Angela Rockwood was born in Clovis, New Mexico, and experienced the world growingup as the child of a career military man. She started modeling at the age of 17, laterbecoming a fitness instructor, which led her into the world of martial arts. At 22, sherelocated to Los Angeles, and within a year was engaged to her best friend. Theybought a house and she fell back into the entertainment world by launching an actingcareer, with small roles in The Fast and the Furious and the syndicated televisionseries V.I.P. Angela’s life was practically perfect until turmoil struck one week before 9/11 onSeptember 3, 2001. She and her two bridesmaids were driving home from a trip in SanFrancisco when her girlfriend spun out of control. Angela was in the backseat and wasthrown through the side-rear triangular window suffering a broken neck and severedspinal cord; as a result she was diagnosed as a c4 quadriplegic. When Angela awoke from surgery, she was given a 3 to 5 % chance of regaining anymovement from the neck down. She felt her paralysis was for a reason, that she had amission to fulfill. Unable to move or feel anything, she knew instantly she had twothings left; life and her indomitable spirit. She stated she’s "had a huge choice to make:to turn a catastrophic situation into something extraordinary and to be a powerful voicefor others in similar devastating situations”. Angela, a martial artist and a firm believer in alternative methods of healing didn’taccept her doctor’s prognosis. Two months after the accident, with numbness in herhands, she was able to wiggle her left index finger, a dramatic moment captured live onan Entertainment Tonight piece about the ‘Power of the Mind’. And then, just amonth later, she touched the top of her head. In 2003, she was the third American toundergo a pioneering stem cell surgery in Portugal, which allowed her to later operate amanual wheelchair. Although Angela is unable to move her fingers fully, she can feedherself, paint, train in martial arts and apply her own makeup. As an Ambassador for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Angela representsthe Paralysis Resource Center in outreach to Asian-American communities. Sheserves as a spokes model for Ti-Lite Wheelchairs and has also worked as a model forTarget, Nordstrom and Toyota. Angela has also appeared on Larry King Live, and inPeople Magazine discussing how to live life to the fullest since her paralysis. She hasenergized her acting career by landing in three national commercials for AARP,Mabelline, and Sony. Angela is also featured in CinemAbility, a documentary to bereleased in 2013, directed by Jenni Gold, which includes Ben Affleck, Jaime Foxx, andJane Seymour. After her injury, she chose not to focus on the negative, but instead to go down apositive path, hoping to be an example for others and especially those in the disabilitycommunity. Her tenacious attitude and purposeful personality allowed her to shatter thenegative stereotypes as opposed to focusing on them. With her ultimate mission of pushing boundaries, she created, produced and stars in the Sundance Channel ‘’Critic’s Choice Awards’’, Best Reality series Push Girls. The show follows the lives of five women living with paralysis while cultivating their friendship as they undertake everyday life. The exposure of Push Girls has given her the opportunity to maketelevision appearances on Ellen, Jeff Probst Show, Marie Osmond, AccessHollywood, Inside Edition, Good Day LA, Extra, Huffington Post Live, Kcal 9, KatieCouric Show, Good Morning America, and a return segment on EntertainmentTonight. She even had an appearance at The White House! Angela continues to fulfill her post-accident vision by sharing her own experience withhopes of creating a change within others that reignites the human will. She ispassionately relentless in manifesting change and implementing ideas through herteaching at the Joey Travolta Theatre ‘Manifestation Classes’. She has also taughther classes at the Performing Arts Studio West through Meet the Biz Workshops. Asan innovator, she has successfully spoken about ‘Living to the Fullest’ at RanchoAmigos Hospital, L.A. Rescue Mission Assembly, and Edwards Air Force Base. Angela has shared her secrets of ‘The Beauty from Within’ for the Miss GlobalOrganization of 2013 & 2014. A group of 4,000 Paul Mitchell students in Las Vegas,and the California Association of Realtors were the recipients of a topic close to herheart; ‘Pushing the Limits’. Angela has been chosen by Brig Gen Michael Brewer ofthe 412 th Test Wing Commander to be the 2015 & 2016 Honorary Commander forEdwards Air Force Base. Angela has returned to modeling to prove ‘’Beauty comes in ALL shapes, sizes, color,age & in EVERY vessel.’’ She is currently filming Pen Pals, directed by Marem Hasslerplaying the lead Otilia who is a bisexual sex therapist. Tune in to World Poker Tour onFox Sports Networks to see her interviewing and diving into the soul of championpoker players. Angela is a vessel that is inspired by her grand purpose, deep within her soul shecarries this mantra daily: "Life is a gift and what we do with our life is our gift backto the world, to others, and to ourselves."
