Thia Schuessler

Thia Schuessler is an American actor and filmmaker. She was born and raised in a suburb of St. Louis. As a theatre kid who dreamed of working in film and television, Thia made it her goal to move to "Hollywood." She graduated after her junior year of high school and went straight into her freshman year of college at the University of Southern California. Thia moved to Los Angeles to study acting, but she equally enjoyed her courses in writing, directing, editing, and cinematography. In 2009, she graduated magna cum laude from the USC School of Dramatic Arts. The following year, she became eligible to join SAG for her lead role in a web series created by USC faculty and fellow alumni. In 2011, she attended the SXSW premiere of 'Clear Blue' for her first official film role. In 2014, she co-starred in the two-person musical comedy 'Rapture', which had its world premiere at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. After their initial run, it was nominated for the Encore Producers' Award, inviting the show back for additional performances in what is colloquially known as "Best of Fringe." At the same time, Thia ventured into the producing world, co-writing and directing the short film 'Housesitter' which premiered in 2014 at the Academy Award-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival, where she and her filmmaking partner, Rex New, were nominated for the "Filmmakers to Watch" jury prize. Their subsequent films have earned festival awards including Best Film ('The Wedding Song') and Best Performances (Al Rahn and Thia Schuessler, 'Lit') plus nominations for Talented New Filmmakers (Rex New and Thia Schuessler) and Best Lead Actress (Thia Schuessler, 'The Wedding Song'). Thia has been credited on Shy Ruby projects as an actor, writer, director, producer, and editor.