Belissa Escobedo rarely saw Latinx characters on her TV screen and in movies when she was growing up. So, she made it her mission to become that representation. “We can be represented in a way that is joyful and loving and vulnerable,” Escobedo says in an exclusive interview with Her Campus. “In the past, we’ve been represented as this rugged, trauma-based group of people, which is [a] part of our story and our history. But I think it’s also important to show us in a positive light and bring comedy to [the] screen.”
Not only has Escobedo starred alongside Xolo Maridueña in DC’s first Latinx superhero film Blue Beetle, but she also appeared in the highly-anticipated Hocus Pocus sequel in 2022 (Bette Midler’s final monologue in the movie made her cry). And now, Escobedo is starring in NBC’s newest sitcom Happy’s Place, opposite TV and music legend Reba McEntire. “She is such a sweetheart. Such a kind, warm person, but also very professional,” Escobedo says. “She’s filming The Voice at the same time that we’re filming Happy’s Place. It makes all of us step our game up. [If] she can do it, then we better be able to do it.”
Acting was always Escobedo’s destined path; she knew early on it was what she wanted to pursue. “Even as a young kid, I always felt the best about myself when I was making other people laugh,” she says. “The moment I did my first play in elementary school, everything just clicked, and from then on, it was just [something] I knew I wanted to do.”After graduating from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, she turned to acting full-time.
Now, at 25 years old, Escobedo has brought the Latinx representation she wanted to see as a child to movie and TV screens. “I’ve had a lot of experiences with Latino families and young Latinas coming up to me and experiencing that [gratitude] one-on-one,” she says. “It’s something I think that’s what I’ll always be grateful for.”
Happy’s Place, which premiered on Oct. 18, follows Bobbie (McEntire) after she inherits her late father’s bar, Happy’s Place. But things aren’t as simple as they appear on paper, as Bobbie’s a co-owner of the tavern with her half-sister — a vibrant 20-something-year-old named Isabella (Escobedo) — whom she didn’t know existed.
Escobedo’s living many people’s dream of working with McEntire, and she knows just how lucky she is. “It still feels surreal. I’m just so thankful and I only hope to continue this,” she says. “During the pilot, there was this moment that we [were] looking out into the audience and [McEntire] turned to me and was like, ‘Can you believe we’re doing this?’ and I was like, ‘No, I really can’t.’” Escobedo says. “Sharing that moment with her and seeing how special it was for her, too — she’s accomplished so much already, and for her to still feel that joy and that excitement — is really special.”
But starring alongside McEntire isn’t the only peak that’s come from working on Happy’s Place. Escobedo’s also been able to push herself professionally, taking on a character she’s never played before. “[Isabella] is a bit more of a lone wolf. I think my other characters have always had a strong sense of family or friendship,” Escobedo says. “Isabella is coming into this series [feeling] very alone and in search of her people, her group, her family, and [a] part of herself that she’s felt that she’s lacked her whole life. That’s been my biggest challenge with Isabella. Just finding that vulnerability [and] eagerness to find her place in the world.”
One challenge Escobedo didn’t have to think hard on was deciding between McEntire’s Reba theme song “I’m A Survivor” and the theme song of Happy’s Place — she already has a favorite. “‘I’m a Survivor’ is iconic, but I think ‘Happy’s Place’ has a bit more of a dance beat to it,” she says. “I could go line-dancing to [the] theme song.”