send Emily the wrong location?”
We had already ordered our usual: Diet Cokes with maraschino cherries. This would have been the absolute last thing we needed. Valentina kept her eyes anchored on the door, but I was angled away, making it impossible to see who walked in. This resulted in me asking, “Is she here yet?” every thirty seconds. It became annoying, even to myself. But exactly at 12:00 P.M., Valentina’s eyes widened like a child about to receive the gift they’d been begging for all winter.
Emily Uribe was here.
I swore the entire restaurant went silent. I’ve spotted plenty of people since moving to LA: a blur of influencers, actors, and singers. None compared.
Blue jeans, white tee. No makeup, only gloss.
She's a handshake-and-hug type of girl. She slid into the booth, sat right down and instantly dissolved the distance between us. Within seconds, she was talking to us with a sense of ease. Like the familiar warmth of an old friend.
By Valentina Moreno
Emily grew up in the agricultural town of Salinas, California.
Her love for film was always prevalent, but it wasn’t overpowered by a need to escape her hometown, instead, she allowed herself the freedom to be present. Emily’s life seemed straight out of a 2000’s chick flick. She served on her homecoming court, led several school activities, and chose friends who brought out her best. Yet upon graduation, while those same peers marched confidently toward their futures, she stood frozen by indecision. But a grander destiny lingered in the background, waiting for her ever since she stepped into that Iron Man screening in 2008.
She’d been posting on TikTok for a while, but one video finally broke through. In it, she answers questions from an invisible interviewer. Who was on the other side? Whoever she wanted. While no one was physically in the room, their energy felt entirely real. It sounds odd, but most of us have done something similar, pretending Jimmy Fallon is across from us, asking about our latest project. For Emily, intentional or not, it felt like a unique form of visualization. This clever technique allowed audiences to see her as a star, introducing her to the world in a brilliant, unforgettable way.
Amidst this, she manifested an invite to the premiere of Marvel Studios’, “The Eternals,” which resulted in Amanda Ndao, reaching out, becoming her manager, and diving deep into this new journey.
By Valentina Moreno
For a while, Emily and Amanda bounced back and forth between regions. Commuting from the Bay Area meant a chaotic cycle of last-minute flights, hotel rooms, and a total lack of stability. They said “yes” to every single opportunity that came their way. Soon, however, it became undeniable: Emily's career belonged in Los Angeles. Chasing her dream meant leaving everything behind to start completely anew.
Emily’s career skyrocketed. Alongside Straw Hat Goofy, she made history as one of the very first interviewers for the TikTok Oscars red carpet. From that moment on, she became an undeniable force in the industry, anchoring press lines for major blockbuster films and rapidly evolving as a digital powerhouse, but behind the scenes, lies a woman whose life changed overnight. When was there a moment to simply breathe?
Like anyone chasing a dream, Emily faced quiet moments of paralyzing doubt. There are times when nostalgia cuts like a knife and the urge to pack a single bag and walk away from it all becomes overwhelming. It weirdly even feels romantic, yet, looking at her path, it is clear she is never truly alone. There is an unseen hand at play, call it God, the universe, or Mother Nature, that has guided Emily through the noise, and will undoubtedly carry her forward.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of her story is how far she has come. People often forget that in the very video that launched her into stardom, Emily was sitting on the other side of the table.
You don’t need to meet Emily in person to truly see her. Her essence precedes her. She is fierce, honest, and wildly talented. Most importantly, she creates an immediate sense of safety for everyone around her, a rare, magnetic quality that every actress or director needs to lead a production to greatness.
I believe in Emily Uribe. I always have. I can’t wait to see what she does and I am anticipating the day I walk into the newest Marvel film with my popcorn in hand, Diet Coke in the other, and her on screen.
By Valentina Moreno
