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DALLAS- She’s a fresh-faced beauty with genuine charm! You might remember her as the girl crush from the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris or spotted the now 23-year-old woman on the Hyundai Super Bowl 50 commercial with Kevin Hart. No matter the role, Paige Hurd is making headway in Hollywood.

Growing up in Carrollton, where she attended Indian Creek Elementary,  her parents always knew Paige had the “it” factor the size of Texas!

“When we would go to restaurants, everybody would be sitting around waiting for their table and I would get up and start dancing and singing and performing,” Paige explained. “My mom would just watch me and decided, ‘We’re going to get paid for this!'”

She landed her first gig on Barney & Friends before flying off to NYC, then LA where she’s landed movie roles, modeling gigs, and worked with some of the best in the business. We’re talking the likes of Queen Latifah and Meagan Good, whom Paige notes are huge inspirations in her career and personal life.

“They’ll literally sit and talk with you and share the same struggles as you had as a young child and child star,” she explained.

Paige learned early on that being young, black, and beautiful in Hollywood isn’t always glamorous. But, she makes it a point to stay grounded as much as possible.

“If I didn’t have the foundation I had and grew up in church, I would have probably gone crazy myself,” Paige added.
With the recent #OscarsSoWhite controversy in Hollywood, Paige says she tries hard to not let her skin color define her or her career.

“Honestly, for me it’s a little tough, she said. “I’m light-skinned, so sometimes I’m not black enough and sometimes I’m not white enough — Hollywood has this ‘idea’ of what a black girl is.”

Paige is currently working with a recurring role on the show Hawaii Five-O and has an upcoming indie film, A Girl Like Grace, where she plays a girl who commits suicide. The movie has been picked up by BET  and she says the role is one of her biggest challenges yet.

“It’s a really really good movie, especially for women of color,” Paige added.

Want to know more about Paige Hurd? Check out her 5 Fixes she can’t live without: