Biography
Andrea Emmes is an American actress, who started her career performing at the Trinity Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Born in Hollywood, Florida, her family moved around a lot taking them to Indiana, Tennessee, and finally settling down in Riverside, Rhode Island where the bulk of her family resides. She is of Italian, Portuguese, Ukrainian, and Jewish descent.
After leaving high school, Andrea headed back to Florida to attend the University of Tampa for a year as a Liberal Arts Major but then moved to Orlando in 1994 to pursue her career as an actress. Her first big break was in the hit 50's style show, "Night at the Hop". She then ventured into singing and dancing at many theme parks such as Walt Disney World (Ariel), Universal Studios Florida (Bride of Frankenstein), and Pirates Dinner Adventure (Princess Anita). Andrea did some work in voice-over on animation and video games but in 2001 she knew that it was time to move on to bigger opportunities, so she moved to Los Angeles.
She continued performing on stage at Pirates Dinner Adventure CA, Knotts Berry Farm and toured with the girl group, "The GG Girls" all over Los Angeles, and headlined on the Vegas Strip for 19 months. After a life-altering injury and diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (aka RSD) in 2006, Andrea was forced to retire from performing so she could regain functionality while living with this neurological pain disorder. It was because of this painful experience that Andrea wrote, produced, and self-released her debut award-winning Album (L.A. Music Award - 2008) called, "I'm On My Way".
"If I can inspire others who are feeling broken or are going through a hard time like I did that there is still hope, that they are "Beautifully Broken" (first single), then all of this will be worth it", she expresses about her journey with chronic pain and how she was able to overcome it and inspire others. In 2009, she went back to college and got her Bachelor of Science degree in Game Art and Design and worked as an associate game designer for Disney Interactive for two years.
In 2010, Andrea connected with Director/Writer - Cinzia Angelini to collaborate on her CG animated short film, "Mila", as its Producer. After the Trento bombing in Italy in 1943, the CG animated short film is the story of a little girl named Mila. It focuses on the collateral damage affecting the civilian population, especially the children.
"Mila" has garnered much success in the Film Festival Circuit - 78 wins and 151 Selections. "Mila" was one of the 83 films in consideration for the 94th Academy Awards.
Andrea is also a Best Selling, Award-winning Audiobook Narrator with over 400+ titles to her name working for publishers and independent authors, and lives with her husband in Southern California. She's won several Society of Voice Arts and Science awards, is an Audie Award nominee, recipient of multiple Earphones Awards and was named Best Female Narrator for the Independent Audiobook Awards in 2019.
"Eternal Beauty" is Andrea's debut novel, co-written by Ashley Fontainne. The story explores the masks people wear, both online and in real life, blurring the lines between truth and illusion, and the lies we tell ourselves to justify wrong choices. Both the book and audiobook, narrated by Andrea Emmes and Marni Penning, will release October 31, 2025.
Andrea is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, ASIFA, Audio Publishers Association and the Professional Audiobook Association.
"There is nothing that you can't accomplish if you decide to choose not to let your adversities get in the way. Make them an asset, find your passion, and never give up." ~Andrea Emmes
