Coco Kariuki is a Kenyan-born actress now based in Los Angeles. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Coco, a childhood nickname for Katricia, is trained in stage combat; armed and unarmed, as an actress for film and television, and as a stage performer.

In an exclusive interview, we spoke to Coco about her project “School Girl Figure” and how she deals with Hollywood stars.

Welcome, Coco! Tell us about the School Girl Figure project.

Hey guys! The story is about a group of high school students. They are definitely what you would call the popular mean girls. They are extremely competitive when it comes to looks and make a pact that none of them can lose weight through plastic surgery or alter their faces and bodies in any way because that would be considered cheating.

These girls are very superficial, suffer from eating disorders and definitely have mental health issues. It sounds trivial, but they definitely took this challenge seriously. This whole project sheds light on the issues of body dysmorphia that many young people face today.

Which character do you play?

I play Genine. A sweet but sassy girl who would do anything to win the competition. She actually goes under the knife to lose some weight, causing rumors and conflict in the group.

Do you think you resemble your character, or did you have to dig deep into your pockets for this role?

I definitely had to step out of my comfort zone! I’m not like Genine at all. It was actually a difficult role as I had to glorify self-hatred and body dysmorphia. I felt very sorry for her, she was very intelligent but focused on the wrong things. The only thing I enjoyed was playing with the “popular/mean girl” stereotype.

This involved preparation. How did you prepare for the role?

Yes. I prepared for the role by researching the symptoms and behaviors of people with eating disorders and working hard to engage with the subject matter, not judging my character but finding ways to represent and justify her and her actions.

Can you tell us some fun facts about the production?

We had an extensive wardrobe to choose from and I discovered my love for coats and hair clips through these projects. I would say the one thing my character and I had in common was definitely a love of fashion.

We often shot very early in the morning, so by 6 a.m. I was definitely over-caffeinated.

We had a playlist that we listened to in makeup to get into the mood of a preppy, spoiled high school student, and I thought it was so funny.

How do you like life in Los Angeles?

I love it! I’m busy auditioning for big TV and movie roles and meeting some wonderful people in the entertainment industry. I recently attended the Pump Group’s 2024 VIP Summer Soirée in the gardens of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. A friend who works at CBS, Herb Bohanon, invited me to the event. It was a wonderful evening where I met Cedrick the Entertainer and sat down with comedian Russel Peters and talked about all things entertainment and life as a foreigner in the entertainment industry. It was an evening of networking and very insightful conversations with industry veterans!

I also met Eric Rhone, a producer at CBS Studios who is currently working on the show The Neighborhood, which stars Cedrick the Entertainer, Max Greenfield and Tichina Arnold, among others. The show is a comedy about a young couple who accidentally have a child and are now raising it together.

Since we got along well, Eric invited me to the set and I watched their live rehearsal on CBS, which was a great honor.

Wow, that sounds like fun! What’s next?

I’m working with my management team and agent on some new projects. We’re excited to start shooting in the fall. More details to come!

How can we follow your acting career?

You can follow my news and updates at Katricia Kariuki – IMDb and Instagram.