Gina Rodriguez Talks About The Time She Thought She Was The Next 'It Girl' But Wasn't

For those who didn’t know her beforehand, last year, actress Gina Rodriguez conquered our hearts with her inspiring Golden Globe acceptance speech. And who wouldn’t think she’d become the next ‘It Girl’ after winning such a prestigious award and being part of such a successful sitcom? But Rodriguez had learned the lesson before. The funny gal told The Wrap she had already had a brush with fame (or so she thought) after making the movie “Filly Brown” which had a really good reception at Sundance. “I thought — ‘it’s Sundance, and I’m going to be this It Girl, I’m going to be like Jennifer Lawrence,’” she said. “And it didn’t look like that.”

So from that, Rodriguez understood that she needed to stop focusing on what came next, but instead “enjoy each experience and enjoy each project.” “Everything comes to an end. It’s not about what that’s supposed to lead to, it’s not about what your career is then supposed to look like,” she continued. Further on, she explained that enjoying what you’re doing at the time takes pressure off and allows you to stop thinking where you should go from there. Despite thinking that way, Rodriguez has become an 'It Girl' of sorts. She'll be starring in her first Hollywood blockbuster "Deepwater Horizon" opposite Mark Wahlberg, she's on the cover of numerous top magazines and is getting lots of Emmy buzz for the upcoming nominations.

The actress also has a very graceful and grateful way to look at the hit show “Jane the Virgin,” since she says it’s given her “wings to fly” and has opened so many doors for her. When asked if she ever worries filming the show would take too much of her time, Rodriguez has the perfect answer: “I think anything that is supposed to be yours, will be. I find “Jane” to be such a blessing in my life that there’s no way I believe it limits me in any respect.”

Rodriguez also told The Wrap she’s glad the whole fake pregnancy on the show is over, because carrying that belly was a bit of a nightmare. She’s also holding off on motherhood for the time being thanks to that experience. “They should put that belly on every junior in high school for the entire year, I think that would be quite the experiment,” Rodriguez said laughing. We agree!