# She traded dance for acting, then Hollywood called

> A hip injury ended one dream for Adia at 25, and the replacement led her to a film debut opposite Mahershala Ali.
- Title: She traded dance for acting, then Hollywood called · Variety
- Summary: A hip injury ended one dream for Adia at 25, and the replacement led her to a film debut opposite Mahershala Ali. When the thing you built your life around…
- Keywords: acting, film debut, tiff, dance, careers, entertainment, culture, traded, Hollywood, called, Variety
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/film/features/your-mother-your-mother-your-mother-adia-mahershala-ali-doula-1236859117
- Author: Angelique Jackson
- Published: 2026-09-13T14:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: acting, film debut, tiff, dance, careers, entertainment, culture
## A newcomer at twenty five
Adia is 25 and had never pictured herself as a movie star. Her debut puts her opposite Mahershala Ali in 'Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother'.
## Dance was the plan
Growing up, she was pointed at one thing: becoming a professional dancer. That was the whole shape of her future.
## A hip injury ended it
The injury derailed the dance career before it started. She was a high school senior when the plan she had built everything around closed.
## One class, just to test it
She signed up for acting to see whether it could do the same job dance did, feeding the need to perform and to create.

> I decided to take an acting class, just to try it out and see if that would be comparable or satiate that need to perform and to create
## It worked, so she ran
She enjoyed it, had fun with it, and kept going. The decision that followed was blunt: pack up and head to Los Angeles.

> I enjoyed it, and I had fun with it, so I just kind of ran with it. I was like, 'Ok, I'll go out to L.A.'
## Still rooted in D.C.
She spoke to Variety over Zoom from her home in Washington, D.C., the city she came up in rather than the one the industry runs on.
## Key takeaway

When the thing you built your life around closes off, the need behind it can still find another door.