Credit: @courtneyhenggeler
Courtney Henggeler is a refreshing face in Hollywood. She’s the kind of actress who believes in transparency when approaching her life. She also believes in doing a good job, and that is precisely what she’s doing in her role as Amanda LaRusso in the hit show Cobra Kai. Growing up, the 40-something actress did not think she would one day play the role of the kid in Karate Kid. She was born in the late 70s, and she was only a few years old when the movie Karate Kid was first released in 1983.
The idea she would one day grow up to play opposite Ralph Macchio was not even on her radar. She did not even know she was interested in acting until she was in high school, and a friend convinced her to audition for a role in a school play. However, she’s here now doing all the things she never imagined, and it’s been a good life for her. Here are a few things you just did not know about Courtney Henggeler.
The Role of Amanda LaRusso Mirrors Her Own Life
When the role of Amanda LaRusso was offered to her, there were too many similarities to her own life to ignore it. The character is a wife and a mom of two kids. Courtney is a wife and a mom of two kids. She was doing her thing as a wife and a mom and an actress, but it was mostly as a wife and a mom at that point. Henggeler was a brand-new mom to her second son when she was offered this role, so it made sense for her to go ahead and audition.
Credit: @courtneyhenggeler
She Almost Quit Acting
Courtney Henggeler was a woman who didn’t want to act any longer. She’d been in the business since she was in her 20s and was tired. She was a new mom to two kids, she was married, and the acting thing wasn’t really going anywhere in her mind. Sure, she’s had some good roles. Henggeler was the twin sister of Sheldon in the hit show Big Bang Theory, but it was a role she played here and there. She had a lot of guest appearances on television, but mostly for an episode here and there. She was tired, and she was ready to quit.
“I just had my son I decided to stop playing. I’ve been doing this for so long, since I was in my twenties. It was exhausting and I wasn’t going any further. I said to my husband, ‘I think I’m done.’ He said to me, ‘It’s amazing. I support you in whatever you want. However, we get our health insurance through SAG (Screen Actors Guild). Can you stay a little longer until we find a plan B?’ Next week I think I had the audition for Cobra Kai,” and that is the way it sometimes works in Hollywood. She was ready to give up and move on when the role was right there for her. Henggeler took it, and here she is now.
She Was Part of a Very Cool Group in High School
During her high school career, Courtney Henggeler did not have a solid theater foundation. Her school, Seaford High School, did not have a theater program that was anything special. However, she was definitely part of everything the high school did in terms of plays and drama productions. But the coolest thing she did was something we’d never heard of before. “We had something called a ‘showmobile’ so we would go to different parks around Hempstead and put on different kids shows on literally a car that would open. It sounds weird but it was a lot of fun,” she said about that time in her life. It does sound fun.
Credit: @courtneyhenggeler
She’s Honest About Her Skincare Routine
It may not sound shocking, but this is a shocking admonition in Hollywood. Many people like to say they’re eating a healthy diet and aging naturally with the help of the right tools and a good water-drinking routine. Let’s be very clear: A healthy diet, drinking plenty of water, wearing sunscreen, moisturizing, and taking care of yourself is definitely the golden ticket to preventing unwanted aging at an accelerated rate, but these things are not a miracle.
“I’m using a doctor to help me age. I’m okay with it, but aging is something I struggle with, too. There are actresses who don’t do a damn thing to their face, and the confidence they have is impressive. I think if we were all aging without help, I would be okay with my face being the way it is. But no one seems to be,” she says of aging. There is nothing wrong with botox and a little help when it comes to preventing wrinkles and feeling good. There’s also nothing wrong with being honest about it, either.
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