Sarah Rafferty

Verge Staff | October 1, 2012 - 8:00 am

Don’t Mess with Sarah Rafferty

In this homage to Film Noir she shoots first and asks questions later!

Photography by Jeff Vespa

Thankfully for us, Sarah Rafferty isn’t always a tough femme fatale, we had a chance after the dust settled to talk with her and find out more about how she got her start and what drove her to get where she is today. Here is what she shared with us.

SR: I am from Greenwich, CT and I am the youngest of four girls. That kind of dynamic home life, encourages you to develop your own voice and make yourself heard. I grew up listening to my big sisters music, going to their school plays and at least once a year my parents would take us all to NYC to see a broadway play. I remember sitting next to my sister Connie at Les Mis, and being spellbound. At the curtain call we leapt to our feet and found ourselves shamelessly and inexplicably crying. Of course we bought the cast album, on cassette and listened to it constantly. When she got her drivers license, we used to climb in the car, and belt out the tunes as she drove us around town for hours. I definitely fantasized about playing Jean val Jean, or Javert on Broadway one day. I think my deeply earnest high school yearbook senior quote came from Les Mis. Must have.

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Azita Ghanizada

Verge Staff | October 1, 2012 - 7:00 am

Azita Ghanizada was born in Kabul…

Yes, that Kabul as in Afghanistan.

Photography Jeff Vespa

Azita opened up to us about what it was like growing up with a dream that could have gotten her killed in her home country.

V: What was your childhood like?

AG: In a nutshell … rough, we were lost in translation in the suburbs of Washington D.C. nothing really made a lot of sense. There was conflict we had just escaped, a lot of news about war & death, a lot of merging two cultures into school. Trying to fit in, trying to be pretend to be kid when you had already seen too much to believe in the innocence of the world. TV & books were my escape, they taught me English, they taught me how American culture worked … it was everything to me. TV & the public library, the only two things I was even really allowed to experience safely.

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Riley Voelkel

Verge Staff | October 1, 2012 - 6:31 am

Don’t ask Riley Voelkel why America is the best country in the world!

Photography by Jeff Vespa

Even though she is Canadian, that question has been a prosperous one for her and as of now she is inextricably linked to it. If you tuned into HBO anytime over the past 6 months you will know who Riley is, she is the girl in the new show “The Newsroom” starring Jeff Daniels who sends him into a tailspin when she asks “Can you say why America is the greatest country in the world?” That scene played out thousands of time in the promo for the show to the point where if you reference it, everyone knows that scene, but unless you were completely curious and read the credits in the first episode you didn’t know her name until now. We got a chance to talk to Riley recently about her life growing up and how she got where she is today, tetering on the Verge!

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Josie Loren

Verge Staff | October 1, 2012 - 6:01 am

Josie Loren’s Next Chapter

Photography by Jeff Vespa

After four years on a hit TV show “Make It Or Break It,” Josie Loren is ready for her next challenge. She has worked hard to get here and trust us she isn’t going anywhere.

JL: I had a blessed and beautiful childhood in Miami, Florida. My parents are still together and I am number 3 of 4 kids. We already had a full house, but our friends and family were always over. Our house was the “it” house to come to. It was where everyone gathered on holidays and where people came to throw their parties. To say that our house was loud and boisterous is an understatement. There was ALWAYS something going on. It was great and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but in the hustle and bustle of it all it was very easy to get lost. I soon learned how to get people’s attention by being funny or dramatic. It worked every time. […]

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