Although she’s only a 14-year-old high school freshman, Ingrid Uribe feels like she’s an acting veteran already. “I started acting when I was six years old,” said Uribe, who has lived in North Bergen since she was an infant and now attends the township’s High Tech High School. “I did a lot of commercials back then.” Uribe said that she’s best known for her commercial for “Jello Jigglers” that she did with legendary comedian Bill Cosby. She also spent some time on the ABC soap opera, “One Life to Live.”
For the past year, Uribe has been featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Discovery Kids” program as one of the show’s hostesses.
Recently Uribe’s star has begun to shine brighter than ever. That’s because her first starring role, a Showtime original movie entitled “Frankie and Hazel” has begun airing this month.
Uribe portrays Hazel, a teenager who lives in a small fictional New Jersey town called Percaucus and takes on the political world by running for mayor of the town against a 28-year incumbent.
The film, produced by singing legend Barbara Streisand and also starring veteran stage and screen actress Joan Plowright, focuses on the friendship between the two teenage girls. The film will be shown on Showtime cable several times during the month, including Sunday, Oct. 22 at 3:45 p.m.
Needless to say, Uribe is excited about her first starring role in a motion picture.
“I’m thrilled,” Uribe said. “It’s really cool. It premiered on October 8 and it’s been shown a couple of times already. I’ve seen it like three times and I really love it. I watch the segments each time and I try to be critical of myself. I don’t mind watching myself on television. I think it’s pretty cool.”
Uribe said that she identified with her character.
“Hazel is very intellectual and very political,” she said. “She’s also the kind of person who will go right up to you and say, ‘Hi, I’m Hazel.’ She’s very outgoing. I think I am a lot like that. People tell me that I’m funny and very sarcastic. I’m not sure I relate to the political side, but we definitely have a lot in common.”
Although the movie takes place in New Jersey, it was filmed last fall in Vancouver, British Columbia. The filming took nearly two months.
During that time, Uribe said that she got to meet Streisand just once.
“I was very intimidated by meeting her,” Uribe said. “She was very picky and very precise, but she was awesome to work with. But she was very strict and kept us on our toes. I liked that.”
Uribe said that she didn’t know if she would land the role. There were auditions held throughout the country at four prominent locations.
“It was tough to go through,” Uribe said. “You can never really tell with auditions. I was just hoping that I would have a good shot. When it happened, I was excited. And of course, I’m happy I got the part.”
Uribe said that she’s very happy with the way the movie turned out.
“It’s my first film, so I’m trying hard not to be hard on myself,” she said. “I didn’t want to be critical of my diction and speech. I like to sit back and relax and enjoy it and see how it turns out. But I was very pleased.” The producers and the executives at Showtime were also pleased and they sent her flowers when the movie premiered.
Friends knew
When Uribe was attending Robert Fulton School in the township, she said that most of her classmates already knew that she was an actress.
“They knew me and they were all basically my friends,” Uribe said. “They would kid me and ask for my autograph and I would tell them that it was basically worthless.”
But now Uribe is attending High Tech and the students are just coming to grips with the idea that they’re going to school with a budding celebrity.
“I like it better that I’m now in high school,” Uribe said. “The kids are older and more mature and handle it more smoothly. People are coming up to me and telling me that they saw the movie and really enjoyed it. I’m getting a lot of positive feedback.”
Uribe was asked if it is tough to juggle the acting career with her schoolwork.
“It is tough,” she said. “You have to be disciplined and organized. I’m lucky to have my family to help me out, because there are some people who don’t understand the lifestyle, that I have to go to New York City to an audition, then come home and do my homework. But I really love it.”
Although Uribe doesn’t have another acting role lined up at the moment, the movie’s rave reviews have already opened doors. She had an interview with representatives from Warner Brothers and expects that other roles will come her way in the future.
“It’s definitely been a positive move in my career,” Uribe said. “I’m seriously hoping that it will lead to bigger things, because I want to be remembered for doing something in a positive way with my life. I’m hoping that it’s a fresh new start for me. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. In fact, I have everything I can possibly cross, crossed.”