Written By, Jenna Campbell
If you haven’t heard of Meghan Ory yet, chances are you will soon. A talented actress and novelist, this young Canadian has worked with some of the most famous television and movie stars and is soon to star in the series, Once Upon a Time, airing this fall on ABC.
Ory grew up in Victoria on Vancover Island. She is best known for her acting career, which she has been pursuing ever since she received the Fine Arts Award for Acting in1996. But Ory said acting has been a part of her life ever since she was five years old when she performed her first play, in French.
“I caught the acting bug pretty early on,” Ory said.
Ory got her first professional acting gig as an actress in a Fox Family television movie called The Darklings. Her talent led her to be cast into many other television series roles. Ory landed the starring role in the Fox Family series Higher Ground, soon after appearing on the MTV series 2gether. From there, Ory became a cast member of the Canadian television series Vampire High.
Ory has also appeared in the television shows The Outer Limits, Dark Angel, and Smallville. In 2006, Ory accepted an opportunity to move away from television. She moved out to Miami to be a part of South Beach, a film produced by Jennifer Lopez.
Now, Ory is back in television, working on her next project. Ory’s new role is that of Little Red Riding Hood in ABC’s upcoming fairytale Once Upon a Time.
Once Upon a Time is a modern fairytale written by two writers of the hit show Lost, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. The show centers on the main character, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), who relocates to a small town in Maine, where magic and fairy tales become reality and help her to escape her troubled past.
“[It] is part fairy tale part real world mystery,” Ory said. “It’s pretty cool when you’re on set and the seven dwarves walk past your trailer singing ‘hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go!’”
Though Ory spends most of her time in front of the camera, acting isn’t the only part of the business she is passionate about. Ory is also into filmmaking and said if she wasn’t acting she would be producing, directing, or writing.
“I am passionate about acting, but every aspect about filmmaking fascinates me,” Ory said.
Ory has a lot going on, but still finds time to do some of the other things she loves, such as yoga, painting, renovating the house, and writing.
For the last few years, Ory has spent a lot of her time finishing her first novel in a series of teen books she will call The Chronicles of Girl Wars. Ory said the series will be about issues that most girls face in high school such as bullying, and friends turning into enemies.
“The series was inspired by my experience in high school and the things I wish I’d known about and been prepared for,” Ory said. “The books celebrate being true to yourself and will hopefully be a fun way to show girls that while they might think they’re going through this difficult time alone, everyone in high school is dealing with the same stuff.” 
Ory admits that much of the success a person receives in acting does not typically have to do with a person’s acting ability, although talent is important.
“Acting is a funny job,” Ory said. “…It’s easy to be too old or too young, too pretty or not pretty enough. It’s an industry of judgment and it’s important to remember that there are roles for all types and if you don’t look right for one character you’ll be perfect for another.”
The pressure to be beautiful is present in all industries but can be even more present in careers such as acting. But Ory advises that girls not let themselves get wrapped up in what other people see and think of them, but instead, love themselves for who they are inside and for all the things that they find beautiful within themselves.
“Beauty is subjective, like art,” Ory said. “What one person thinks is beautiful another person could hate … You can’t control work or any opinion but your own, so love you for you and the rest will follow.”
All success comes with hard work and tough times, but just like Ory, you can make your own dreams come true if you keep trying and continue to believe in yourself.
“I think like any industry or path there are ups and downs and of course times when you doubt yourself,” Ory said. “But I think as long as you ultimately love what you’re doing, just have faith in yourself and trust that you’ll get where you’re going when the time is right.”
