AnnaLynne McCord

The Unexpected Healing
Pursuing a Dream Becomes a Healing Journey

“Every single moment of my life, I ask, ‘Why is this happening right now?’ And I don’t ask it from fear; I ask it from love. ‘What can I learn from this moment right now? What is my suffering teaching me?’ And then that is the transcendence from your suffering.”


When actress, activist and model, AnnaLynne McCord, was growing up, home was an educational playground that nourished her heart and soul. After graduating high school at just 15 years old, McCord moved to New York City to pursue her dream of acting. Little did she know that as the years ahead unfolded, childhood trauma would take her down a most unexpected path that now helps countless people in the world. In this episode, McCord shares some of the highlights of her unusual background and the impact that it has had on her life both personally and professionally.

AnnaLynne McCord is an American actress, activist and model. Known for playing vixen-type roles, McCord first gained recognition as the scheming Eden Lord on the TV series Nip/Tuck, and as Loren Wakefield on the telenovela, American Heiress. Shortly afterward, she was cast in 90210 in a role for which she has won three awards. McCord volunteers to help numerous charity organizations, among them the Somaly Mam Foundation. She has visited its shelters for human trafficking survivors in Cambodia. She is also the President of Together1Heart, which supports women and children victimized by human-trafficking and sexualized violence. In 2009, McCord was awarded a U.S. Congressional Honor for her anti-trafficking work.

What You’ll Learn from This Episode:

  • McCord’s unusual home-schooling journey
  • A fun memory of interesting childhood lunches
  • Her out-of-the-ordinary “punishment” as a child
  • The trauma as a young girl that took the actress to Cambodia years later
  • The desperate plea at 17 that changed the course of her life forever
  • How modeling later helped her acting career
  • Some of her favourite memories as an actress
  • Why she is grateful to the Creative Coalition
  • How her own arrogance led her down a path of activism
  • Why she created Together1Heart
  • Why she was awarded a U.S. Congressional Honor
  • How pursuing her dream of acting helped with her own healing, and now the healing of many others

Featured on the Show:
IMBd | Instagram | Together1Heart |