Actor. Producer. Mental Health Advocate
Hi. I'm Deborah Lee Smith
Deborah Lee Smith is a Los Angeles based actor, producer, and founder of Alette Entertainment. After obtaining her BA in Theater and English Lit at UC Berkeley, she traveled to Australia to pursue her Master’s degree in Film Production. After starting a construction company, working in the outback, and collecting many stories that she will one day make into a feature film, she returned back to Los Angeles.
She currently has four features under her belt including Here Awhile starring Anna Camp and the action/thriller Last Three Days in which she starred opposite "The Walking Dead's" Robert Palmer Watkins.
Deborah is also a vocal mental health advocate and founder of "More Than You See", a non profit organization dedicated to sharing stories and resources surrounding the daily struggles of mental health.
A message from Deborah on mental health...
I would like to take 30 seconds of your time and dive deeper into my mental health organization "More Than You See."
The entertainment industry is an important passion in my life but I realized that as an actor, I got really good at putting on an inauthentic face, after all, that was my job. But, as things got really tough in my personal life I realized that this mask wasn’t serving me. In fact, it was doing me a lot of harm. When things got to a breaking point, I started looking for ways to cope because I was drowning in my helplessness and depression. I realized that everyone is putting on a face. I started having honest conversations with my closest friends, and I realized how much we are all “faking it.” This is so damaging to our society and our selves. As social media has allowed us to craft a vision of our “perfect lives,” we are leaving out the shit that matters just as much: the pain, the mental health, the struggles of everyday life.
“I BUILT THIS SITE TO SHARE OUR STRUGGLES AND THE RESOURCES WE USE TO CRAWL OUT OF THE DARKNESS. WE NEED TO END THE STIGMA AROUND MENTAL HEALTH, BECAUSE WE ALL NEED TO CARE FOR AND LOVE OUR BRAINS, THE WAY WE DO ANY OTHER ORGAN IN OUR BODY.”
If you, or someone you love is struggling with depression or mental illness, I would be honored if you looked into the resources I share on my website.
Selected press
CW Morning Show
NBC Morning Show
"It features excellent performances from Aris Judson and Deborah Smith(...)"
“The film is a strong addition to films that embrace representation, with Deborah Smith’s powerful and nuanced portrayal of a female Sith.”
Watch my work