Some call her Gabriela Montoya. Others know her as Gabriela Alejandra Montoya when she is feeling especially powerful. Either way, her presence is unforgettable.
Born and raised in Mission, Texas and now based in Corpus Christi, Gabriela recently turned 38, though she laughs that she is still trying to pass for someone in her late twenties. A lifelong performer with the soul of a storyteller, Gabriela’s connection to the stage began in Kindergarten. “My sister was in the second-grade Christmas play,” she remembers. “I was a nuisance, insisting I would be in the show too.” That night, one of the angels didn’t show up. Gabriela was there, in costume, ready to step in. It was fate. “The performance was thrilling. One of the best memories of my life. I never looked at anything else again.”
Years later, during a church service, she heard a sermon about divine purpose and the gifts God gives each person. “That message confirmed everything for me,” she says. “Acting was not just something I loved. It was my calling.” From church plays to school competitions and missions trips to Mexico, Gabriela honed her voice, never losing sight of her dream.
After high school, she moved to California with nothing but determination. She found training in the Meisner Technique, but no guidance for what came next. She juggled up to three jobs just to survive. When tragedy struck and her brother, a U.S. soldier, was killed in Afghanistan, she returned to Texas to support her family. “It was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced,” she says. “Acting had to be put on hold.”
But she always came back to it. Marriage and motherhood brought new challenges, including financial hardship and the loss of her job. Still, she persisted. In 2018, with her husband newly employed, she returned to acting and signed with an agency in San Antonio. The work came in slowly, never steady. “I kept checking in, asking if we were still aligned,” she recalls. “Because I have never been anything less than serious about this.”
Her mantra is clear. There is no Plan B. Just Plan A. Acting.
Then, in 2024, during another season of instability, she came across VIP Ignite. Skeptical but curious, she joined a Zoom call with Deneen White and Alycia Kaback. “I had seen it all, clicked on everything over the last 17 years. But this was different. They were honest. Clear. No sugar-coating. For the first time, I felt seen.” In just ten months, she has gained more guidance and momentum than she had in the previous decade.
What drives her is not just the thrill of performance, but its power. “Acting brings healing to the suffering, peace to the chaotic, and inspiration to creatives. We get to tell stories that touch people in the deepest ways.” As a woman of deep Christian faith, she adds, “This calling is not just for me. It’s to bless others.”
To those who think they’ve missed their chance, Gabriela is direct. “It’s never too late. The industry needs every perspective. Start now. Look at actors your age. What are they doing? You can do it too. I believe in you.”
And if she could leave you with one truth, it would be this. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:4.
Gabriela Montoya is not waiting for her time to come. She is walking into it, fully prepared and deeply rooted in purpose.
Be First to Comment